We all know that there's nothing quite like feeling the touch of a well put together luxury crisp white brochure with soft matte finish, and foil emboss lettering, and yet equally there is phenomenal ROI associated with a carefully constructed online marketing campaign involving carefully curated digital content.

Print marketing and digital marketing, how do they differ?

Lets look at the two disciplines independently.

Print marketing is essentially the original and more traditional channel that is used to market to a customer base. Think glossy leaflets, premium brochures, and captivating adverts. As an example, our team designed and created a high-end lifestyle brochure for David Wilson Homes that showcased a beautiful new property development at Newbury Racecourse. Sent to potential home-buyers, the brochure tells a story about the type of homes available, and gives an immediate visual & tactile impression about the area and the development.

The emergence of digital platforms, along with improved internet speeds, 4G and mobile devices have seen businesses capitalise on the opportunity to engage customers through this online world. From Googles PPC to Facebooks sponsored posts and the complex world of SEO, there are now more ways than ever to showcase your offering to online users.

As a result of these new opportunities, dedicated digital marketing teams became the norm in many businesses. Although there are more customers are taking to their laptops, iPads and mobile devices to seek out products and services and discover new brands through digital experiences, traditional marketing is far from dead. According to MarketingSherpa, print advertising is trusted by 82% of respondents, compared to just 43% for Social media advertising!

Print Ads are trusted by 82% of respondents, compared to just 43% for Social Media Ads.

So, can the two co-exist?

Absolutely! Why should it be that we can either design and print a stunning glossy brochure showing off a fantastic product range, or create a fantastic social media campaign around it? We think you should be able to do both, and get better results by combining the two.

In order to work out the balance, the key things to remember are your target audience and the overall strategic goals for your project. For example, how do your audience prefer to be communicated with? Is the goal of the project to increase sales or raise awareness? What is your key message?

Once you understand the fundamental reasons for a campaign or project, you can the start to decide how it is best to deliver your message and what channels are likely to deliver the best results. These days it often makes sense to harness a multi-channel approach, and even smaller budget campaigns can make good use of this technique.

The key things to remember are your target audience and the overall strategic goals for your project.

One company doing this particularly well is Tesco. By creating a Virtual Store in Korea’s bustling commuter belt subway stations, Tesco have successfully managed to blend print and digital marketing seamlessly and achieve fantastic success (and press coverage).

Designed and printed outlines of the companies most popular groceries feature on the walls of each subway station, where users can download the app, scan the QR barcode of the item they wish to purchase, and have it delivered to their home, on-demand on their way home.  

Taking advantage of a time where these users are typically stood idle waiting for their train, Tesco have given themselves a competitive advantage over their peers, opening up a marketplace where print and digital blend perfectly.

Recognising that the way we consume content and advertising, make a purchase, and run our lives is changing, Tesco looked for an alternative angle to the traditional binary route of print or digital.

The virtual store has been a huge success, and resulted in over 900,000 app downloads in less than one year. Online sales rocketed 130% and registered app users increased by 76%. Building on the success, 20 new locations across the country were subsequently launched.*

Creating a unique value proposition such as this is a great way to distinguish your company among the competition and create lasting relationships with customers.

Online sales rocketed 130% and registered app users increased by 76%

How we combine Print and Digital

At Planet we believe that by adopting a carefully considered combination of digital and print marketing, companies can achieve superior results. We do this already with many of our clients. A perfect example of this is Pioneer DJ, where we combine print and digital using consistent visuals and messaging to promote their new products across all platforms; ranging from print ads, to social media and banner advertising.

If you're looking to create a campaign for your business, get in touch with us by emailing info@planet-ia.com or visit our contact page.

* Source: https://bit.ly/2urltKG

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