George Lois was perhaps the greatest print art director of the 20th Century. This image is from an impressive 2008 MOMA exhibit of his electrifying work at Esquire magazine. If he were alive today, George would also be a provocateur on the web.

…just like the Michael McDonald, James Ingram song.

When print comes back, it won’t be “like it never left”. There will be far fewer printers, budgets will be even tighter and volume will be smaller. Many printers will not have survived the recession and the sobering declaration of 2008, “Print is Dead”.

Mass mailings, elaborate annual reports, and newspaper ads… OK, those ARE disappearing. But, targeted, personalized direct mail and print advertising…
Not going away. Not ever. I talked to a printer last week and he framed the situation by pointing out the shift from ink to toner. That’s an enormous change, (and it’s certainly not for everyone,) but I find it encouraging because it means that personalization is very much alive in the printing world.

And when print comes back, I’m going to be there with a grin on my face, complete with my Pantone books, paper samples, metal rulers, #2 pencils with erasers, graph paper thumbnails, circle templates, folding dummies and business reply envelopes. Believe it!

Clearly, It will never again be like the good old days. Right now, I see a trend and it’s not a figment of my imagination: “Forget mail and print because, when compared to email and social media, it’s too expensive.”

Really? Are these FREE leads we acquire from email blasts, social media and web promotions? Hardly. How about the quality of that lead and the cost per lead and cost per closed customer?

You have to admit, there are few techniques that can hold a candle to the persuasive powers of a compelling, well-crafted letter. Sometimes, a great letter can take the place of a face-to-face sales call. And it’s not just a direct mail letter that can have a real impact… If you are reading even this far, I imagine you already know the power of a sparkling, brilliantly written direct mail package.

My brilliant friend Larry Ricci puts it like this: “Isn’t it worth 50 cents to get into someone’s pocket?”

Well, maybe it’s more like a dollar, given the higher price of postage and everything else. But his point is well taken, and I am convinced that print and direct mail WILL be back… because they work… and will continue to work well into the future.

*(An excellent, spirited performance of this R&B classic, by the way, can be seen on
YouTube…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HbbM-FG8lQ )