Print is an experience.  Print is tangible.  Print messages are able to generate emotion from more than just sight.  You can touch it, see it and hold the message in the palm of your hand.  Print can engage multiple senses and can, therefore, create strong emotions and reactions to the designed piece.  There is power in print.

There can be no denying digital media’s benefits; it has a high reach and frequency and can easily be tracked and measured, but with the increasing amount of these digital messages it is harder and harder to cut through the online clutter.  Print messages cannot be as easily ignored.  You cannot simply delete them from your inbox or remove them from your screen.  Print must be handled – if even for a moment, the viewer is exposed to you message.  And because it uses multiple senses, you’re more likely to remember the message from a printed piece when compared to trying to remember a digital message.

Furthermore, print can be highly targeted and highly personalized.  When using Variable Data Printing you are able to personalize your message with more than just a name – assuming your database is up-to-date.  Once your database is segmented you can offer unique relevant messages and deals to each of your subgroups.  This also helps to reduce the overall cost of your campaign (and increase your ROI), because you are able to ‘weed out’ those who would most likely not respond in any way to the direct mailing.

Finally, over 80 percent of direct mail pieces are at least skimmed over when a person is going through their mail — more than digital messages such as display and email — but, your printed message should still be concise and based on that individual’s known interests.

Timothy Freeman
President
Print & Graphic Communications Association