Your Fall Print Marketing Checklist: Get Ahead of the Year-End Rush

Summer has a way of making fall seem farther away than it really is. Then September arrives, trade shows start, sales promotions ramp up, holiday projects hit the calendar, and suddenly everyone needs their print yesterday.

A fall print marketing checklist gives you a chance to get ahead of that rush.

You don’t need to rethink your entire marketing program. Take a hard look at what you already have, what you’re going to need over the next four months, and what you can start now instead of scrambling later.

Here are some good places to start.

1. Pull Out Your Current Marketing Materials

Start with the print your sales team and customers use every day.

Look at your:

• Business cards
• Brochures
• Sales sheets
• Pocket folders
• Product literature
• Presentation materials
• Forms
• Leave-behinds

Don’t simply ask if you have enough.

Ask if they’re still right.

Have products changed? Did someone’s title or phone number change? Are you still promoting a service that isn’t a priority anymore? Does the photography look dated? Does everything still follow your current brand standards?

Marketing materials tend to stay in circulation much longer than anyone realizes. Fall is a good time to retire the pieces that have outlived their usefulness.

2. Check What’s Hanging on the Walls

Printed marketing isn’t limited to what fits in a sales folder.

Walk through your office, showroom, retail space, warehouse or customer-facing areas and look at what’s actually on display.

Check:

• Wall graphics
• Lobby signage
• Window graphics
• Posters
• Directional signs
• POP displays
• Menu boards
• Product signage
• Safety and informational graphics

A sign can be technically correct and still need replacing.

If it’s faded, damaged, curling at the corners or promoting something you stopped talking about two years ago, your customers notice.

And if you’re already replacing it, it may be the right time to rethink the size, material or location instead of simply printing another copy of the same thing.

3. Look at Your Fall Calendar Before Ordering Anything

Before you start printing, look at what’s coming.

Mark down:

• Trade shows
• Conferences
• Sales meetings
• Open houses
• Customer events
• Product launches
• Community events
• Seasonal promotions
• Recruiting events

Then work backward.

A trade show happening October 15 isn’t an October project. Booth graphics, handouts, promotional products and shipping may need to be finalized weeks earlier.

Planning ahead also gives you more options. You can consider different materials, finishing techniques, custom shapes or display systems instead of choosing whatever can be produced fastest at the last minute.

4. Give Your Direct Mail List a Checkup

If direct mail is part of your fall or holiday marketing, don’t wait until the artwork is finished to look at your mailing data.

Start with the list.

Remove duplicates. Update addresses. Separate customers from prospects. Identify inactive customers you may want to win back. Look for opportunities to segment your audience by location, purchase history, customer type or another factor that lets you make the message more relevant.

Today’s direct mail can go much further than sending the same postcard to everyone.

Variable data can change names, images, offers and messaging. QR codes can take recipients directly to a landing page, appointment scheduler, product page or offer. Personalized URLs and offer codes can also help you measure response.

The printing is only part of a successful mailing. Better data usually leads to better marketing.

5. Make Print and Digital Work Together

Your customer doesn’t think in terms of “print marketing” and “digital marketing.” They simply see your brand.

Use fall campaigns as an opportunity to connect the two.

For example:

Postcard → QR code → Landing page → Email follow-up

Or:

Trade show display → QR code → Product information → Sales follow-up

Or:

Printed catalog → Website → Retargeting campaign

A QR code by itself isn’t a strategy. Give people a reason to scan it.

“Scan to learn more” isn’t nearly as useful as:

• Scan to schedule a demo
• Scan to get the fall offer
• Scan to see the full product line
• Scan to request samples
• Scan to register
• Scan to watch the product in action

Print gets the message in front of someone. Digital can take the conversation from there.

6. Take Inventory of Your Trade Show Gear

Don’t find out your retractable banner is broken when you’re setting it up in a convention hall.

Pull your event materials out now.

Set up the displays. Open the cases. Check the graphics. Count the handouts. Look at the table cover. Make sure the people pictured on your booth graphics still work for the company.

Also check your promotional products.

If you have 400 pens nobody wants and 12 of the item everyone keeps asking for, that’s useful information.

Fall is a good time to replenish your better-performing giveaways or try something that has more value to the person receiving it.

7. Start Holiday Projects Before the Holiday Rush

Holiday printing always seems to start earlier than expected.

Now is the time to start thinking about:

• Holiday cards
• Customer gifts
• Branded merchandise
• Employee recognition
• Year-end appeals
• Fundraising mailings
• Calendars
• Annual reports
• Sales incentive materials
• Packaging and kitting
• New Year’s promotions

Promotional products deserve extra lead time. Some items have longer production schedules, and popular products can become harder to source as the holidays get closer.

If you’re planning a customer gift kit, don’t think of the individual pieces separately. Consider the complete experience: packaging, printed insert, promotional item, personalized card, assembly and shipping.

That’s where planning early really pays off.

8. Think About What Happens After It’s Printed

One question that gets overlooked is: Where is all this stuff going?

If you’re producing materials for multiple salespeople, dealers, branches or locations, printing may only be the first step.

Think about:

• Inventory
• Warehousing
• Kitting
• Pick-and-pack
• Distribution
• Online ordering
• Version control
• Shipping to multiple locations

There’s little value in saving money by printing a larger quantity if half of it becomes obsolete sitting on a shelf.

For recurring materials, an online storefront and inventory program can also give your team access to approved materials without having everyone order independently.

Don’t Wait Until Everything Is an Emergency

Fall gets busy. Then the holidays arrive. Then everyone wants their January projects before they leave for Christmas.

You know how this goes.

Spend an hour reviewing your fall print marketing checklist now. Identify what needs updating, what needs ordering and what should already be in development.

Then prioritize the projects with fixed event dates, longer production times or multiple moving parts.

At Graphic Solutions Group, we handle print, direct mail, large-format graphics, promotional products, inventory, fulfillment and distribution under one roof. If you have several fall projects coming at once, bring us the whole list.

We can help you determine what needs to happen first, find opportunities to combine projects, and get your marketing ready before the year-end rush gets here.

Start here:
👉 https://www.gsghome.com

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