Will print media be a part of your marketing plan?

If you run your own business, you'll know how important marketing can be to the success of a business. Most businesses across the world could be looking for the next fresh way to market their product or service to consumers, with everything from guerilla advertising to massive viral campaigns.

But what about options for traditional forms of advertising? Do they still have a place in an enterprise's marketing budget?

The rise of digital

Even if businesses aren't trying to stay on the cutting edge of advertising, the average Australian may have noticed how prevalent online ads have become. Online ads come in a number of forms: the banner ad, the pop-up, or the automatic newsletter. Some companies even go so far as to create entire websites dedicated to creating an interactive experience for potential customers to visit.

So, it's common, but is it effective? Advertising exists to be noticed, remembered, but ultimately to convince a consumer to spend their hard-earned money on that particular product or service. What can be integral to that process is creating trust, and it seems like Australians might be starting to come around to the idea of trusting online advertising.

Opinions posted online were the second most trusted form of advertising according to one survey, while branded websites came in fifth, above ads on TV, in magazines and on radio. Clearly, there is something to be said to maintaining a solid online presence¹.

Who best uses digital advertising

But of course, not every business is the same. Different industries will use advertising differently, and it's no different just because the advertisements are now online. Companies that specialise in travel products and services have been shown to benefit the most, with deal-seeking and product information being the most common activities online. This was a standard across other industries too: people are looking for the best deals, and going online to do it².

Companies that might like to make the most of this consumer behaviour should consider have a strong online presence and advertising campaign.

Print strikes back

What about print media? Some people consider this to be an out of date format, businesses included, but it could still be an effective complementary means of advertisement; if you use it properly.

If the whole point of advertising is to induce a consumer to do something positive regarding your brand, then print media has shown to be very effective. Almost half of consumers who see this kind of advertisement take some kind of action: looking for further information, a more favourable opinion of the brand, visiting the company's website or, perhaps most importantly, deciding to make a purchase³.

A match made in heaven

And with a huge of percentage of people choosing to at least occasionally purchase from retailers outside of their home country, this global trend is important to note if you want to grow your business.But you may have noticed a certain theme in the above results: Many of the outcomes of a person seeing print advertising was based around activities that they would do online. Looking for information, visiting a website, purchasing the product, all things that can be done online. One global survey demonstrated that in 2015, the majority of people across the world purchase something online at least once a year⁴.

So what is the ultimate answer to the place of print media? It still has a place, but if you want to truly bring your business to the next level, it might be better to have both a digital presence as well as a physical one. But, while digital advertising might be cheaper than print, it still isn't free. We can provide you with the financing necessary for your business to establish itself online, all you need to do is get in contact with the team at IMB and find out your options.

Source:

¹ Nielsen, It's a trust thing: Australians are learning to put more trust in digital advertising

² Nielsen, What are connected shoppers doing and not doing online?

³ PWC, Global Total Retail Survey 2016

⁴ Nielsen, Connected Commerce is creating buyers without borders