In recent years, more businesses are remaining loyal to print while others switch to digital. Why? Because print marketing is a tried and tested method of communication. It is perceived as authentic and trustworthy, especially when digital marketing is so ubiquitous, impersonal, less memorable and intangible.
And the last thing you want is your marketing campaign getting lost in the fleeting digital clutter of today’s online world.
When people say that print marketing is dead, they are ignorant and uninformed.
In fact, print media has evolved with the help of new technology. Progress in printing methods, such as variable data printing, have also seriously lowered printing costs. So, if your business rules out print marketing without understanding the nature of modern printing, you’re missing out on valuable opportunities for growth.
Printed media can be physically touched, seen and engaged with. By using magazines, brochures, newspapers and flyers, you can gain a greater sense of constant exposure, unlike online ads and other digital methods. The fact that you can touch and feel print media taps into consumer’s ‘haptic memory’ (touch memory), which is proven to be the most lasting form of emotional connection. You can also give print media a customized, personal feel, which gives printed media unique trustworthiness. Recent studies have shown that potential customers are far more likely to trust your company when your marketing is presented via high-quality print, such as luxury brochures or thick gsm flyers.
Just think about your company newsletter, or magazines you enjoy, as well as the in-store magazines you receive as a loyal customer – it feels great to be able to touch and feel, and you can turn over the page as a reminder to go back to an article or tear out pages to add to your storyboard or scrapbook.
The impact of a well-designed printed piece will leave a long-lasting impression on anyone. With the increasing amount of time spent online, both at home and the office, seeing a printed marketing material brings a sense of value that’s sometimes lost in all the pixels we see daily.
Recent findings in the field of neuroscience suggest that print marketing offers special advantages in connecting with our brains. New research has again shown that content on paper affects our brains in different and more powerful ways.
The latest findings come from Temple University consumer neuroscience researchers. In a study conducted for the US Post Office, they found significant differences in the way our brains process the two ad formats. Some of the interesting findings were that paper ads engaged viewers for more time; a week later, subjects showed greater emotional response and memory for physical media ads; and physical ads caused more activity in brain areas associated with value and desire.
In a previous series of experiments, the same Temple researchers showed that the ventral striatum was the brain structure whose activity was most predictive of future purchasing behaviour. Notably, the latest set of experiments showed that physical media caused greater activation of the ventral striatum than digital media. While this doesn’t conclusively show that paper is more powerful than digital for stimulating intent to purchase, it is a finding worth exploring in more detail.
Using printed media, such as posters or leaflets, can help you reach your target audience much more easily. For a small business with a local reach, print marketing is very effective, as it creates local brand recognition and guides customers directly to your premises. Print marketing is an important part of any effective marketing campaign. If you want to reach people on the streets or target specific demographics (perhaps people who like certain types of holidays or prefer luxury cars), then you can’t beat print.
If you’re interested in learning more about well-designed materials, take a look at what local company Print on Demand can offer - print on demand, print marketing, and commercial printing. Their in-house design team has over a decade of experience helping businesses design and develop their brands. They can help you design your logo, company stationery, like letterheads, business cards and notebooks and other client facing documents like brochures, pamphlets, flyers, leaflets, calendars and banners. If you’ve already got brand guidelines, Print on Demand can design according to your corporate identity and ensure that your printed marketing materials are always on brand
Whether your current marketing campaign consists of a majority of printed or digital materials, it’s wise to make sure you include an even mix of professionally designed materials.