6 Reasons to Rethink Your Print Marketing Strategy

The current marketing landscape is interesting. Despite some peoples’ cries of, “Print is dead,” retailers are still creating effective, impactful print marketing campaigns.

Revamping an existing marketing strategy to improve its effectiveness has become an increasingly popular option. Print strategies can include ads in magazines and newspapers, postcards, direct mail packages, catalogs, door hangers, newsletters, and billboards.

1. Vintage is in

Although digital advertising appears to be the most talked about form of marketing, print is making a comeback. Businesses that wish to engage in nontraditional forms of marketing are seeing print as new again. Customers are becoming numb to digital advertising and more reactive to tactile forms.

2. Less audience development

Emmett James, vice president and creative director of Los Angeles-based marketing agency Ignition Creative, told JCK Magazine that when conceptualizing a visually appealing and effective print ad, marketers should treat their target audience with respect. James also suggested that the advertiser’s goal is to identify each product’s unique selling point and find that in a visual.

According to the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), the cost of customer development is less expensive for print because if they want to distribute a magazine, their customer mailing list is available. This alleviates the need for qualifying subscribers.

Additionally, the U.S. Postal Service reports that 80 percent of households either read or scan advertising mail sent to their homes, according to Plum Tree Marketing. The agency also cites the iProspect Offline Channel Influence on Online Search Behavior Study, which reported that 67 percent of online searches are driven by offline marketing, resulting in a 39 percent rate of purchases.

3. Customer Retention
According to CMI, 64 percent of B2B marketers create unique content as a customer retention strategy. Carlos Hidalgo, CEO of Annuitas Group, said during a recent CMI webinar that the biggest mistake marketers make is neglecting customers after their purchase.

Plum Tree Marketing also cited a direct mail survey from Pitney Bowes, noting that 70 percent of customers have renewed a business relationship because of a direct mail promotion.

4. Attention-grabbing

James, who worked on ads and marketing for popular television shows such as “Project Runway,” “Arrested Development” and “The Good Wife,” told the magazine that print advertising has the potential to reach a much broader audience domestically and internationally. This is due in part to the visceral connection people have with print versus online ads.

Furthermore, CMI reported that since people are receiving less mail overall, there is a greater opportunity for audiences to pay attention.

5. Print excites

Since customers aren’t used to seeing as much tangible mail anymore, they tend to get more excited about receiving print advertising, like catalogs.

According to CMI, journalists are having difficulty finding people to agree for an interview online versus one in print. This may be due to the fact that consumers view print as more credible than online content.

Additionally, a growing number of people are seeking time to “unplug,” which gives them an opportunity to turn to print media.

6. BONUS! Print costs are constant

With the rise of digital advertising came the rise of digital spend. Popular online advertising platforms like Google Adwords work on an auction system.

With auctions, as we all know, the people competing to buy set the price – and as more people get more involved with digital ads, the pricing can only go up.

With print, you can rest assured that pricing will be constant. The amount of other companies using print advertising doesn’t directly affect the price of print!

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Click around a free account and start organizing your content, regardless if it’s a single poster or 1,000 different corporate brochures varying by geographic region or brand.  No minimums, real-time pricing.

Now cross a content-related project off of your to do list!