Is printed advertising still effective?
In this digital age, we are constantly bombarded with internet advertising and messaging. You can’t even log onto your email or social networks without being inundated with special bargains, sponsored posts and ‘act now’ offers.
As a business owner, it’s difficult to compete and discover your niche amid numerous messages, especially when less than $50 can get most businesses an internet ad on any half-decent site. There is still an avenue that is often forgotten about. Print.
Print media is a $7.5 billion industry, employing more than 241,000 Australians. Therefore undertaking the correct research to find the right target market for your own brand, will hopefully generate a strong ROI.
It works as the perfect antidote to customers’ digital fatigue. A 2017 Toluna consumer survey reveals that 66% of Australians agree that it is very important to switch off from the electronic world and enjoy magazines and books.
What is a print campaign?
A print marketing campaign does not imply a massive investment in full-page advertisements in glossy magazines; it can include direct mailouts, brochures, pamphlets, catalogues, stickers, merchandise, and anything you can print on. Taking this media channel means the print design can be more customised to suit your campaign.
Plus it works. Roy Morgan research has proven that print media drives more customers to sites than any other media platform.
A campaign titled The Value of Print and Paper, conducted by not-for-profit industry initiative Two Sides Australia (TSA), has shown that while some advertising and marketing campaigns must feature a healthy mixture of electronic and conventional media, research consistently points to print as being the channel with the best return on investment.
A recent poll by MarketingSherpa found 76% of internet users trust the ads (that arrive) by using their letterbox, compared to only 25 percent who trust electronic pop-up ads. Letterbox advertising optimizes audience reach at 20.1 million Australians every week.
Managing director of innovative bureau 121 Creative Geebung and owner of Kwik Kopy Geebung at Queensland, A.J Hightower, agrees that print isn’t dead, the requirement for it has simply changed.
Areas such as education and training have discovered that people retain far more information that has been read in publications and manuals, over a screen. Print media allows for custom printing enabling a more targeted response.
Big manufacturers value print Promoting.
Northwood states the real estate market and brands such as Coles, Woolworths, Chemist Warehouse and Myer integrate print into their advertising plans as it is reliable, accessible and rewarding.
Retailers spend $2.7 billion on commercial printing each calendar year, they know what happens when they fail to include it from their sales program.
When Myer made their 2016 Giftorium Christmas catalog and personalised it to each loyal Myer One customer, their sales increased by 3.4%, revealing the impact that this channel has to offer. Chemist Warehouse are strong retail performers working all printing chances from tabloid catalogues, to informative House of Wellness paper inserts and seasonal books — they communicate across all levels to their customer base.
Research leads to success
Just like any successful advertising campaign, you’ll have to research your target market and their customs carefully.
As you might think conventional print marketing would resonate most with people over 30, you can still reach the “cool kids” through printing. Australian Catalogue Association research indicates that 60% of Australians aged over 14 have read a catalog within the last seven days while a massive 77% of the population have engaged with a printed catalogue in the previous month.
Print media has a warmer and more personal feel, perhaps because it is a physical item and appears less intrusive than a pop-up or Facebook advertisement.
Many people will pause and look at a printed booklet over an email. There are also some segments [of the community] who prefer and respond much higher to printed advertising [such as seniors].