In our
digital age it’s not uncommon to find marketing campaigns swamped with digital methods.
This includes a most sectors, including construction. But the question is… does
print marketing have its place or is it really its way out? Let’s explore the
subject some more with this insightful discussion piece produced by UK
event signage company, Where The Trade Buys.

Marketing strategies swamped with digital solutions

Many campaigns today are lost without digital. With more
consumers than ever before spending time on the internet, businesses would be foolish
not to get involved with online marketing.

Search engine marketing is one area of advertising that
companies are becoming more involved with. As the name suggests, this side of
digital marketing focuses on driving a business’ site to the top of the search
results around relevant target phrases — from corporate keywords like ‘event signage’ to more fashion-focused targets like
‘dresses’. As a result, this can increase brand exposure and site traffic while
improving sales figures.

Social media marketing is another area of business activity
that wasn’t popular a few years back. From paid adverts to viral campaigns, the
digital world has opened up many doors for small and medium companies in
particular — exposing themselves to an audience that may not have known they
existed and in turn, generating mass interest.

The digital world has made room for businesses to begin
analysing their audience, allowing them to gain a greater insight to their
general behaviour and spending patterns. From tracking analytics, whether this
is across social media platforms or the main website, marketing managers are
able to identify key areas of interest and create campaigns around this to drive
sales.

There are many methods businesses can follow to hook an
online audience and stay ahead of their competitors. Through a combination of
search engine and social media marketing, many brands are beginning to run
competitions and deals that are only exclusive to an online following. These
low-cost campaigns will benefit from extensive reach.

Print is still a credible marketing method… fact!

Although more businesses are beginning to take their focuses
online, they shouldn’t neglect the power of print and the opportunities that
can come off the back of it. Print very much has a place in modern advertising
as it can offer a personal touch unlike no other and generally has a longer
life cycle which is always beneficial for the exposure of your brand. Take
printed leaflets for example, once they have been posted through the door,
whoever picks them up will have to acknowledge your materials!

As well as door-to-door print advertising, business
merchandise has not taken a backseat since the sprout in popularity of online
promotions. Brand image has never been more important for businesses and
shouldn’t be ignored — as a result, more companies are making investments in
personalised products that represent what they stand for. Whether this is to
help them externally, with the likes of outdoor banners, or internally for your
office with the likes of customised calendars.

Although printed goods can often be higher in price, they
can drive exceptional ROI to your campaign and create a memorable experience
for the receiver which should be a core focus for your print campaign. This can
be achieved through eye-catching designs and a choice of luxury materials which
will lead to a meaningful engagement.

Where print meets digital: the way forward?

Although online and offline advertising are
two entirely separate entities, they can work well together, and some brands
are already utilising such methods.

Take QR codes for example, more
businesses are trying to audiences in the real world to their online solutions.
As QR codes are unique and can entice people to be more inquisitive, they can
drive immense traffic to online campaigns when printed on banners. Through this
method of advertising, marketing departments can track success and gather data
on users when they’re interacting with the code. With the data collected from
campaigns like this, businesses can record contact information (such as email
addresses) if users decide they want to opt-in.

When looking closer to news publications,
many of them still offer printed versions of their product — blurring the line
between print and digital. With an understanding of the influence they have
online, they’ve been able to merge two channels together and to distribute
stories to a wider audience.  

Near field communication is another area
that should be further looked into when it comes to the relationship between
online and offline platforms. Essentially, near field communication is a type
of technology that has the ability to connect two smart devices — often with
the help of a print medium. For example, a section of a poster can be tapped
with a mobile phone which will then take the user to the ecommerce site for a specific
product.

Digital giants are employing print marketing

Online hospitality marketplace, Airbnb has made huge waves
in the way that we now book our holidays. Predominantly a digital business with
its own website and downloadable app, the company decided to launch its own
magazine for registered hosts (those who advertise their property) which is
around 18,000 people. This magazine included personal stories of hosts and
their accommodation, encouraging interaction with the digital business through
print. Although the magazine production has been put on hold since, it’s a good
example of how an online business can promote its services elsewhere.

Remember those iconic Coca Cola bottles that had labels with
your name on? The printed labels for the Share A Coke campaign allowed the
drink manufacturer to become more personal with its customers and as a result,
buyers then shared their bottles on social media which made it an integrated campaign.

As we can see, digital and print both play huge parts in the
marketing of a business. But often, they can be most successful when they’re
brought together.