Why should businesses still value print advertising?

“Print is dying,” “print is old,” we have heard these too often in the recent times. What is the reality of print? Has digitally finally captured the market and ousted print altogether? With millions using smartphones to order pizzas and book vacations, the idea does not seem too far off. There was a time when print used to be everything. Right now, it is difficult to miss a digital campaign thanks to our Android phones and iPhones. Is our preference for the digital on its way to make print irrelevant?

As we move further into a realm of voice assistants and Virtual Reality, we realize that print is actually irreplaceable in our lives. That is because of five strong reasons –

1. Credibility – for decades, people have trusted prints in newspapers and magazines. It has become a symbol of trust. It is any day more credible than the pop-up ads and click-baits that keep interrupting your browsing experience.
2. Tangibility – sometimes, the consumers need something to hold and feel and print makes that possible. While digital media is giving the users infobesity, print is giving them satisfaction.

• Independence – when you have a newspaper or pamphlet in your hand, you do not need Wi-Fi connectivity, mobile network or other gadgets. It is a wholesome way of reaching target consumers.

1. Nostalgic value – people are not ready to let print go just yet. Businesses and their consumers have a lot of expectation on print media. Whether it is in the form of magazine ads, newspaper advertisements or pamphlets, people are ready to give it another go.
2. Evolution – along with other aspects of technology, printing has evolved too. Digital print supports customization, last minute changes, budget-friendly projects and it is environmentally friendly.

So let us find out what the future of print looks like –

Print will persist as long as the physical customer lives

Unlike the digital advertisement, a print is highly target-specific. When your business caters to a physical customer in the store or kiosk, you will want to give them something substantial to hold on to. It can be a special discount coupon, a business card or a complimentary ticket.

Moreover, businesses that cater to senior citizens have found that sending out long-copy mailers to their clientele often elicits a positive response. Companies still like to make their customers feel special by mailing birthday cards, holiday greetings and special edition booklets. Spikes in sales always coincide with personal mailers companies send out right before the holidays. Email might be hassle-free, but they are also too impersonal even when they have your name on it.

Tangible advertisement represents exclusivity

The print advertisement was once the go-to format for everyone. That is not the norm right now, and Printing Companies in NYC have taken that into stride. They have ensured that consumers associate luxury and exclusivity with the print platform. They have the prestige that digital platforms, especially, online advertising can never have. Your print campaign can become the bridge between your customers and your digital campaigns. They can get you the data every other competitor craves. Print ads can complement and support other interactions stemming from digital platforms.

People still shop at stores

Have you ever walked down the West Village or SoHo? These are the nexuses of luxury shopping for people from all around the world. When people invest in designer products, they want to touch and feel the quality, experience the exclusivity and relish the moment. The biggest names in fashion, and lifestyle have not yet gone entirely digital. If the market trends persist through the end of this year, then it is highly unlikely that they will wrap up their brick-and-mortar stores any time soon. That is the beauty of tangibility. As long as people still shop at the store, there will always be a market for digital print. Stores need decals, vinyl advertisements, banners, and hoardings. Designers, thought leaders and marketing professionals still believe in the necessity of print ads in today’s world.

Flexibility and integration

Have you ever scanned a barcode or QR code from the paper for online discounts? That is where you have married off print and digital perfectly. There will be a time when print advertising will seamlessly integrate with digital campaigns. There will be no tough choices to make. Right now, most top brands choose both digital campaigns and print advertising for generating maximum impact. Combining the two platforms gives us overlapping KPIs. Tracking the metrics becomes much easier when there is a little bit of redundancy. Instead of creating artifacts, as most people would expect, it removes the ounce of doubt and the gap in data flow almost perfectly.

Digital is too clamorous

Right now, there are millions of brands online and hundreds of thousands of e-commerce sites scrabbling for attention. These days reaching your target audience via online methods only is nothing short of impossible. Digital has a lot of qualities, but fine-tuning the targeting system is not one of them. Experts are working on that, but for the time being, print can perfectly fill the gap. When was the last time you got a letter? We are not talking about restaurant menus and bills. We are talking about a real, maybe even handwritten, letter. If you live in the digital age like us, it was possibly at least a decade ago. That is how unique print has become. Not only does it have the power to target specific clients, but it also has the potential to create the intimacy and exclusivity each customer desires from their brand.

The print is still going strong, and it will do so since no one is ready to embrace digital in every aspect of their lives. Whether you are a yellow page industry or an indie boutique, you can explore markets you didn’t even know about through the use of print. Its new-found flexibility and technology friendly nature have made it very easy to create colorful, and iconic print ads within minutes.