While we’re all glued to our screens - in work and at home - there are few things that can break through the digital noise and stop us in our tracks, which leaves brands and marketing teams with a unique (and sizable) challenge.
Is print marketing on the rise? How effective is print marketing in boosting brand engagement? What can we do with print that hasn’t been done before? In this blog, we’ll answer the key questions surrounding print marketing in 2025, exploring key trends and offering insights that will help you leverage this traditional marketing method to stand out and stay ahead.
- A Quick History of Print Marketing
- Print in the Present — Where Is Print Marketing in 2025?
- Direct Mail is Still Producing Results
- People Love Personalised Print
- Sustainability is a Big Deal
- Print is Becoming Increasingly Interactive - Recent Print Campaigns We Love
- The Future of Print Marketing — What the Experts Say
- How Big Is Sustainability in Print?
- How to Make the Most of Your Print Marketing
A Quick History of Print Marketing
Whilst it’s clear that, like most evolutionary advancements, print marketing took a step back to its digital successor, print is still widely used to complement brands’ marketing efforts, and can even be the central focus of a campaign.
Print in the Present — Where Is Print Marketing in 2025?
Despite common misconceptions about the world going 100% digital, print marketing definitely isn’t dead. In 2025, print marketing continues to be a powerful method for brands to get their message out there.
Here are just a few of the key print marketing trends we’ve discovered for 2025 — and no doubt beyond.
1. Direct Mail is Still Producing Results
Recent research shows that, contrary to popular belief, mail marketing is definitely still going strong.
With so much of our content speed-served to us online, direct mail creates a unique impression that digital marketing simply can’t recreate — it’s tangible. Whilst great digital content can temporarily stop you in your tracks, nothing leaves a lasting impression like the printed materials that have come through your letterbox.
And you can expect even better results if you pair your print marketing efforts with personalisation.
Direct Mail in 2025: The Stats
- In terms of open rates, direct mail outperforms email marketing, with an average open rate of 60%
- Likewise, direct mail boasts a higher than average read rate too, with 40% of recipients reading and actively engaging with the content
2. People Love Personalised Print
Marketers have been experimenting with personalisation in their digital marketing efforts for a number of years now, with great results.
However, with the advent of print technologies, even the largest printed campaign can embrace personalisation, leading to greater impact and stronger brand-audience connections.
Data from research completed in 2021 shows that 52% of consumers report higher satisfaction when their brand experiences are more personalised.
A similar study completed by McKinsey & Co. shows that 71% of customers expect personalised experiences, with 76% expressing frustration when they don’t receive them.
In 2025, there’s no reason to believe that there have been any major deviations from this personalisation trend.
When it comes to personalising your print campaigns, there are a few key opportunities you can leverage to make messages resonate with your target audience. Thanks to variable data printing, you can deliver materials with individual designs, messages, and customisations for each recipient without incurring astronomical cost.
3. Sustainability is a Big Deal
Sustainability is a top priority for consumers in 2025, with reports from across the globe showing an increasing percentage of consumers shopping with sustainability in mind. For example, in 2024, research completed by The Roundup showed:
- 78% of consumers feel sustainability is an important factor when shopping
- 55% of consumers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly brands
- 51% of consumers avoid products that they know are bad for the environment
Thankfully, by pairing with a sustainable printer, you can still create impactful, personalised print marketing while minimising environmental impact. Look out for:
- Biodegradable and recyclable print materials
- Environmental certifications like FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), which ensures responsible sourcing
4. Print is Becoming Increasingly Interactive
Interactivity may be something you usually associate with a screen, but in 2025, print is becoming more interactive than ever before. Interactive print combines traditional print methods with the latest technologies to create engaging experiences for your audiences.
Think QR codes and augmented reality (AR) — two tools which can be incorporated into any print campaign to enhance engagement and bring audiences closer to your brand.
This type of print marketing offers greater tracking metrics too, as engagement is measured each time a QR code is scanned, giving you real-time data on how your printed marketing efforts are performing.
Recent Print Campaigns We Love
1. Build Your Own Satellite with Inmarsat
In 2023, Inmarsat launched an ingenious print campaign that got a host of industry professionals talking.
Satellite IoT is a huge growth market. To meet the demand, companies across the globe had plans to design, launch, and maintain their own constellations of small satellites — all without fully appreciating the complexities or the huge financial implications of such a project.
