The campaign, a joint venture with Direct Commerce magazine, kicks off at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, and aims to tackle the issue of a new generation of marketing executives that lack knowledge of direct marketing and in particular print's place within that.

Ecmod founder Jane Revell-Higgins said: "Print is the trigger behind a very high percentage of web visits and online orders, and retail store traffic - yet this is rarely, if ever, acknowledged. Not to mention the brand building power that comes from intelligent use of print or the overall return on investment that can be achieved from print."

Ecmod is running a series of seminars at the show, while the Direct Commerce magazine will feature regular columns on the subject.

Chris Terelak, marketing director at businesswear retailer and cataloguer Charles Tyrwhitt, said: "In the multichannel world, catalogues continue to have a pivotal role. They generate order peaks through all our channels - web, phones and retail - and they are strong brand communications. We never forget that they are also the key point of contact for customers who have limited engagement with ecommerce. Experience shows there are still results you can achieve through print but not on the web."

Tim Curtis, managing director Northern Europe, at clothing cataloguer Lands’ End, added: "Catalogues are an essential part of our marketing mix as they are still the best vehicle for retaining customer loyalty and lifetime value, even when those customers have been acquired online and transact online. They also continue to play a significant role in new customer acquisition, both here in the UK and in all the European markets we currently serve."

The ECMOD show runs from 30 November to 1 December.