PCI Partnership Summit Highlights Trends in Print and Mail Industry

Postal Center International (PCI), the leading print, mail, fulfillment, signs and marketing solutions partner, announced a culmination of insights and data released at its annual PCI Partnership Summit, held on March 8 – 10, 2023. This year’s edition of the Company’s signature speaker series was hosted in Florida at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. It included multiple events—a welcome reception, a speakers series and VIP facility tours—making it one more notable milestone in PCI’s continued efforts to drive print and mail leadership through innovation and data-driven business decision-making. PCI President & CEO Ismael Diaz, the PCI leadership team and esteemed category leaders were joined by numerous C-suite enterprise executives from across the country who gathered to learn more about the present and future state of the print and mail industry.

Highlights of Key Data and Insights*:

• Print is still showing solid growth and forecasts indicate it is still the go-to marketing tactic for years to come.
• Companies that find innovative ways to leverage variable data will stand out and increase open rates, engagement and conversion.
• Throughout 2023, printers and mail houses can expect moderate but persistent cost inflation, disruptive labor shortages, stiffened resistance to price increases and a weakened American economy to pressure margins.
• To help alleviate pressures, 71.7 percent plan to increase prices; 65.5 percent plan to control costs more efficiently; and 58.6 percent plan to invest more in capital to increase productivity.
• 73 percent of Americans prefer being contacted by brands via Direct Mail; 76 percent of customers trust direct mail over digital channels when they want to make a purchase decision; 70 percent say Direct Mail is more personalized than online interactions and other forms of advertising.

*Insights captured in the Alliance State of Industry Report; Modern Postcard, Direct Mail Statistics 2023; Forrester Report, April 2022 “Hybrid Experiences Bring Direct Mail into the Digital Age”; and SG360's 2022 Future of Direct Mail presentation, 2022 National Postal Forum

The PCI executive team from left to right: Henry Herrera, VP, major accounts development; Tom Roberts, senior VP, client experience; Dennis R. Garcia, executive VP and CFO; Chris Diaz, COO; Ismael Diaz, president and CEO; and Brian McGrath, chief information officer.

Power of Partnership Through Connections, Content and Creative Collaboration

The PCI Partnership Summit hosted events at both the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Postal Center International’s National Headquarters in a live, storytelling experience centered around building community and partnership among national leaders dealing with the challenges—and progress made—in the print and mail industry.

Session speakers, including Chief Customer & Marketing Officer & Executive Vice President of USPS Steven W. Monteith; President & CEO of BlueCrest Dennis LeStrange; President of Screen Americas Ken Ingram; Konica Minolta Director of Business Development, Industrial & Production Print Channel Muriel Bremer: and CEO of Printing United Alliance Ford Bowers delivered client-curated industry trends, business insights and brand building solutions through meaningful business content in a very dynamic forum.

PRINTING United Alliance CEO Ford Bowers delivers a keynote.

PCI President & CEO Ismael Diaz also shared details on the next stages of PCI’s national growth plans and discussed how first-of-its-kind initiatives like the PCI Partnership Summit series are helping enterprise companies address supply chain and workforce challenges affecting the print and mail industry to meet the demands of their business.

“Working across industries and verticals, identifying innovative ways to collaborate and leaning in to learn from each other is what the PCI Partnership Summit series is all about,” said Ismael Diaz, President and CEO, Postal Center International. “The outcome from our discussions is clear—print and mail are here to stay and remain an essential part of the marketing mix and when combined with PCI’s fully integrated suite of brand solutions, PCI offers clients nationwide a powerful return on investment.”

“Through our Delivering for America Plan, we are transforming our network to support the reliable delivery of mail and packages to 165 million addresses, six and seven days a week while ensuring the organization is self-sustaining and high performing,” said Chief Customer & Marketing Officer & Executive Vice President of USPS Steven W. Monteith. “Mail is the foundation of the network—and through events like the PCI Partnership Summit, business leaders across the country can learn how to balance industry trends, emerging technologies, and postal products and services such as USPS promotions to help them grow their businesses.”

Source: PCI

The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with In-plant Impressions. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of In-plant Impressions.