In part two of our series exploring print vs digital we jump into the pros and cons of print. When is it worth the time, expense and overhead? Is it old fashioned and obsolete for brands targeting gen Z? Or can it still make a bold impact in the landscape of modern marketing?
Print in the modern age… the pros
It’s more memorable…
It was the German philosopher Immanuel Kant who contemplated, “the hand is the visible part of the brain”. As humans our sensory messaging from the hands to the brain is sophisticated.
Be it a brochure, flyer, beautifully crafted bag or business card, ‘print’ engages our haptic memory and resonates on multiple levels, especially when we engage with it physically. Turning pages, feeling the texture, weight, even smelling the ink and paper promotes deeper concentration and a more immersive experience that provides a break from our overstimulating digital world.
And as research shows, it results in greater comprehension and retention of the information contained. In short, print is more meaningful and memorable.
Legitimacy and trustworthy-ness
It has become instinctive to consume digital media and question its authenticity. After-all there is a whole genre of social media channels dedicated to ‘this is what I ordered this is what I got’.
It’s no surprise then that print advertising has continued to grow, with an annual compound growth rate of 2.9% which is predicted to continue well into 2028.
Created in keeping with journalistic ethics centred around truth, accuracy and objectivity print is intrinsically trustworthy, making it the go-to for high value, premium brands with a legacy and heritage to be protected.
It’s getting crowded out there.
The digital landscape is a busy place to be. Sophisticated algorithms track our every move to target us with brands according to our search history, ‘linger-time’ and keywords. Look up bone broth for a day, we dare you… you’ll be ‘served’ bone broth brands and ideas for the next month we guarantee it!
Standing out in this crowded market-place is very difficult.
But one place that has become a lot quieter in modern times is our doormat. Fewer brands are investing in print and post, so if you want to cut through the digital noise, opt out.
Instead go back to traditional methods. Combining traditional and modern methods, printed direct mail can now be personalised and linked to digital platforms via QR codes which means you can track engagement, capture new customer details and measure a campaign using similar metrics to a purely digital approach.
Print can be artistry at work…
From Keith Haring’s iconic illustrations for Absolute Vodka, to Salvador Dali’s re-working of the Chupa Chups logo – artists have been involved in some of the most iconic and memorable marketing campaigns of all time, helping achieve legendary status for brands alongside record-breaking sales.
Today, it is leading luxury brands like Rolex and Aston Martin that capture the imagination in a similar way with fans willing to purchase original 2024 brochures for up to £60 on auction sites like eBay.
Or taking it to the extreme artists like Banksy, whose trademark street art has become the ultimate marketing campaign, stolen off the streets it becomes the ultimate PR stunt securing column inches across global news platforms, increasing the value of his ‘framed’ artwork whilst sustaining the market for his replicas.
Okay, this is not strictly a print example, but it is a physical execution, nonetheless.
Digital, whilst innovative, interactive and dynamic resides in such a crowded landscape that it struggles to achieve the same type of impact.
Print in the modern age… the cons
It’s not sustainable
Print for all it’s benefits and stand out qualities is not a sustainable option. Recycled paper, whilst using less water and raw materials, still requires harmful chemicals and is a far more expensive option, hitting your marketing budget a lot harder.
Add to that the fact a recycled paper option won’t be as polished, it loses its appeal for those high-end premium brands that want stand out print material that lasts the test of time.
It costs more and takes longer…
Whether a billboard placement, print advertising campaign or door drop, print is often far more costly than its digital equivalent.
Paper, production and printing are not cheap, add to that proofing, editing, correcting mistakes and the attention to detail required to ensure your final proof is 100% error free and you have a far more stressful process when compared to digital.
Afterall – digital can be amended at any time. A print run with a single typo, on the other hand, will have to be reprinted incurring both material and time costs.
There are no in-depth metrics to track success…
Print simply can’t be measured in the same way digital can. There is no way to understand the impact of a campaign, linger time, engagement, comments or sharing making it difficult to track unless you rely on the age old method of reviewing a campaign date across a corresponding sales period.
Print is far inferior to digital campaigns in this way and as a costly alternative to digital an expensive choice for a brand with a limited budget.
After-all who wouldn’t want to know the cost per purchase, what campaigns resulted in a direct purchase Vs which campaigns were shared to help raise brand awareness?
This is where digital really does come into it’s own…
Digital can be tracked using sophisticated metrics, helping inform decision making to create exceptionally cost effective, targeted campaigns that really pack a punch.
Whether your objective is brand awareness or a sales target, digital can be utilised with scientific accuracy to help achieve these goals.
However, and it’s a big however. Print materials potentially have a much longer physical linger time. Posted on notice boards, filed, kept on desks and in ‘safe places’, sales can come as a result of a flyer from 2 months ago – this is very common for services which have renewal dates, car insurance etc (and even though not premium products, they can often have premium price tags!).
Next week we’ll take a more local approach to digital vs print, looking at community facing, grass-roots campaigns and the pros and cons of digital vs print in a smaller-scale environment.