According to a U.S. and worldwide industry statistic shared by Print is Big, U.S. advertisers spend, on average, $167 per person on direct mail in order to earn $2,095 worth of goods sold.  When you break it down and do the math — that’s a 1,300 percent return on your print marketing investments.  Today, people are constantly seeing branded messages.  With print your brand’s message is more likely to cut through the clutter because it’s tangible and can be placed directly in the palm of the consumers’ hands.

Today, we’re going to share three reasons why print should be an integral part of your marketing campaign.

First, it is simple — print is credible. Print offers a feeling of legitimacy — in fact, a recent study showed that newspaper is the most trusted form of branded communication, with direct mail a close second — email and digital came in near the bottom of the list after television.  Additionally, over 60 percent of people still prefer to receive important documents such as bills and receipts as hard copies.  While digital is a fantastic way to immediately communicate with your target market, it’s also a less trusted form of communication.  By combing both print and digital you’re able to reap the benefits of credibility and immediacy.

Print is an engaging form of communication. It takes a consumer 5 to 7 seconds to decide whether or not they will stay on a brand’s website — that’s all your brand gets via digital communication sometimes.  Additionally, websites often get only skimmed, with many website seeing less than three minutes of engagement. When people in your target market read a printed piece, they are more engaged with your message and they stay engaged for a longer period of time. On average, a consumer will spend over 40 minutes reading a printed magazine.

Finally, print can be highly targeted. By leveraging the data of demographics, past purchasing habits and a consumer’s likes and interests that are stored in your consumer database, you can create more relevant and timely messages — ensuring your campaign sees a high response rate.

Print is powerful and print sticks around for a long time too.  Studies show that, on average, about one in four direct mail pieces are kept in homes for over a month — whether it’s on the refrigerator, coffee table or a magazine rack — printed messages stay around and enables your messages to increase its overall frequency.

Timothy Freeman
President
Print & Graphic Communications Association