The Print Council

The average email open rate increased to 27.2% in Q3 of 2012, representing the highest rate in at least 2 years, finds Epsilon. Click rates remain near a 2 year low at 4.5%.

Nine of 10 businesses plan to increase or maintain marketing spend in 2013 -- with email and social media marketing as top priorities, followed by mobile.

Irrelevant posts top the reasons why one in 3 social media users stop following or "un-like" a company or brand on a social network.

Smartphones now account for 17% of total time spent with the Internet across all devices, compared to 12% in 2011. Social media activities accounts for 31% of smartphone minutes.

Thanks primarily to political campaigns and the summer Olympics, total advertising expenditures in the third quarter of 2012 increased 7.1% from a year ago.

A UC survey finds the majority of Americans support a Do Not Mail (DNM) initiative. The authors state: "Given the importance of advertising mail as an industry, and of the USPS to United States economic, security, and social interests, our findings could serve as a wake-up call to markets, the USPS, and regulators to more fully explore citizens’ rejection of direct advertising mail and find ways to address their concerns while preserving the fundamental service provided by the USPS."

A survey by UC Berkeley School of Law finds 81% of Americans support a Do Not Mail (DNM) initiative.

A new study from Scarborough shows media engagement by younger people has evolved over the past ten years with a transition from traditional news media toward more digital media.

U.S. newspaper advertising revenues continue their decline (-5.1% YOY), though the decreases have slowed.

A third of small town and rural residents rely solely on traditional forms of media (print newspaper, local TV) for their local news than those in larger cities and suburbs.