I recently had a conversation with a marketing customer about campaign strategy. He told me that he always uses direct mail along with digital and social channels as part of any marketing initiative.
When I asked him why this was the case, he said, “The answer is simple: print marketing works.”
While this was of course great to hear, it is not surprising. Many studies and reports have shown that marketers remain committed to print for their campaigns as part of the media mix.
This is because direct mail and other ink-on-paper materials provide the consumer or customer with a tactile and emotional experience that cannot be replicated by the other marketing channels.
Meanwhile, these studies have also established—contrary to some popular misconceptions—that the Millennial generation enjoys receiving mail as much or more than other generations.
And, as our customer went on to explain, the effectiveness of print is measurable too. In similar ways that digital and social marketing are trackable, the impact of direct mail can be measured when you do one or both of the following:
- Use a dedicated phone number for responses the promotion or offer
- Use a dedicated URL or website landing page for responses to the promotion or offer
By adding some marketing automation technology, it is also possible to use print to retarget those prospects or customers that may have visited the website or called the number but did not make a buying decision.
It is clear that print materials—such as inserts, post cards and brochures—are among the most effective and authoritative media options for marketing professionals.
This is being proven each day as more and more corporations, publishers and advertisers are coming back to print as a reliable and effective solution alongside of the digital and social options available to them.
At Printwell, we are committed to keeping our customers informed about the advantages or ink-on-paper materials for marketing and communications purposes. If you would like to learn more, please contact your account representative for a consultation or send us a message here and someone from our account team will get in touch with you.