Every year our technological advancements seem to progress more and more, and with this comes more possibilities for digital marketing. Digital ads allow for instant exposure anywhere on the planet, so what is it about physical printed materials that keep them around? They take time to produce, are expensive to distribute, and don’t allow for two-way communication. However there are still some aspects that can make print design the smart way to go.
Interact with Other Senses
While digital advertisements can be seen, and sometimes heard, print materials offer the ability to engage with the viewer’s other senses as well. Take perfume companies for example, the scented ads they run in magazines make nearly of their readers aware of the scent. This is simply not possible with digital ads. The feel of the paper or materials used can also play a huge role in how the message is received. Using premium or textured papers can give your ads a little something extra to make them stand out, and when it’s a direct mail piece in a stack with other junk mail, that distinctly different paper may be enough to catch their attention.
Fewer Distractions
Traditional reading happens in a linear fashion, from left-to-right, top-to-bottom. However, reading online is non-linear. This is due to all of the distractions that arise online. Whether its pop ups, banner ads, animations, etc; the internet is an endless fight for attention, which makes linear reading impossible. Without these distractions, print is a much better choice for conveying longer messages.
More Possibilities
The interactive element available with digital advertising makes it really enticing to use, but even with those features, these ads exist in a purely 2-dimensional space. While many print materials are also 2-dimensional, there is no rule saying that they have to be. Breaking the mold and creating something unexpected may have a much higher production cost, but it will also stand out more than anything else. So while an online ad for a sale must be a predetermined size; you could create a print ad for that same sale in any form desired.
Print marketing isn’t going anywhere. Even with all the great features available for digital advertising, there are still some aspects where printed materials have more possibilities. This isn’t to say that one is better than the other, but that both offer their own benefits. Every project has its own unique goal. When selecting between print and digital marketing, keep in mind what features will best help accomplish that goal.
