Through this series of blogs, the campaign leaders of Value of Print, Choose Print, and Print Grows Trees are revealing the effects these campaigns are having on the industry and how they’re fighting to help educate print buyers.

In Part One Lisa Rawa, Vice President of Marketing for Printing Industries of America, gave insights into the successful Value of Print campaign, including reactions from industry members. Here in Part Two, we travel to Printing Industries of America’s southern California affiliate, Printing Industries Association, Inc. of Southern California (PIASC), and their solid campaign to educate consumers about print.

When we look at today’s marketing, we see that it’s heavily focused on “engaging” customers. Well what’s a more engaging medium than print? Print is tactile. It’s visual. And it is an essential part of a larger, interactive multi-channel marketing campaign.

The tactility of print is just one of the key messages promoted by Choose Print, the powerful multimedia campaign by PIASC. Since the campaign launched in January 2011, Choose Print has become another integral go-to resource for print professionals in California and beyond and featured at trade shows and in articles from industry publications.

We spoke with Ara Izquierdo, EVP/COO of PIASC as she shared how their strategic messaging is impacting consumers.

1. One significant advantage of print is no doubt its tangibility. How are you driving the tactile benefits of print, and what effects are you seeing from this messaging?

ChoosePrint is a multi-media campaign, so we have taken a multimedia approach to driving home this message.

Tactile Print Pieces are really our core medium.Among the pieces we have produced, there are two specific pieces that demonstrate the message. The first piece was “Print is Rich.” The front side of this postcard was 4-color process, embossed and engraved on 80# Classic Crest Smooth Cover Solar White stock. Mounted to this was the back side, which was Xerox color digital and foil stamped on 105# Esse Digital Cover Pearlized White. The second piece, “Touch,” is an engraved and blind embossed 8½ × 11-inch piece printed on Classic Crest Cover Avalanche White 100C Eggshell Finish.

Print delivers tactile information—just one of the reasons you should Choose Print.

These pieces have been used as Direct Mail and Magazine Inserts. “Print is Rich” was mailed out as part of a two-year postcard campaign targeting ad agencies and print buyers. The “Touch” piece was inserted into the May/June 2014 issue of GDUSA magazine.

Additionally, Trade Shows offer an opportunity to reach consumers. “Print is Rich” was distributed to designers and print buyers at the 2013 HOW Design Conference as well as numerous industry and non-industry events. “Touch” will be distributed at the 2014 HOW Design Conference.

Combining print and digital, QR codes on each piece linked to Videos showing their production and discussing the fact that part of the beauty of print is that it’s tactile.

Another medium we use are Articles. The March/April issue of GDUSA featured our article on “Print is Gloriously Tactile.” This article is now on the “Downloads” page of the ChoosePrint.org website, where it is readily available for reprinting in company newsletters and marketing materials.

Finally Social Media has been a valuable tool in promoting print’s tangibility on Facebook and Twitter.

The results of these efforts have been extremely positive. In fact, just seeing the reaction of the designers and print buyers at last year’s HOW Conference as they ran their fingers through the embossed lettering and gold engraved mask on the postcard said it all!

2. On the Choose Print website, you host a variety of educational resources. In what ways are these tools helping students and teachers? How do you think we can influence students’ views on printed and digital media as they become the next generation of print buyers?

The best way to influence students is with facts … and Choose Print is an educational campaign loaded with facts. There are numerous studies and stats that show that young people still favor print; therefore, print itself does a good job of attracting the next generation of print buyers.

To encourage them to choose print, we provide them with the information that confirms print’s value: that print is not only recyclable, renewable, and sustainable—it’s also a proven way to drive online sales and deliver results.   

Read Part One of the blog series, “In the Name of Print,” here. Stay tuned for Part Three! Learn more about the Value of Print by visiting www.printing.org/valueorprint. Check out the Choose Print website at http://chooseprint.org/index.html.