If you run multiple digital marketing campaigns, you will know how competitive it is to get your business noticed by the audience. The digital space is brimming with marketers from all industry verticals where everyone is fighting to grab the attention of the same audience.

No matter how hard you work you put in digital marketing campaigns, you may still not get the desired results. Therefore, it is high time that you switch up your marketing game and take a fresh look at things with the help of printed advertising.

Printed ads are now the perfect alternative to digital ads. It is easier to get your business or brand noticed via print media than the digital medium. Unfortunately, most marketers are not familiar with print advertising because they never had to dabble with it.

Hence, we have created a small guide that explains every essential detail you need to know about print advertising. Keep on reading to find out what is print advertising, the different types of print ads, their benefits and even take a look at some print advertisement examples.

Why Is Print Advertising Still Popular?

There is no hiding that digital advertising has long surpassed print advertising in every measurable way imaginable. However, that does not mean that digital ads have rendered print ads useless. On the contrary, the over-dependency on digital media for marketing is now raising the demand for print ads.

Print advertisements such as direct mail still have higher conversion and response rates than digital alternatives. But, to understand why businesses still need to use print ads to stay relevant, you need to dive into more profound details than the numbers.

Print advertising is still popular among businesses because of the following reasons.

Print Advertisement Lets You Avoid The Same-Old Boring Way Of Approaching Customers

Yes, we know it may seem odd to call digital marketing approaches “same-old” when you compare it against print ads like direct mail. Calling digital marketing approaches such as email marketing “same-old” is mainly because of the prevailing market trend.

When was the last time you got excited to open a marketing email?

Customers have become too familiar with digital marketing efforts because of prevailing market trends. So, when you take the path less walked to send a printed ad, it quickly registers on the recipient’s mind.

When customers see the products on printed ads, they value the product/service higher. The unique nature of print ads like direct mail leads to:

• Higher review period.
• Higher information retention.
• Emotional reaction to the ad.
• A higher value for products/services.

Print Advertisement Provides Significantly Higher Conversion Rates

Many companies don’t use print advertisements because they require a considerable investment compared to digital advertising. However, print ads also offer a substantial ROI or Return On Investment.

A customer is more likely to respond to your marketing campaign on print media. It is valid for every type of print advertisement, including direct mail, newspaper ads, etc. Hence, you must provide an actionable CTA to ensure a high conversion rate.

For example, you can try including a QR Code in your direct mail and brochures that take the customer directly to the product page. Using QR Codes is the most convenient way to take the customer to your website or landing page.

As long as you have a good value offering, the customer is likely to convert at this stage.

Print Advertisement Is Perfect For Building Trust And Establishing Credibility

Have you ever noticed that most customers (including ourselves) are still sceptical about online brands? Unless you are already familiar with the brand through an offline medium, we have difficulty trusting the brand. But, we find it easier to accept and trust brands with an offline presence.

Our brain is wired to associate print media as a trusted source of information. Hence, it is not surprising that the customer automatically concludes that a brand is credible simply after seeing a print advertisement.

Consider an online eCommerce store with no physical stores or direct marketing campaigns. Now, compare it against a brand with a physical store or a noticeable presence in print media such as newspapers and magazines. Which is likely to seem more credible and trustworthy to you?

Print Advertisement Has Superior Demographic Targeting

Demographic targeting is yet another strong suit of print advertising. Although demographic targeting in print marketing is not as convenient as digital platforms, they still do a decent job. Many people think that demographic segmentation is not possible for print ads, but that’s a huge misconception.

With well-done research and a good marketing strategy, you can use your print ads to reach the desired demographic target. However, it becomes a lot easier if you are using direct mail marketing with the help of an automation tool like PostGrid.

PostGrid is a print and mail automation tool with access to the Postcode Address File (PAF) of Royal Mail. It means that PostGrid can access Royal Mail’s official address database. Furthermore, PostGrid even has a geocoding feature ideal for demographic targeting.

There are some definite advantages of employing a print advertisement for your business. However, it would be best to have automated tools to get the most out of your print marketing campaigns. For example, you can use a print and mail system like PostGrid for optimising your direct mail campaigns.

Using an automated system enables you to streamline the time-consuming printing process. A tool like PostGrid can help you automatically print your direct mail or brochures and even personalise them if you want. You can even schedule when to send such printed advertising.

Automating the maximum number of processes leads to fewer errors and wastage. There is no way some distracted employee will mess up your brochure or direct mail during printing in an automated system. Hence, you are essentially streamlining your print marketing processes which ultimately gets you the following advantages:

Cost-Effective:

Although print advertising is usually more expensive than digital advertising, it is still very cost-effective. Perhaps more than digital marketing campaigns if you consider the high response rate and ROI of print advertisements like direct mail.

