In this digital age, it’s easier to connect with your market. Every brand you can think of is boosting its social presence online. While it’s a sentiment to many that the era of print is over, think again. Apparently, print advertising has a higher level of brand recall at 77% versus digital at 46%.
Having an online presence is necessary for survival. But you want to give your consumers something tangible. Something that they can touch and feel, like flipping the pages of a book. Sure, e-books can also provide the same knowledge as a hardbound cover. But the experience? Nah, digital can’t do that.
Another case in point: sending a hard copy invitation to your friend is priceless. And if you are on the receiving end, you will be thrilled to receive an invitation that you can hold. Nowadays, a digital invite is more common, especially if the hard-copy invite encounters courier issues.
The latter is one of the many examples of how print can go hand in hand with digital. Use product packaging when it comes to elevating your marketing, as the print version can have a lasting impact that will be appreciated by your recipient. On the other hand, a digital version can help spread awareness even to your soon-to-be captured market.
Everyone is online and doing the same thing. Trends come and go, but those who know how to utilize these trends stay on top of the game. Here are some golden rules of marketing to help you stand out against your competitors.
Make room for print
Before you move forward with your print media ideas, it’s important to revisit your marketing and business goals. A good marketing idea will not kick off if it isn’t aligned with your business goals. Stay true to your company’s purpose and mission. Rewire and revisit your objectives as needed. Once you do this, then you can start crafting print ideas and strategies to level up, as shared below:
- Stickers and emojis raise awareness
Stickers and emojis are part of everyday online conversations. People use stickers to convey emotions. You can also use the same to engage your market in a friendly conversation. Consider making your own sticker, company emoji, hashtags, and taglines. Have these printed and include them in your marketing collateral.
You can also have a digital version of your stickers or emojis and boost it on social media or app chat platforms to initiate a conversation.
2. QR code drives website traffic
If you want people to take action either by completing a form in your website or making an inquiry, consider placing your QR code on posters, newspapers, flyers, or any printed material that will attract your audience’s attention.
- Brochures for information dissemination
Nothing beats brochures when it comes to information dissemination. It’s practical and effective to get your marketing communication across. If you think your consumer will simply zoom in and read your brochure in digital copy, think again.
Brochures are designed to be customizable into multiple folds, depending on your marketing message. A way to translate the contents of your brochure into digital is to convert them into infographics for your market to easily consume the information.
- Themed packaging to commemorate the company’s special milestones
Reaching a company’s milestone is a major celebration and a primary example where your marketing can be creative. If your company wants to immortalize the momentous event, use product packaging creatively.
Having a themed packaging isn’t costly too, since it requires shorter print runs and small quantity print to be given to company stakeholders and your target market. If one of your marketing goals is to raise awareness of the environment, you can have custom-made, environmental-friendly packaging that can be reused.
- Business cards creatively tell your company’s mission
Among the things mentioned, this never gets old. A business card is an ingenious way of putting out in the world what your company does. Together with your designated person, email and number, you can expect leads coming into your inbox or your phone line.
Employees can simply hand out their business cards to network with people in conventions, seminars, and clients to get the company’s vision across.
- Calendars to exhibit your company’s products
Not one to be outdated, having a printed calendar is another way to stay on your customer’s top of mind. Simply put the products you wish to promote and assign them to a particular month. Now your company and your product get seen, every day.
Print and Digital: The Right Marketing Mix
While it’s no secret that ad spend is declining globally, consumers still rely on print ads when making a purchasing decision.
This goes to show that print and digital can co-exist. There are multiple opportunities to explore in digital, but print remains a huge factor for marketing success.
Given the right marketing objective, and partnering it with the right print and digital execution, your marketing will surely be on a roll.
