Out of home postcard company Avant Card has closed its doors due to falling sales and rising print costs.
SOS Print + Media group has been its printing partner since 2009. In 2016, Avant Card says it distributed 15 million postcards to more than 1,500 venues across the country, all printed by SOS.
Michael Schulz, director at SOS Print + Media Group says, “Every year we printed millions of postcards for the company, all offset.”
The postcards were typically full colour on one side and black on the reverse.
Avant owner and managing director Pat Mackle was unavailable for comment. The company has 30 staff members and has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It was founded 25 years ago, and claimed to reach more than six million people each week through its cards.
Shulz says, “We started working with them about ten years ago. They were one of my favourite customers as they tried out new designs and had a different way of distributing marketing content. It is a real shame.
“We hope the concept will live on as it is a great way of getting marketing to certain groups. There is no other way of getting your content to a Surry Hills coffee shops or universities and there is nothing else like this. I am hoping it will live on,” he says.
[Related: Printers cash in on card company partnership]
The management team at Avant blames the digital realm for putting the pressure on its company and taking market share from its biggest customers; art and culture, festivals, events and exhibitions.
The company is known for its advertising of creative events on free postcards placed at various cinemas, cafes, bars, universities, theatres, art and cultural institutions, retail, tourism sites and libraries across the country.
It was founded in 1992 providing a creative and visually appealing media format which it says reaches 6.1 million people each week. It had a strategically built national distribution network consisting of a diverse range of venues and coverages, targeting niche or mass consumer groups.
They have worked with companies such as the Sydney Theatre Company, The Australian Ballet, AFTRS, Art Gallery of WA and the Melbourne Theatre Company.
Mackle began the company 25 years ago with just 10 postcard display stands in Sydney cafes.
Its main products included postcards, mini-mags, folded posters and branded display banners. It also offered a national distribution network, a design studio, special print campaigns and post campaign reports and proof of posting.
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