The Time and Place for Print Media

Print media isn't completely dead. It can still be a valuable marketing spend in the right use cases for the right people, times, and places.

 

We've broken down when you should consider using print media and when you should consider digital alternatives.

 

When to Use Print Media

1. To spread awareness in a specific location with a specific demographic of your target audience.

Print media can offer unique targeting based on what your target customers do in their daily lives. Whether that's taking public transit because they're environmentally conscious or travelling to malls for their weekly shopping, your target customer's behaviour patterns can enable you to place print advertisements in strategic locations that they can't scroll away from.

 

2. Don’t disappear as quickly as digital ads do

Print ads have more permanence compared to digital equivalents, so it's more likely potential customers will continue to see them for as long as the ad remains installed.

 

3. More control over the ad’s appearance

Different platforms and device types have different methods of processing digital ads, which can impact their appearance. Print ads stick to the specific size you've purchased and will remain static, which gives you more control over how your ad will appear once it's printed.

 

When Digital Options Might be Better

1. Building an interactive community

Digital ads allow you to link to your social and web communities, which directly funnels new people to your communities and allows them to join in right away. With print ads, people have to go out of their way to find your communities and engage, which can be a turn-off to some new customers.

 

2. Establishing trust and credibility through brand ambassadors

In most cases, using brand ambassadors work best online. That's because you can use algorithms to your advantage to target users who are interested in the brand ambassador's content and would be interested in what the brand ambassador.

 

3. To drive traffic to your website

Digital ads link directly to your website, which makes it easier to convert new customers compared to them seeing your ad and having to remember to go to your website later. These direct links also make it easier to measure the return on investment (ROI) of your digital ad spend.

 

Conclusion

Print media still has its use cases and benefits, so it's worth considering whether it could play a role in your next marketing campaign. Print ads allow you to target beyond digital behaviours, which allows you to become a part of your desired customers' real-world interactions.

 

This type of advertising also offers more permanence and gives you greater control over how it'll look. It's definitely worth considering its place in your next advertising campaign.