Promoting Print’s Role in Cross-Media

NEW YORK—Sappi Fine Paper, in partnership with The Print Council, recently hosted more than 200 media and marketing specialists and publishers at the Art Directors Club for a "Print Delivers" lunch-and-learn event.

The sixth such seminar in an ongoing series presented around the country by The Print Council, presentations raised awareness about the viability of print media and its effectiveness as part of cross-media communications.

Following welcome remarks by Ben Cooper, executive director of The Print Council, the USPS' David Mastervich discussed consumer preferences for traditional marketing channels. He quoted a study that found the average consumer is exposed to 2,904 marketing messages daily, will pay attention to 52 and will pay close attention to only four of them. Ink-on-paper messages help break through the clutter.

A successful multimedia campaign developed for Kelloggs, which incorporated print in conjunction with electronic channels and social media, was detailed by Jim Mikol, of Leo Burnett. Geared toward women who want to lose weight, the "Special K Challenge" resulted in a 53 percent increase in gross sales.

Mikol was followed by Xerox's Julie Higgins, who discussed examples of how direct mail incorporating variable data greatly improved response rates to cross-media marketing campaigns conducted by the Maine Tourism Bureau and Kennesaw State University.

And speaker Jim Dunn, of Heidelberg USA, pointed to the importance of quality printing reproduction and enhanced finishing techniques, such as foil stamping and embossing, to elicit a positive response from recipients.

Molly Foshay, of Sappi Fine Paper, closed the seminar with information about paper sustainability and recycling, and laid to rest many false conceptions about print's environmental impact in comparison to electronic alternatives.

Noting that direct mail/marketing materials make up only 2.4 percent of U.S. landfills, she pointed out that there are more trees growing in America today than the number of trees growing 70 years ago.