Even using the local newspaper is a cost-effective way for marketing your products/services. However, you need to ensure that your target audience will view such advertisements based on the medium you use, such as newspapers, magazines, etc.

Boost Your Brand Value:

Generally, most people consider print media more trustworthy and credible than digital media. Hence, all print ads you implement go a long way in establishing your business as a customer’s reliable brand.

Particularly print advertisements in newspapers, magazines, and direct mail appeal more to the customers as reliable. In addition to this, print advertising is perfect as a precursor to retargeting your customers because now you have established a brand value for your business.

Better Quality Engagements:

Another advantage of print advertising is that it can drive quality engagements. Usually, when someone takes action and contacts a business via print advertising, they genuinely intend to buy a product/service.

People who read newspapers do it to gain some information from it even if they are going through the advertisement section. Additionally, the customers need to go through the trouble of calling you or scanning a QR code. It proves they have a genuine interest in the product/service you are selling.

Extended Viewership:

When you use a print advertisement in media channels like newspapers, magazines, and billboards, you reach out to more than one person. Usually, a single piece of newspaper or magazine is read by multiple readers.

What does it mean for your print marketing campaigns? It means that your print ads are likely to get vast viewership for every piece of newspaper and magazine brought in the market. Hence, print ads are ideal for getting wider exposure for your brand.

Superior Flexibility:

Print advertising is much more flexible than what they are credited for, even more so if you use automated systems like PostGrid. Even the ads in print media like newspapers and magazines can have area-specific marketing campaigns.

But, when we move on to print marketing campaigns aided by automation tools, you get a whole new level of flexibility. Take PostGrid, for example. It can automate your entire direct mail campaign, including personalising, printing, and delivering the marketing material.

Implementing a successful print marketing campaign is not always easy. Every successful print advertising campaign has one thing in common: creative thinking. Catching the audience’s attention requires a great idea that is attractive and capable of making the customer think.

If you get it right, the customer will think about your print ad long after viewing it. Below, we discuss some of the best print advertisement examples of all time to help you understand how to use print ads innovatively.

#1 The Time When KFC Pitched Used IKEA’s Brand Colors

When KFC opened a new outlet in Majorca, Spain, they didn’t think that the nearby IKEA was worth any notice. But later, KFC found that when people wanted directions to their store, the local’s always answered with “where Ikea is.”

However, the brand was quick to respond to this new information, but how they responded gained immense attention. The fast-food giant put the association to good use and mimicked IKEA’s brand colours and typography for their local store.

#2 The “Chunky” Mail From Kit-Kat

One of the best direct mail campaigns in recent times is Kit-Kat for their newly launched Chunky Kit-Kat. Their direct mail included mimicking a card that informed the customer about a missed delivery.

However, the more critical detail was “the reason” for the late delivery. Kit-Kat said in the mail that they could not make the delivery because the package was too “chunky.” The clever wordplay did the campaign a lot of good and made it a memorable experience for the audience.

Inside the mail, Kit-Kat also offered the audience a bar of free chocolate, but they would have to go to a local retail store to redeem it. The brand saw a tremendous response to this direct mail campaign and made a noticeable impact on its target audience.

#3 Ogilvy’s “You Eat What They Eat” Print Ads

Ogilvy made a bold statement in their print advertising campaign when they said, “You Eat What They Eat.” The message was strongly complemented by the image of a fish with its body shaped like a plastic bottle. It implied that the fish ate the plastic bottle that we threw in the ocean without a second thought.

Additionally, the organisation says that we have the responsibility of not littering our water bodies with their one-liner. Ogilvy’s print advertisement leaves the reader with an unsettled feeling which stays with them even after viewing the ad. And that is the mark of a properly executed print marketing campaign.

#4 IKEA’s “Peeing On This Ad” Campaign For Baby Cribs

IKEA took innovation in print advertising a step further with their “peeing on this ad” campaign for their baby cribs. Usually, people peeing on their printed ads is the last thing any business would want. So, what made IKEA take the opposite approach and encourage their customers to pee on their ads?

Well, the big secret behind the bold move from IKEA was that the baby crib ads also act as a pregnancy test. Suppose if a pregnant person pees on the print ad and gets a positive result, then IKEA would give a 50% discount for the soon-to-be mother.

In recent years, businesses have dialled down the use of print advertisements compared to the old days. However, that does not mean that print advertising is no longer effective or useless. Print ads like direct mail still have a higher response rate than most digital marketing campaigns.

Also, you now have the option to equip your print marketing campaigns with automated processes. Automation rectifies manual errors and helps you optimise the processes involved in print advertising. PostGrid for direct mail is an ideal example of how a computerised system can optimise your print ads.

Print and mail automation tools like PostGrid can automate the direct mail process. Everything from personalisation to printing to mail delivery is automated and requires no manual intervention once it is set up. Such automation saves you valuable resources, minimises wastage, and gets you maximum ROI.