Print works for performance brands when it's bought and measured like digital: targeted with your customer data, given its own code or URL, tested against areas that didn't get it, and judged on cost per new customer. It works best for brands with a proven offer, customers you can find by geography or profile, and a customer value high enough to cover a higher upfront cost. Shared mail, package inserts and new mover programs are usually the easiest places to start.
Why performance brands are adding print
Most performance brands grow up on search and social. At some point those channels get more expensive or stop scaling, and print becomes one of the few places left to find new customers at a cost that works.
It reaches people digital is missing
Plenty of good customers rarely click ads. A physical piece in their mailbox or their order box reaches them in a place your competitors usually aren't.
People actually hold it
A mail piece gets handled, often more than once, and can sit on a counter for days. That's a very different kind of attention than a scroll past a social ad.
Targeting doesn't depend on tracking
Print is targeted by household and geography, so it isn't affected by cookie loss, iOS changes or platform data restrictions.
It makes search and social work harder
When print drops, branded search and direct traffic usually rise in the areas that got it. Measured together, print often makes your digital spend look better too.
Is print a good fit for your brand?
| Print is likely a good fit if | Wait before testing print if |
|---|---|
| Your offer already converts well online | You're still figuring out your offer or pricing |
| You know where your best customers live or what they look like | Your customers are too spread out to target by area or profile |
| Your customer value can cover a higher cost to acquire up front | You need every sale to pay back on the first order |
| You can track codes, URLs or orders by ZIP code | You can't tie orders back to where the customer lives |
| You can commit to a test big enough to read | You can only afford a single small drop |
Which print formats work best for performance brands
Reach every home in the areas you choose
Your piece goes into a mail package with a few other advertisers, which keeps the cost per home low. It works well for brands with broad appeal in the markets they serve.
Reach proven online shoppers
Your offer goes inside orders shipped by other brands, so it reaches people who just bought online. It's one of the best fits for DTC and subscription brands.
Reach households choosing new brands
People who just moved are picking new stores, services and products all at once. New mover programs reach them in the first weeks after the move.
Reach ready-to-buy readers
Newspaper inserts and magazine placements still drive response for coupons, retail offers and local services, especially when bought at remnant rates.
How to measure print like digital
Give every program its own code or URL
Use a unique offer code, URL or phone number for each program and drop so responses trace back to what drove them.
Match orders back to where print landed
Many people who respond to print never use the code. They search your brand or go straight to your site. Matching new customers back to the ZIP codes or households you mailed shows the full response, not just code redemptions.
Hold out some areas
Leave similar ZIP codes or markets unmailed and compare them to the areas that got print. The difference in new customers is what print added.
Watch branded search and direct traffic by area
Print usually shows up in digital too. A rise in branded searches and site visits in mailed areas is part of print's results.
Judge it on cost per new customer
Response rate alone doesn't tell you much. Look at what each new customer cost, what they're worth over time and how long it takes to pay back.
Cut what doesn't work before the next drop
Read results by ZIP code, drop the areas that underperform and add more like the ones that worked. Print gets more efficient with every round.
- One drop and done. A single drop rarely tells you much. Plan a test over several drops so you can see a pattern.
- Counting only code redemptions. Codes undercount print, sometimes by a lot. Matchback and holdouts show what codes miss.
- No clear offer. Performance print needs a reason to act now, the same as a good ad.
- Mailing everywhere. Pick areas that look like your best customers instead of covering every ZIP in a market.
- Keeping print separate from digital. Plan print with search and social so you can follow up with people who got the piece and see how each channel lifts the other.
What it looks like when it works
On one national home services program, rebuilding the model around revenue at the ZIP code level helped drive more than $139M in net sales. Read the case studies →
We'll look at your customer data, tell you where print is most likely to work, and show you how we'd test it. Print & offline media →