Ad Consent Now A Top Issue For Publishers’ Organization, Says Chief (mediapost.com)

The coronavirus has been a life-changing event. We've never experienced anything like this before. Baby Boomers were young when polio was nearly eradicated with the Salk vaccine in 1955. At that time, very little was known about polio, which paralyzed and often killed young children. Science has greatly advanced since then. Even so, until we have a proven vaccine, the spread of COVID-19 will continue and the so called “new normal” will evolve and become even more of a reality with every day that passes. COVID-19 has brought about changes in ways we never imagined. Changes in the way we shop, how we work from home, homeschool our children, entertain ourselves, and so much more. What we wouldn't have imagined prior to the coronavirus is becoming the new normal today. Some of the changes we've made will revert back to the old way of doing things once the virus passes. Many of the changes will remain at least for an extended period of time. Many consumer catalog and online businesses have seen a significant increase in response to the way people shop during the coronavirus — i.e., “The COVID factor.” The increase varies by product category.

Melanie De Caprio, VP of Marketing at SG360°, discusses the key findings of a recent study confirming how B2C marketers value personalized direct mail as part of their marketing mix, and why consumers — especially digital natives — enjoy receiving relevant direct mail pieces. View short video at: https://www.piworld.com/xchange/digital-printing/study-confirms-marketers-consumers-preference-relevant-direct-mail/#ne=d7f0e6e16b0d037f71fc050491da5623&utm_source=today-on-piworld&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=2021-10-07

Retail print catalogs have often struggled at the expense of digital or online catalogs. As with so many aspects of our lives, the pandemic is causing change and lockdowns are proving that print is still very much a contender. It’s not hard to see why so many catalogs have transferred online. Digital does away with expensive printing and delivery charges and there’s no pulping of old catalogs or waiting around for new ones to be printed. The analytics associated with digital are now incredibly powerful, making it easy to collect large volumes of detailed data on user behaviors. An online catalog is a powerful package, so why is print making a comeback? With another national lockdown upon us, people are being forced to spend a huge proportion of their time at home and home is where print catalogs score. Recent research by Royal Mail revealed that 88% of people surveyed said they paid as much or more attention to mail during lockdown. This means leaflets and catalogs are far less likely to be dumped straight in the trash.