What Quad/Graphics (Vertis Communications, Webcraft Technologies) does

Quad/Graphics, Inc., operating commercially as Quad, is a publicly traded marketing experience (MX) company headquartered in Sussex, Wisconsin and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker QUAD. Founded in 1971 by Harry Quadracci as a commercial printing business, the company has repositioned over time into an integrated marketing services provider whose offerings are organized under an MX Solutions Suite spanning five functional areas: Intelligence (Accelerated Marketing Insights built on a proprietary asset of more than 3 billion household data points), Creative (content creation and 3D Commerce scanning), Production (commercial print, packaging, in-store signage and displays, branded merchandise, managed services, postal optimization), Media (direct marketing and In-Store Connect retail media), and Technology (At-Home Connect direct mail automation, Local Connect local marketing platform, In-Store Connect retail media network). It also retains four wholly owned agency brands — Rise (omnichannel media), Betty (creative services), Favorite Child (brand design), and Direct (direct marketing). Its enterprise client base spans six verticalized industries — Consumer Packaged Goods, Retail, Direct-to-Consumer, Publishing, Financial Services, and Health — and includes named customers such as Kroger, Red Bull, Abbott, Ulta Beauty, SiriusXM, Humana, Amazon, Hearst, US Bank, and Dotdash Meridith.

Quad makes money primarily through B2B enterprise engagements sold via direct sales, structured as managed services and project-based work for major brand marketing organizations. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is understood to be quote-based and customized per client engagement. Distribution is direct and global: the company operates its own field sales motion alongside its four agency sub-brands and maintains a stated global footprint anchored in North America. Historically significant capital-allocation actions include the 2012 acquisitions of Vertis Communications and Webcraft Technologies to expand direct marketing and specialty manufacturing capabilities, a 2014 IPO on NYSE, and a 2016 corporate rebrand from Quad/Graphics to Quad reflecting the shift from a printing-services model to a multi-channel marketing experience model.

The technology backbone combines proprietary platforms (At-Home Connect, Local Connect, In-Store Connect, Accelerated Marketing Insights) with a 3-billion-household data asset used for audience targeting across print, digital, and in-store channels, and computer-vision-based 3D scanning technology that supports digital product rendering for commerce applications. No public AI foundation model, ML research publications, or patent portfolio details are disclosed in the source material; AI-adjacent capabilities are described as productionized features within the marketing stack rather than as standalone research programs.

Name

Quad/Graphics (Vertis Communications, Webcraft Technologies)

Legal name

Quad/Graphics, Inc.

Website

https://qg.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Quad is a publicly traded (NYSE: QUAD) marketing experience company that combines data, creative, production, media, and technology services under an integrated MX Solutions stack for more than 2,100 enterprise brands across CPG, retail, DTC, publishing, financial services, and health verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Marketing Services and Production: Integrated marketing experience services including creative production, print, packaging, media activation, and managed services sold as ongoing client engagements and project-based work.
2. Agency Services: Services from owned agencies (Rise, Betty, Favorite Child, Direct) providing omnichannel media, creative services, brand design, and direct marketing capabilities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Quad is a marketing experience (MX) company that delivers integrated solutions across five suites—Intelligence, Creative, Production, Media, and Technology—for enterprise brands. It provides commercial printing, packaging, in-store signage and displays, branded merchandise, managed services, postal optimization, content creation, direct marketing, retail media networks, and technology platforms (At-Home Connect, Local Connect, In-Store Connect) backed by over 3 billion household data points. It also operates four owned agencies (Rise, Betty, Favorite Child, Direct) that provide omnichannel media, creative services, brand design, and direct marketing capabilities.

Product overview

Quad is a marketing experience (MX) company operating under the Quad MX Solutions Suite architecture. The offering is organized into five integrated solution suites: Intelligence (Accelerated Marketing Insights with over 3 billion household data points for audience strategy), Creative (Content Creation and 3D Commerce scanning technology), Production (Commercial Printing, Packaging, In-Store Signage & Displays, Branded Merchandise, Managed Services, and Postal Optimization), Media (Direct Marketing and In-Store Retail Media Network), and Technology (At-Home Connect direct mail automation, Local Connect local marketing platform, and In-Store Connect retail media network). The portfolio also includes four agency sub-brands: Rise (omnichannel media), Betty (creative services), Favorite Child (brand design), and Direct (direct marketing). The company serves over 2,100 brands across industries including Consumer Packaged Goods, Retail, Direct-to-Consumer, Publishing, Financial Services, and Health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rise: Omnichannel media agency
• Betty
• Favorite Child
• Direct
• QuadMed
• In-Store Connect
• At-Home Connect
• Local Connect
• Accelerated Marketing Insights
• 3D Commerce

