Print with Purpose

Yesterday we had a sales rep from the Appleton paper mill visit us at Bridgetown and give a demonstration on the dynamic power of print. He threw around several statistics that were surprisingly compelling. I say surprising because I, even as a print sales rep, was unaware of just how green an option printed collateral is. For example:

- 45 million tons of paper were recycled in 2007

- 10 million acres of U.S. forestland has been added in the last 20 years

- 40% of standard mail was recovered/recycled in 2007 (up 24% from 2003)

- 2% is the ACTUAL amount of waste generated by advertising mail

So now that we know how green print is, I'd like to challenge you to think about how compelling print is as an advertising medium. For instance:

- Consumers are twice as likely to buy online when they receive a printed catalog first

- 67% of online action is driven by offline messages

- 80% of people say they read or skim direct mail (and 38% find it interesting!)

- 75% say they have made a purchase because of direct mail, only 65% say they made a purchase because of email

- 40% have tried a new business for the first time due to direct mail

Ok, I could go on all day with the statistics, but I don't want to bore you...it's Friday! The bottom line is that, due to the increase in technology and online advertising, print has been getting a bad rap. It's misconstrued as being harmful to the environment, "old school", or ineffective. I hope these statistics reaffirm the notion that nothing beats being able to hold a piece of advertising in your hands, the touch and feel of it. I will end with a quote:

"A print piece is more effective than a screenful of information. Print has substance and weight - it is in my hand; it is reality. Print has texture and thus affects more senses." -Frank Romano

To learn more about Bridgetown's environmental standards: http://www.bridgetown.com/environmental.html