[Updated for 2022]
Print should be your new best friend. It only brings your marketing efforts to a new level in creating everlasting impressions on your audiences. There have been some marketers who’ve spread rumors of the death of print marketing. Nothing could be further from the truth.
PRINT: ALIVE AND KICKING INto 2023
The fact is, although about 75% of consumers do their shopping online, they continue to appreciate print’s tangibility, memorability, and immediacy. It’s the reason an increasing number of marketers are leveraging the power of a print-plus-digital marketing approach (for example, incorporating QR codes or personalized URLs on direct mail pieces).
That’s because marketers understand metrics, and they can’t ignore numbers like these:
- 82% of consumers say they trust print more than other advertising channels — including digital
- 80% of consumers act on direct printed mail advertisements compared to 45% of consumers that act on electronic advertisements
- More than 75% of small businesses find ways to join print and digital advertising because the strategy boosts response rates and marketing ROI
- The ability of consumers to physically engage with print materials measurably increases brand recall by 77%
- Almost 50% of consumers visit a company’s website after viewing a direct mail piece
Related: Is Print Still Dead? Research Says No.
HOW DOES PRINT MARKETING INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS?
Like any other marketing approach, the effectiveness of print marketing is all about proper execution. When you do it right, print marketing can be a powerful tool to boost awareness of your brand.
The businesses that experience the greatest branding success with print are the ones that understand precisely how it resonates with prospective customers. Here, then, are 3 ways print can polish your brand:
1. PRINT IS MORE EMOTIONAL
A flurry of recent neuroscience studies (including one from Millward Brown) have concluded that print creates a more powerful emotional resonance with customers. This is because print marketing (more than digital) activates the parts of the brain responsible for processing visual information. Simply stated, prospective customers for your business will “feel” more connected to your business when they see your print ads.
2. PRINT IS EASIER TO REMEMBER
In another study, researchers discovered that consumers find it easier to absorb marketing messages in print, rather than digital formats. That study concluded specifically that consumers on average need to work harder to process digital ads.
For example, about 3 out of 4 consumers in the study were able to remember a print ad, as opposed to fewer than half who could recall a comparable digital ad within a designated time period. Brand awareness, of course, is largely about recall— in other words, consumers won’t be aware of your brand if they can’t remember it, and they’re more likely to remember it when they see it in print.
3. PRINT IS THE HANDS-DOWN WINNER ACROSS KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Although digital ads tend to be stronger in grabbing viewer’s initial attention (because digital can typically be more personalized), print is stronger in every other key performance indicator — particularly its ability to build trust in your brand and instill confidence in your business. That analysis also concluded that when direct mail is personalized, print outperforms digital along every index of marketing effectiveness.
Both print and digital have an important place in an integrated marketing strategy. The best marketing campaigns are the ones that strategically integrate print and digital to achieve key marketing objectives.
Related: 8 Ways to Measure Print Advertising ROI
Creating this kind of integrated strategy can be a bit complicated and, at times, confusing. That’s where we can help. To learn more about the ways our creative, web development, digital marketing, and print services can help you achieve your principal marketing objectives — and take your business to the next level — contact us today.
