News
12/16/2013
David Ashton

There is a reason retailers put samples and displays in high-traffic areas. People who can openly see and touch the merchandise are more likely to make a purchase. The same concept also works in print.

People who interact with a printed piece are more likely to respond to its message. It’s why interactive elements such as lift flaps, QR Codes, and “create your own” brochures are so effective. People who take the time to interact with the piece have already established an emotional connection with the message and with your company.

Consider the example of personalized college brochures. Colleges and universities send out mailers to high school seniors in the target demographic, inviting them to a personalized URL where they can get more information on the school. Prospective students log in to the personalized min-site where they can select the course tracks, extra-curricular activities, and other information they are interested in. The school then prints and mails out the brochures, usually within the next 24 – 48 hours.

Not only are response rates to these campaigns higher than traditional campaigns, but the enrollment rates among the students who create these personalized brochures are consistently higher, too.

Not every marketer has the budget “create your own” products online, of course. Nor is such sophistication always necessary. There are lots of ways to get people to interact with print. Recipients can lift a flap. Press a button. Scan a QR Code. Pull out a glued-on accordion-fold message panel.

The point is simply that once they do interact with the piece (and there are lots of ways to do that), people are more likely to respond to the message because they have a vested interested in it. In essence, they now “own” part of the message.

Talk to us about how you can create a more interactive component in your next 1:1 print marketing piece!


Linemark is a privately-owned and operated printing & communications company headquartered within close proximity of the Washington DC / Baltimore Metro areas (Upper Marlboro, MD). Linemark is one of the fastest growing companies in the region within the communications industry. Operating 24 hours a day from a 90,000sq ft facility, the intensely customer focused company delivers solid and innovative solutions to their client base of associations, corporations and non-profit organizations.

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