Printed Pocket Media – Pocket Sized Print and Marketing Products

The term Pocket Media was born in the 1990s with the introduction of Z Cards which were introduced to the world as a way to present an A4 sheet of information in a format that people would keep hold of rather than throw it away. The first Z Cards were made in Runcorn and though the product was patented, many imitations came onto the market soon afterwards and the whole genre was soon known as printed pocket media. Whilst early examples were credit-card-sized, any printed marketing product up to A6 in size can legitimately be described as pocket media. All it means is that it is pocket sized.

Handbag Media, Wallet Media and Purse Media

Being pocket sized is not the only criteria for a mini printed marketing product. It is equally important that the printed piece can be easily stashed away in a purse, wallet or handbag. It is for that reason that credit card sized products remain the most popular and the terms of printed handbag media, purse media or wallet media could just have easily have been coined as printed pocket media. The main aim is for the printed marketing product to be retained by the recipient and a product that feels neat and chunky in your hand is much more likely to end up in your pocket, purse, wallet or handbag that an A4 sheet.

Don’t waste your marketing budget on useless flyers

How many times have you walked down a busy shopping street and had a promotional leaflet thrust at you by a student trying to earn some spare cash? Three or four steps later and you spot a litter bin. In the leaflet goes and you haven’t even looked at it. What a waste of money, energy, resources and effort!

The same scenario exists at tradeshows and exhibitions and discarded leaflets can be seen littering the aisles and falling from overfull waste bins in every hall. It’s incredible how much money is wasted on tradeshow giveaways of this nature. Maybe in this instance they should be called tradeshow throwaways.

Pocket-sized print and marketing products make great Tradeshow Handouts

A tradeshow giveaway has to be compact so that they can be stored easily on your exhibition stand. Compact and chunky is best as these two attributes encourage the tradeshow visitors to keep hold of your printed promotional material. Your potential customer sees printed pocket media as receiving a printed product rather than a throwaway flyer.

A Variety of Styles of Printed Pocket Media and Pocket-Sized Marketing

As we said earlier, the Z Card was the first modern example of what became known as printed pocket media but there are many other examples on the market. We have quite a number of examples which qualify for the categories of printed handbag media, wallet media, purse media and printed pocket media. Our own credit-card-sized Foldilocks Card has been a popular addition to our range since it was introduced at the Millennium. Our swatch cards are another credit-card-sized option which is a popular alternative to a Z-Card.

Pocket Sized Information Products such as Maps and Guides

Printed pocket media can really apply up to size A6 which is the most popular size for our Starburst marketing product. Whilst we have made Starbursts from credit-card-size up to A4 it is the slim A6 option which holds the number one spot in customer popularity. Available as a 2-panel, 3-panel or 4-panel cover with either a single or double fold-out display, the Starburst is an extremely versatile choice of printed pocket media and often turns up as a map or a guide. However, we have chosen to showcase the mini-starburst in the pocket media section because of its credit card size.

Product-Specific Examples of Printed Pocket Media

Whilst the Foldilocks and Starburst are examples of printed marketing products that can be used in a plethora of circumstances, we have other products which are specific to one use only. A good example would be our Quality Card Carriers. Designed to hold plastic cards such as loyalty cards, incentive cards, gift cards and hotel key cards, these card holders add a prestigious appeal to any type of plastic card and are a massive aid to product branding. And, of course, they have the all-important size factor of being pocket-sized print media.