The channel that leads to_a purchase

01

Press ads and direct mail are different buys

A press ad is bought into a title's readership and environment. Direct mail is bought by distribution area and arrives at the home without editorial content. Either can announce an offer, make the case for a product or build awareness. The ad's job is chosen by the campaign's objective, and print's weight is decided in the media plan.

41 %* of Finns look at printed direct mail delivered to their home at least weekly, 23 % read printed newspapers and 14 % printed magazines.

02

Who print reaches

Both reach older people best. Among 60 to 74-year-olds, 57 %* look at printed direct mail weekly and 31 % read printed newspapers, against 24 % and 18 % of 18 to 29-year-olds. In our campaigns, too, print has reached older audiences regionally in a way digital channels have not replaced.** Younger audiences need other channels alongside.

For the press, readership decides: a national newspaper, a magazine and a local paper reach different people. For direct mail, the distribution area decides, and it can be drawn around the store or branch.

03

When to invest in print

Print pays off when the audience reads the title or looks at direct mail, when the business is local and the distribution area can be defined, or when the message needs room for product details, comparison or the terms of an offer. A magazine can also suit awareness building when its readership matches the audience.

13.8 %*, about 546 000 people, say they bought something because of printed direct mail in the past three months. The figure applies to printed direct mail only. It is self-reported, not measured sales.

04

Assets and print deadlines

The press needs ad versions in each title's size and to its specifications. Direct mail needs the right offers and store details for each distribution area. Print deadlines lock the asset earlier than digital channels do, so the offer and the price have to be decided in good time.

The campaign idea usually comes from the advertising agency, and we help turn it into print versions.

05

How we plan

We choose newspapers, magazines, local papers and direct mail distribution areas by where the audience lives and where the store is. We negotiate the buy with publishers and distributors and make sure every version reaches the printer on time.

* NØRR3 Media Insights, wave 9, Norstat panel, August 2026, n = 2 022, aged 18 to 74, margin of error up to ±2.2 percentage points. Age groups: 18 to 29-year-olds n = 400 (±3.8–4.2 percentage points), 60 to 74-year-olds n = 559 (±3.9–4.1 percentage points). Buying because of direct mail = the respondent's own report for the past three months, printed direct mail only. ** NØRR3's own campaign bank, campaign reports 2024–2026: each lesson recurs in campaigns across at least two industries and two advertisers.