Inmarsat wanted to persuade IoT companies and investors to ditch their costly plans and plug into Inmarsat’s existing satellite constellation instead.
Their audience: Busy IT professionals
Their aim: Change current course of action and generate new leads
Their solution: A direct mail campaign packaged as a “Build Your Own Kit”, with the first component of the “Build Your Own Satellite Constellation” included. This arrived as a solitary nut and bolt, packaged as a compelling piece of direct mail. When recipients took a closer look, they would realise the enormous cost, the 42,000 installments, the high risk of failure, and the lack of guarantees, making Inmarsat’s offer irresistible.
Credit: marketreach
Their impact: The kit opened new conversations, and as a result of the campaign, Inmarsat gained 19 positive sales leads with £34.8M likely revenue and a potential ROI of 40,230%.
2. Make Your Mark with Salford University
In 2020, Salford University sought a new way to engage with their prospective students, celebrating all of the university’s strengths while trying to encourage those who had been offered a place to choose Salford for their higher education journey.
Their audience: Prospective undergraduate students, potentially with several university offers
Their aim: Encourage as many students as possible to choose Salford University for their studies
Their solution: A visually striking mailer containing a curated lanyard and information pack landed through the letterboxes of those who had been offered a place to study at the university.
Their impact: The mailer left a lasting impression on recipients, with a significant amount of prospective students responding positively and accepting their place of study
Created by the team here at B&B Press, the print production for this project was executed on a cutting-edge LED UV press, ensuring that the colour remained vivid, vibrant, and consistent with the university’s established branding.
The Future of Print Marketing — What the Experts Say
As we’ve seen, print marketing continues to hold value and generate impressive results despite the rise of digital advertising — but why?
As we look ahead to the rest of 2025 and beyond, our experts remain confident that print marketing will continue to be a thriving trend, embraced by brands in every sector to better connect with their audiences. That’s because:
- Printed materials encourage physical engagement which digital channels just can’t replicate. Their tangibility not only leaves a longer-lasting impression, but it also contributes to the credibility of the brand, as print ads in reputable publications or physical formats (when done well) convey a sense of legitimacy and trustworthiness.
- Print marketing allows for precisely targeting specific demographics and geographic areas, enabling brands to tailor campaigns to reach interested audiences with higher response rates and ROI.
- Print materials have been shown to improve brand recall and recognition, leaving a stronger imprint that digital ads. This, combined with the longevity of print materials, provides sustained exposure and brand reinforcement over time. When created with impactful design and combined with functionality, printed marketing materials can stay in homes, offices, or public spaces for months, providing a consistent reminder of your brand and its mission.
- Advances in printing technology enable highly personalised print materials tailored to individual preferences and behaviours, allowing brands to deliver targeted and relevant messages to specific audience segments. Print marketing offers unique advantages that complement digital strategies, helping brands to connect with consumers in tangible, credible, and memorable ways.
How Big Is Sustainability in Print?
In 2025, sustainability is a hot topic — not just in print, but across the board. Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of their own impact on the environment and are adapting their shopping habits accordingly. As a result, more and more consumers are looking to purchase from brands who are likewise making efforts to minimise their environmental impact.
When it comes to your printed marketing efforts, it’s key to recognise the importance of adopting sustainable printing solutions to reduce your ecological footprint and appeal to those who shop with sustainability front of mind.
By partnering with a sustainable print partner, you can ensure your print marketing isn’t coming at the planet’s expense.
Print marketing is greener than you think. The paper and printing sector is one of the lowest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases (contributing less than 1% of all EU greenhouse gas emissions) and, at 72.3%, the European paper recycling rate is approaching the theoretical maximum of 78%.
Additionally, the European paper and printing sector is deeply invested in giving back, with European forests growing at an impressive rate (the equivalent of 1,500 football pitches daily).
Print can be a sustainable practice when you know who to team up with. As a proud Carbon Balanced Printer, B&B Press can help you deliver high-quality, impactful print campaigns without impacting the environment.
How to Make the Most of Your Print Marketing
The best print marketing efforts are those that combine impactful design, functionality, personalisation, and bold messaging to reach the right audience — and they do it all without negatively impacting your carbon footprint.
Looking to enhance your marketing campaigns with sustainable print? Get in touch with our team today to learn more about our practices and how we can help you maximise engagement through print.