Products and services

• Commercial Printing Commercial printing services for marketing materials, catalogs, magazines, and promotional content for enterprise brand marketers.
• Packaging Packaging solutions for consumer products, including beverage packaging carriers and other branded packaging, for CPG and consumer brand clients.
• In-Store Signage & Displays In-store signage and display solutions for retail environments and point-of-sale activations serving retailer and brand clients.
• Branded Merchandise Branded merchandise and goods including apparel and promotional items for enterprise marketing and corporate clients.
• Managed Services Business process outsourcing and managed services for marketing operations, enabling clients to outsource marketing execution functions.
• Postal Optimization Postal optimization programs for catalogs and direct mail to reduce costs and improve delivery efficiency for marketers.
• Content Creation Creative content creation services combining boutique agency quality with global production scale for enterprise brand marketers.
• 3D Commerce by Quad 3D scanning technology that captures product images from multiple angles to create digital product representations for e-commerce and marketing applications.
• Direct Marketing Direct marketing agency services optimizing direct mail campaigns at scale for enterprise brand clients.
• In-Store Connect In-store retail media network with digital displays and kiosks reaching consumers at point-of-purchase, enabling targeted advertising for brand clients.
• Accelerated Marketing Insights Research and testing solutions providing accelerated marketing insights for campaign optimization, leveraging over 3 billion household data points.
• At-Home Connect Direct mail automation platform connecting brands with consumers at home through automated direct mail campaign execution and optimization.
• Local Connect Local marketing platform enabling localized marketing campaigns and optimization across multiple distributed locations.
• Rise Agency Omnichannel media agency specializing in integrated media activation and media strategies for enterprise clients.
• Betty Agency Creative services agency providing creative work and brand solutions for enterprise brand marketers.
• Favorite Child Agency Brand design agency specializing in brand design and creative campaigns for enterprise brand clients.
• Direct Agency Direct marketing agency focused on direct mail, customer acquisition, and data-driven campaigns across digital, programmatic, and traditional media.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves 2,100 brands globally

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Publicis Groupe: Publicis is a global advertising and marketing services holding company with creative, media, digital, and data-driven capabilities. It competes with Quad's integrated MX offering at the enterprise-brand level, with much greater scale and digital focus.
• WPP: WPP is the world's largest advertising holding company, offering creative, media, public relations, and marketing services globally. It is a broad incumbent competitor to Quad's agency sub-brands and creative/media offering, though operating at vastly larger scale and with a primarily digital focus.
• Omnicom Group: Omnicom is a global advertising and marketing services holding company spanning creative, media, digital, and specialty communications agencies. It competes with Quad's Rise and Betty agencies for enterprise creative and media mandates, though at significantly larger scale.
• Toppan: Toppan is a large Japanese printing and digital communications conglomerate with global commercial printing, packaging, and marketing services operations. It competes with Quad across commercial printing, packaging, and integrated marketing services but on a much broader geographic and capability footprint.
• Dai Nippon Printing: Dai Nippon Printing is one of the world's largest printing conglomerates, with diversified commercial printing, packaging, and marketing services operations. It is comparable to Quad as a broad-geometry print and marketing services incumbent, though significantly larger and more diversified.

Direct peers

• Cenveo: Cenveo is a North American commercial printing and packaging company serving enterprise customers across multiple verticals. It competes with Quad in commercial print, labels, and packaging production.
• HH Global: HH Global is a global marketing execution services company providing print, packaging, creative, and retail activation services to enterprise brands. It mirrors Quad's model of integrating production, creative, and in-store/experiential marketing under one managed-services roof.
• RRD (RR Donnelley): RRD is the closest direct peer to Quad, offering commercial printing, packaging, labels, and marketing services to enterprise clients across North America. Both companies share a legacy print-services heritage and have been pivoting toward integrated marketing services and digital communications.
• Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN): DFIN is a spinoff of the former RR Donnelley focused on financial printing, regulatory communications, and marketing services. It overlaps with Quad in commercial printing capabilities and serves similar enterprise clients in financial services and regulated industries.
• Transcontinental Inc. TC Transcontinental is a Canadian packaging and printing services company with a marketing services and in-store marketing arm. It directly competes with Quad in commercial printing, packaging, and retail marketing solutions across North America.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@quadgraphics
• Facebookfacebook.com/builtonquad
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/quadgraphics
• Instagraminstagram.com/builtonquad
• Xx.com/quadgraphics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Quad/Graphics (Vertis Communications, Webcraft Technologies)