10 Benefits of Adding Print Advertising to Your Marketing Mix

You may have heard that print is obsolete and that the only effective advertising is digital.
But by believing these myths, you limit the success of your marketing strategy. According to a study by the International News Media Association, print advertising itself has the ability to increase ROI by up to 240 percent. Print brings some specific advantages that are irreplaceable by other media. Here are 10 benefits of including print advertising in your business’s marketing strategy.
10 Benefits of Print Advertising
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Print targets advertising to a relevant audience.
Digital marketing often casts a wide net to include a largely inattentive audience. However, print marketing, such as advertisements placed in magazines, is targeted to an audience who is already interested in your type of business. For example, readers who subscribe to Up North Action magazine or pick it up from one of our racks are looking for travel information pertaining to northern Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula Michigan. Advertisers in the lodging, dining, events, and attractions sectors know that they have a captive audience. What’s more, magazines such as Up North Action and Up North Home Showcase enjoy a loyal readership, so placing an advertisement in multiple issues of a magazine increases brand familiarity and likelihood of sales.
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Advertising in print offers flexibility and cost-effectiveness.
Print advertisements are budget-friendly due to their flexibility. Many small businesses are priced out of placing TV ads. Radio isn’t always appropriate. There are limited options in digital advertising. But there is likely a print ad that fits your budget. For example, 5 Star Marketing & Distribution sells full-page ads on coveted spots such as Up North Action and Up North Home Showcase magazines’ back covers to companies wanting the most visibility. 5 Star offers fractional-page advertisements with interior placement to those seeking the most affordable options.
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Reading print boasts better attention and retention.
Studies show that people scan a website for approximately 15 seconds, on average, before moving on. That is a tiny window of time to make a big impression! But you have people’s attention for longer when they’re reading print.
- Research shows that people read more slowly when reading text on paper than when reading a web page.
- Studies also show that readers achieve higher rates of recall and retention when reading print as compared to digital.
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Print provides a multisensory experience for maximum emotional impact.
Reading a magazine engages several senses:
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- Seeing the vibrant colors pop from the page
- Feeling the weight and texture of the paper as you hold the magazine
- Hearing pages flip or crinkle as you turn them
- Even smelling the ink
These impressions enrich readers’ experience with your advertisement, thereby creating emotional connections and deepening memories of what they saw and read.
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Print ads reach many readers over time.
When your readers enjoy a magazine article, they clip it out (and the surrounding advertisements as well) and refer to it later, or they pass it along to a friend who might value it, too. A magazine that sits in a doctor’s office waiting room, gym, or hotel lobby will be seen by many people over several months. Rather than getting lost in the fleeting world of cyberspace, where even permalinks are frequently broken, your print ad has staying power in the physical world.
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What is printed is perceived with higher credibility and trust.
As paper and ink are solid and tangible, print advertising is often perceived as being more believable and more influential than digital ads. On a print ad, the “fine print” may be small, but it is there in plain sight, rather than requiring a reader to click through a labyrinthine website in order to find it.
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Unlike digital ads, print ads stay safe and unobtrusive.
Digital ads that pop up and float around a web page, covering the content readers are trying to read, are a nuisance. Some people even install ad-blocking software to prevent ads from popping up on their screens. Other online readers may see an ad that interests them, but they avoid clicking it. They are wary of the spam and viruses that may result from bogus digital ads. These elements simply don’t exist in the world of print marketing. Ads stay put on the print page and pose no threat of giving you a virus.
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Print suits the “unplugged” lifestyle of our region.
People who live in or travel to northern Wisconsin and U.P. Michigan tend to value screen-free time. Whether it’s in a deep-woods lodge, on the lake, or on the trails, people can’t always get online in the remote Northwoods. Nor do they want to! Print media, on the other hand, reflects Up North travelers’ values.
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Print ads drive readers to engage beyond the page.
Print marketing is a powerful way to reach, engage, and build the trust of your target audience. Print advertisements often lead readers online to get more information and to make the purchase. Print, while powerful on its own, is most effective when used as part of a multimedia marketing strategy. Print is a great introduction to your products and services; research has shown that combining print with other channels increases a marketing campaign’s overall success.
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Print enjoys greater visibility.
Today’s push toward reliance on digital marketing has created a digital space that is very saturated with ads. But fewer businesses’ opting for print marketing today allows companies that place ads in magazines and create brochures, rack cards, and other print media to stand out and be seen.
5 Star Marketing & Distribution can help you design, print, and distribute the print materials to boost your businesses’ overall marketing strategy and get the exposure your business deserves. To learn more, contact us today.
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