Hi, Frank Romano from WhatTheyThink.com.  I would like to direct your attention to a wonderful publication/information source that many people may not know about.  It’s called Print in the Mix.  It’s published by the Print Counsel and the research is done through RIT, the editor of this DOP is at RIT, and what it is, is a compendium of information about print and electronic forms of communication.  I mean where today many marketing people think that making an email blast is because it’s cheaper then printing it and mailing it, that somehow they’re saving money and getting the same effectiveness is something that someone has to dispel.  And so Print in the Mix, Print in the Mill that would be a good one, Print in the Mix looks for information that is verifiable, that has been done through some research organization and then leads you to it.

So for instance in this particular issue, and by the way this is their third anniversary issue, volume three, number one, for instance is an article, “Young Adults Prefer Offline Marketing Offers” and they give you the statistics, small business owners say that print ads are most effective.  Online ads annoy more then they appeal; I agree with that one.  The Household Diary Study talks about mail use and attitudes for advertising mail.  Social media sites not a major source for recommendations or purchases.  Getting past the trash bin; Attribution Envelope Message, Envelope Characteristics and Intention to Open Direct Mail. 

Now this is only the tip of the iceberg because the website has much more information.  In fact, it archives everything that’s been done.  PrintintheMix.com and you can find in there as you scroll through it, you can find, and its categorized so you can find just about anything you want, so its categorized by research summaries, case studies, other resources, fast facts as they call them and the newest ones they put down, you know, young adults most trusting, the best print ads, then they talk about other summaries that they have.  It’s a well organized website, easy to get through and lots of information.  So if you’re a printer who’s publishing a newsletter to your clients and potential clients, it’s a great source of information about print and other attributes of print that compete in the electronic world.

Now it’s not again to be defensive as it is to provide realistic and meaningful information that would help someone you’re dealing with understand the difference between for instance making that email blast or using direct mail or using coupons or using coupons in print form versus electronic form.  So the information here is divided into all those categories and does a fantastic job helping you to understand what marketers are doing on one hand and what they believe on the other hand.  Because, again, we’re now in this age where you have marketing organizations trying to cut costs, at the same time they need to increase effectiveness and it’s a catch 22 for many of them because now they have to make a decision if I print it and mail it, there’s a cost associated with that, what is my return going to be.  And what’s happening is the marketing people today their schools are not teaching them how to analyze this stuff properly because we’re still teaching marketing the old way.  We’re still teaching marketing the way it used to be instead of marketing in the electronic age.  So that’s why we need meaningful information so the printers can provide their customers and potential customers with information they can apply in some way, shape or form.

So PrintintheMix.com, I recommend it highly because that’s my opinion.