In this day and age, when just about everything has gone digital, from pizza delivery outlets to movie tickets; many wonder about the relevance of print marketing! With the ‘virtual world’ literally transforming the real world, into a true ‘global village’ and almost every enterprise and business that exists, making its presence felt online, this wonder perhaps does have a basis.
The question many are asking, is that, with those in the younger age-group, preferring to go online for their every need (connected to the internet, via their computers, laptops or mobile phones, round the clock)- “Isn’t print marketing dead?” Experts declare that it is not, and believe, that this may have something to do with the variable printing services revolution, taking place today.
Variable Printing Services Help Keep ‘Print Marketing’ Alive
Ironic as it sounds, it is the digital revolution that has kept print marketing alive today. Variable printing services are a product of this revolution. . Variable printing services involves, “a form of digital printing, including on-demand printing, in which elements such as text, graphics and images may be changed from one printed piece to the next, without stopping or slowing down the printing process and using information from a database or external file,” explains Wikipedia.
What is Print Marketing?
Print marketing, which is a form of marketing that uses ‘printed’ as against ‘digital’ material to communicate with customers and influence them to buy, uses variable printing services to its advantage. Through it, it prints marketing material ranging from: printed postcards, business cards, letters, envelopes, leaflets, flyers, brochures, booklets, mailers, newsletters, catalogues, banners, to posters.
Additionally, print marketing could also use tools like: printed stickers, car magnets, window clings, signage, door hangers, rack cards, presentation folders, royalty cards, roll labels, mouse pads and even t-shirts.
Why Print Marketing Is Still Alive and Ticking
Veterans in the field of marketing believe that, ‘print marketing’ continues to be one of the most effective forms of direct marketing. Direct print marketing, first creates or sources a database of specific information like, names, addresses, demography and purchasing habits of potential clients (individuals and businesses); and then targets them with printed material with the intention of selling to them.
Vladimir Gendelman discusses the subject on ‘Marketing Profs.’ “Direct mail continues to be used heavily, with a 43% share of total local retail advertising,” he declares. In addition, he notes that there are plenty of reasons why print marketing continues to be relevant today and will continue to stay relevant even in future.
While variable printing services have contributed to making print marketing much more efficient; the fact that print marketing, is also being used in conjunction with online marketing today, adds to its importance! Furthermore, he asserts, that essentially because enterprises are using ‘print marketing’ less in comparison to ‘online marketing,’ the former gets the chance to stand out more in front of a larger number of target customers.
In Gendelman’s opinion, those who say that the days of print marketing are over- are wrong! Terming this notion to be a ‘marketing myth,’ he declares, that unlike online marketing, print marketing is not restricted to just paper products but extends to “promotional drink ware, magnets, stickers, pens, key chains, coasters, or even apparel such as T-shirts and buttons.”
People are more receptive to such types of print marketing tools, perceiving them to be ‘gifts’ rather than just ‘promotional items;’ and that’s where print marketing manages to go beyond online marketing, he declares.
This article was written by Gerome. C. Paice, a specialist writer on business management, who believes that, services like, variable printing add the much needed ‘personalized touch’ to marketing campaigns.