Sappi North America, Boston, Mass., USA, a producer and supplier of diversified paper and packaging products, this week announced that it was selected as the 2017 winner of the annual Positively Print award. Co-sponsored by NPES-The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing, and Converting Technologies, and Two Sides North America, the annual Positively Print award is given to the individual, company, or organization that develops a program or ad campaign which best illustrates the strengths, sustainability, and enduring value of print as a marketing medium. 

Sappi launched the Verticals series to examine individual vertical markets and the unique challenges, traditions, and idiosyncrasies each faces when communicating with its target audience. This first installment of the Verticals series, Verticals: The Marketing of Higher Education, aims to bring colleges and universities across the U.S. a set of best practices for attracting new students through in-depth research and case studies.  

Verticals: The Marketing of Higher Education brings industry statistics to life, busts myths on marketing to this demographic, and includes a five-page pullout full of special effects and cross-channel marketing tips. With competition stronger than ever, the publication creatively demonstrates how print, a sustainable choice, effectively cuts through digital clutter, helping colleges and universities create a lasting impression to stand out with students and their families.  

"Sappi North America's engaging and informational publication portrays the impact of print through a real-world example and also integrates facts about its sustainable production," said NPES President Thayer Long. Long co-announced the award at the close of the OUTLOOK 17 conference, held immediately prior to the opening of PRINT 17 running this week (Sept. 10 -14, 2017) at McCormick Place South in Chicago, Ill.

This is the eighth year for the Positively Print award, which recognizes an organization that promotes the power, sustainability, and effectiveness of print. "We want to showcase companies that effectively advocate for print," said award co-presenter Phil Riebel, president of Two Sides North America. "Sappi North America's Verticals: The Marketing of Higher Education publication is an outstanding example of such advocacy."

A copy of Verticals: The Marketing of Higher Education can be requested online.  

Sappi previously won a Positively Print award in 2015 for its Haptic Brain, Haptic Brand: A Communicator's Guide to the Neuroscience of Touch, which united neuroscience and branding to explore the many ways touch impacts how people perceive brands.

Sappi North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Ltd., a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with more than 12,000 employees and manufacturing operations on three continents in seven countries and customers in more than 150 countries around the world.