“Print With Purpose” shares compelling statistics on the result-generating power of printed communications

“Print With Purpose” defines the role of print in the rapidly-evolving marketing landscape and demonstrates its positive impact on the bottom line. This new resource from Appleton Coated is designed to provide insight and inspiration to decision-makers involved in choosing print, and to all who play a role in its creation and execution. Powerful statistics and supporting commentary explain how printed communication drives action and delivers results. To receive a copy, call 1-800-663-1813.

Appleton Coated compiled this data-rich content based on discussions with direct marketing professionals, industry thought-leaders and the most current industry research. “We’ve found print’s role in the marketing mix is as vital as ever,” says Phil Cavalier, vice president of marketing at Appleton Coated. “Its engaging, tactile and interactive qualities create a personal connection, and through this emotional association, brands are built. It’s portable and influential. It’s the preferred format for senior executives for gaining insightful, informative analysis. Generationally, the majority of (Baby) Boomers value printed and posted materials for their privacy, security and reliability. Across all audiences, print ignites action online, sparks interest and trial, and leads to sales, response and loyalty.”

“Print With Purpose” succinctly describes these traits, backs up the observations with facts and figures, and presents the information in a stop-you-in-your-tracks visual package. Appleton Coated’s sales and marketing team previewed the piece with key paper merchants and printers. Cavalier says, “We’re getting a remarkable reception. We’re hearing that the timeliness and importance of this piece is already opening doors that would never have been cracked.”

Steve Plattner, vice president of Bridgetown Printing in Portland, Ore., agrees, “I can claim, ‘Print does a great job and delivers effective results,’ but a customer will ask specifically how print can help their business. This piece helps me answer that question. Instead of talking in vague platitudes or emphasizing the ephemeral and ethereal aspects of paper, Appleton Coated has gathered some strong statistics supporting the significant role print plays in communication.”

“I like that “Print With Purpose” shoots down a lot of myths we’re encountering in our industry. Most importantly, I like how it explains that print and online can work together,” says Tony Harris, vice president of sales and marketing of Monroe Litho in Rochester, N.Y. “We keep hearing that print’s going away and everything is moving online. People say this because they think moving to an almost exclusively online presence costs less and that it’s more green. This is not necessarily true. Going online is not necessarily a greener option than printing, nor does printing green mean it will cost more.”

For example, Harris points out: “If you print a catalog and send it to 10,000 people, you can make responsible choices about how it’s printed and it can be recycled when someone’s done with it. If you have 10,000 people turning on their computers to click through your Web site, it’s not necessarily saving energy or resources.”

“Appleton Coated does a good job of showing that these are not mutually exclusive choices: Print drives traffic online and online reinforces the printed message.” Harris also emphasizes, “It’s so important to talk with people about their choices and what really is going to make a difference in their environmental and sales goals.”

Echoing this sentiment, Todd Kalagher, president of Finlay in Bloomfield, Conn., says, “The easiest thing in the economic climate to do is to cut and slash budgets. We need to help our customers understand that they not only can make economical choices, they can hit two birds with one stone, making economical and environmental choices. … ‘Print with Purpose’ clearly positions the relevance of print in today’s economic climate, its impact on marketing and its contribution to the bottom line.”

“At a time when our economy is somewhat battered and our industry has taken a hard hit, I am very pleased to see Appleton Coated lead the challenge in a positive, constructive manner,” adds Bridgetown Printing’s Plattner. “Because the print industry is so fragmented, so competitive, and so large it makes it hard for us to come together as an industry with a uniform voice to communicate the value of print. This is a rare and useful effort that promotes that message for us. We’ve shared the brochure with our sales force so they can carry the message on to our clients where it can have real impact.”

“In a time when many companies are not spending money on printed materials, it’s admirable that Appleton coated has the courage to do this,” says Brad Barnard, director of sales and marketing at Cenveo/ColorGraphics in Seattle. “They’ve presented a quality piece in its research, printing and creative. For us, this piece stimulated thinking about how we speak to our customers about the importance of print in direct marketing.”

Michael Keene, president and CEO of The John Roberts Company in Minneapolis shares a similar reaction: “Print does work. Appleton has laid out the statistics in big, bold numbers to demonstrate this fact. I believe that direct mail is the least intrusive way to reach someone with your message. I can go to my mailbox whenever I want, I can look at it when I want and when I do, I will pay attention. It’s one of the few marketing tools that where I have the control. With Internet, television or radio advertisements, they come at me attempting to deliver their message when they want to. With direct mail, I’m the one going to it.

Keene admits, “I use electronic communication all the time, but I’m passionate about print. I love the tactile. I prefer reading toner or ink on paper rather than digital screens. There is a permanence to print.” He also is passionate about teaching others about environmentally responsible choices in printing and paper. “Sharing ‘Print With Purpose’ is one way to do this. It’s refreshing that someone would approach the subject in this educational way. Educating our customers and bringing these messages to them is important.”

Robert Brown, sales and marketing manager with Kirkwood Printing in Wilmington, Mass., also has shared “Print With Purpose” in a number of high-end client conversations. “In an industry where price is absolutely the first question, we work in a nice space where our customers are more concerned with what it will look like, how it will pull, and whether it will be delivered to market at the critical time.”

Kirkwood Printing’s customers are sophisticated, quality-oriented and include consumer goods and retailers, colleges and universities, museums and auction houses. “Sotheby’s knows that their auction catalog is how they sell their products. If someone is buying a Renoir, they want to see something that’s as close as possible to the real product.”

Finlay’s Kalagher continues, “We all know that we don’t print unless we have something going through the presses, but Appleton Coated helps us discuss the application of the stock in a way that others don’t. The materials they provide help us talk more easily with our customers about the choices they’re making and the reasons behind them.”

To further assist the reader, “Print With Purpose” contains a checklist on strategy and execution for purposefully printed communication. Designed by The Thorburn Group in Minneapolis it features images by Minnesota-based photographer Ben McKean and photo stylist Maureen Burns. The Hennegan Company of Florence, Ky., printed the piece using Appleton Coated U1X:Green cover and text paper.

“We’re thrilled to be a part of it,” says Daniel Bailey, president of The Hennegan Company. “The research and theory presented in ‘Print With Purpose’ goes well-beyond Appleton Coated trying to sell paper. It transcends their business to help ours. …We need to get this in front of people so they read and understand the facts: print directly influences purchasing decisions.” He adds, “I’ve rarely been so positive about both the quality production and substantive content of a piece.”

Hennegan advised on the techniques described in the page-by-page production notes in “Print With Purpose” detailing how the richly saturated photos and the bold solids maximized each finish in the U1X:Green family. U1X:Green is part of the Utopia brand of coated printing papers. A Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified product, it is manufactured with 20% post-consumer recovered fiber and electricity in the form of renewable energy. Available in gloss, silk, and matte finishes and up to 120 lb. cover, U1X:Green may be specified in traditional folio or digital sizes and web applications. The Utopia Express Custom Size Sheet Program allows U1X:Green customers to save time, money, and resources with ‘two-days to ship’ service on custom-size sheets.

Appleton Coated offers the most comprehensive lineup of premium coated papers available today marketed under the Utopia brand. From the elegance of Premium to hardworking Utopia Three, the Utopia family of coated papers offers six ways to ignite a passion for paper and the environment. Appleton Coated is headquartered in Kimberly, Wisconsin.

Filed under: Appleton Coated, CLIENT NEWS, Type-Paper-Print