Print Advertising Isn’t Dead

The Value of Print Advertising and Marketing

Despite the incredibly popularity of the Internet and social media in recent years, consumers continue to have the most trust in print advertising. When asked how much trust they attach to advertising in various media, people generally ranked magazines and newspapers much higher than advertising on the Internet. What’s more, print media like direct mail and catalogues also outscored social media and the Internet respectively.

Before digital advertisers and marketing professionals can send us angry emails, we at NWA, Inc. do believe web-based and social media advertising are an important part of any complete marketing and advertising plan. For some businesses, digital ads may even be the only way to go (especially if the target customers are under 30 years old). But print is still a valuable marketing channel, particularly for small businesses, and reports of print advertising being dead might have been seriously exaggerated.

In fact, print advertising is scientifically proven to have a bigger impact than digital because it is absorbed in a linear and user-controlled manner. This means that the reader decides how long to stay on each page and when to move on. It’s easy to see if you spend time watching people reading in, for example, an airport terminal. Look at the people reading magazines and those reading on their laptops or tablets. You will probably notice that people reading magazines spend more time on each page and that they tend to be more relaxed and leisurely about what they are doing. People using digital devices, however, scroll and swipe as they quickly move from page to page. Print ads are more likely to be absorbed and remembered by their target audience. This means that you likely have to produce a significantly larger number of digital advertisements to get the same impact as one quality, well-placed print ad.

To put together an effective print advertisement, you (and your advertising and marketing agency) need to consider which print venues will best represent you and your brand. Whether it’s a local newspaper, a direct mail catalogue, a national magazine or a coupon book, consider who will be reached by that print ad. And remember that while print advertising can be much more effective than digital advertising, it won’t work if it’s not a quality ad. Make sure that you invest enough time and money to produce something that is memorable, provides quick and clear information, and has a clear call to action.

The important take-away here is that print advertising may be a valuable part of your marketing strategy that you don’t want to miss out on. Need help deciding if print advertising would work for your business? Contact NWA, Inc. today at (810) 695-4761 or info@nwapublishing.com to schedule a meeting.