Print is powerful and remains a sales titan.
The Workhorse of Marketing and Brand Identification
By Gerry Bonetto | ChoosePrint.org
Print is a powerful media … and its power is multiplied even more when used as part of a multi-channel campaign. It enhances the impact of television, telemarketing and the internet by providing an added dimension that’s warm, inviting and highly personalizable. Print is still the most effective way to reinforce a brand’s message, introduce new products or services and drive traffic to online channels. From printed ads in magazines and newspapers to postcards, direct mail packages, catalogs, door hangers, newsletters, billboards and more, companies everywhere are using print to effectively increase their sales. Below are a few facts about the continued importance of print.
Print Continues to be the workhorse of marketing and brand identification.
- EMOTIONAL FOOTPRINT — physical media, such as direct mail, “leaves a deeper footprint in the brain” and produces “more brain responses connected with internal feelings, suggesting greater “internalization” of the ads.”1
- PRINT GETS READ – 78% of households either read or scan advertising mail sent to their household. 2
- KEY STIMULUS – Google™ research shows that print is the key stimulus to on-line research before a purchase is made. 4
- INCREASES ONLINE SALES WITH PRINT– 76% of internet users have been directly influenced to purchase an item or service thanks to direct mail. 4
- GETS RESPONSE WITH PRINT— 3.40% response rate for letter-sized direct mail to a house list and 1.28% to the general public or a prospect list. This compares with email response rates at 0.12% and 0.03%, respectively. 3
- PRINT BUILDS AWARENESS — 73% of U.S. consumers and 67% of Canadian consumers said they prefer direct mail for brand communications because they can read the information at their convenience.6
- HIGH ROI — An investment of $1 in direct marketing ad expenditures is predicted to return, on average, $12.18 in incremental revenue across all industries. This exceeds the $11.86 achieved in 2010, and $12.03 in 2011. In comparison, non-DM ROI is expected to be $5.26 in 2012.7
Print continues to be the workhorse of marketing and brand identification. When combined with the newer, electronic media, it sharpens and enhances the role of both medium. This creates an exciting partnership in how to reach customers and potential customers.
GERRY BONETTO is VP Government Affairs for Printing Industries Association, Inc. of Southern California (PIASC) and a Choose Print content provider. PIASC is the trade association for the graphic arts community in Southern California. Founded in 1935 and incorporated in 1944, today, PIASC is the largest graphic arts trade association in the nation. Choose Print is an educational campaign designed to promote the effectiveness of print and to reinforce the fact that print on paper is a recyclable and renewable and thus a sustainable environmental choice. Their sponsor is PIASC.
Contact: ChoosePrint.org PRINT DRIVES BOTH ONLINE AND OFF-LINE SALES THE WORKHORSE OF MARKETING AND BRAND IDENTIFICATION By Gerry Bonetto1
Notes
1 Millward Brown and the Centre for Experimental Consumer Psychology at Bangor University, “Using Neuroscience to Understand the Role of Direct Mail, 2009”
2 United States Postal Service, 2011 Household Diary Study
3 Google™, Winning the Zero Moment of Truth,”
4 Exact Target, 2009 Channel Preference Study
5 Direct Marketing Association, 2012 Response Rate Report
6 Epsilon, 2012 Channel Preference Study, accessed December 5, 2012
7 Direct Marketing Association, The Power of Direct Marketing, 2011-2012
Print Drives Online Sales
Article Provided by ChoosePrint.org
Print is a major driver of online sales. Its power is multiplied when used as part of a multi-channel campaign. Print can enhance the impact of television, telemarketing, and the internet by providing an extra dimension that’s warm, inviting, highly personalizable, and technologically savvy.
Traffic Lift
Studies show that print advertising drives consumers to online shopping. For example, a study by the Direct Marketing Association[1] shows that 78% of consumers react to direct mail immediately; when they receive mail from a brand that they’re interested in, 44% visit the brand’s website and 34% search online for more information about the product.
Sales Lift
A 2013 study by global management consulting firm Kurt Salmon shows that print catalogs directly boost online sales. They do this by increasing purchase intent – 58% of online shoppers surveyed said they browse catalogs for ideas, and 31% have a retailer’s catalog handy when they make an online purchase – and by increasing the average order size (compared to internet-only customer shopping) by 12.5%.[2] Another study, by Exact Target, found that 65% of consumers surveyed have been directly influenced to purchase an item or service thanks to a direct mail piece.[3]
Brand Awareness in the Digital Age
Consumers are more likely to learn about new brands, products, and services from print media (e.g., magazines and newspapers), television and online media (e.g., news site and blogs) rather than from social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter.[4] In addition, highly active smartphone owners, those who do six or more activities daily on mobile, are both subscribing to and reading more print materials than any of the other groups (smartphone or regular phone owners).[5]
New Opportunities-New Vision
While online and mobile use continues to grow, marketers are acknowledging and voting with their dollars that print media is a vital component of the marketing mix. Print is an integral vehicle in cross media platforms, employing innovative technologies, including PURLS, QR codes, augmented reality, and intelligent print imaging, to bridge the gap between the real and digital worlds.
[1] UK Direct Marketing Association, “From Letterbox to Inbox 2013.”
[2] Kurt Salmon, “Is the Catalog Dead? Not in the Omnichannel World,” 2013
[3] Exact Target, Channel Preference Study, 2012..
[4] eMarketer, “Most Consumers Still Don’t Talk About Brands on Social Sites,” January 10, 2012.
[5] Quoted in Gabrielle Kalika, “Heavy mobile users are highly engaged print consumers as well: InsightExpress,” Mobile Marketing.com, December 15, 2011.
Demonstrate The Value of Print
Show your customers how important print is to running their own businesses by marketing the value of print. Choose Print, an educational campaign designed to promote the value of print and to reinforce the fact that print is a recyclable, renewable and sustainable environmental choice, has has free postcards and articles for you to use, advertising the value of print. The following is one of their articles (emphasis added):
Print is a powerful media…and its power is multiplied when used as part of a multi-channel campaign.
Print enhances the impact of television, telemarketing and the internet by providing an extra dimension that’s warm, inviting and highly personalizable. Use it to reinforce your brand’s message, introduce new products or services and drive traffic to your website.
From printed ads in magazines and newspapers to postcards, direct mail packages, catalogs, door hangers, newsletters, billboards and more, companies everywhere are using print to effectively increase their sales. They understand that:
Print Gets Read – 80% of households either read or scan advertising mail sent to their household. 1
Print Gets Response – 2.24% direct order response rate for printed catalogs, compared with just 0.48% from emails. In fact, catalogs have the second highest response as a marketing option, after telemarketing. 2
Print Influences Decisions – 76% of customers have been directly influenced to purchase by direct mail. 3
Print Leads to Repeat Business – 70% of customers renewed a business relationship because of a direct mail promotion. 4
Print Increases Online Search – 67% of online search is driven by offline messages; 39% ultimately make a purchase. 5
Print Increases Online Sales – 76% of internet users surveyed have been directly influenced to purchase an item or service thanks to a direct mail piece. 6
With results like these, it’s no wonder so many successful organizations choose print.
1 United States Postal Service (2007). Household Diary Study.
2 DMA Response Rate Report (2008).
3 2009 Channel Preference Study.
4 2008 DMA /Pitney Bowes Direct Mail Survey.
5 iProspect Offline Channel Influence on Online Search Behavior Study (2007).
6 Exact Target, 2009 Channel Preference Study.
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