In this Marketing Mondays session, Patrick Whelan of Great Reach Communications explained why print is making a comeback in prospecting. Whelan, who has marketed for printers since 1995, said demand for print has surged over the past year. He attributes this to AI-generated “slop” flooding digital channels and eroding trust in them, while mailboxes have become far less crowded. He noted that printers have long been “shoemaker’s children” who rarely use print for their own marketing, held back by cost, perfectionism, and a lack of dedicated staff. As a remedy, he laid out a “print-first” strategy: Find prospects with AI. Use an AI marketing assistant to identify five or six well-matched prospects each week, instead of buying large lists. Lead with print. Open with a print piece, such as an oversized postcard with premium finishing. Follow up across channels. Add email, LinkedIn, a handwritten sales letter and website/blog content, and save the phone call for last. Repeat and keep in touch. Run the cycle at least twice, then move prospects into an ongoing “paddle wheel” of quarterly print and monthly email to stay top of mind with the 96% who aren’t ready to buy yet. His most urgent advice was for printers to overhaul their websites for AI search (AEO) before mailing anything. That means lean, original content on pillar service pages built around a clear brand differentiator, supported by FAQs, testimonials, schema markup and linked blog posts.

Digital printing, sustainability, agility, and operational discipline helped r-pac meet the exacting requirements of one of the world’s most recognizable brands.