There is a common misconception that print is dead, buried and never to be seen again. In the UK we have watched printed publications; national and regional, small and large cease to trade, less junk mail through our letterboxes and anyway… Who even buys magazines anymore?!

You would be absolutely right to say that print has reduced its’ market share, and broadly, has changed its’ function in the marketing mix. But we can confirm it is absolutely not dead!

The Resurgence

Digital and social media marketing has totally revolutionised the way in which consumers are exposed to advertising, and resultantly, has created a ‘buzz’ around tangible, personalised print. Recent studies have shown that heavily personalised print (and we don’t just mean name and address) have, proportionally, the highest response rate of all marketing activities in 2018 and is set to hold this status through 2019.

So why has print had a resurgence? Once the old-fashioned content marketing staple, can now actually feel unique—a way to break through the overwhelming quantities of junk that hit our email inboxes and other digital advertising clutter.

However this still makes standing out amongst the ever-growing volume of digital content challenging. But… When integrated with other advertising channels, print becomes even more powerful. According to BrandScience research, the online component of campaigns pays back 62% more and the TV component pays back 37% more when there is direct mail or print in the mix. On average, direct mail pushes up return on investment from £2.81 to £3.40 for every £1 spent

This methodology is also applicable in a B2B setting. For instance if a sales team leaves personalised printed materials with new clients and prospects, there are many practical reasons that a physical print will prompt better response rates. After all, you can’t put a website on a coffee table or desk! Physical media is a physical call to action and engagement.

Why Quality Matters

Professionally designed and quality printed marketing materials will always reflect well on your brand. Quality brochure = quality company! Whilst it isn’t always this simple, you only have to look at the difference between your local pizza takeaway flyer Vs New Car brochures to understand the importance of design and print quality!

When added to your marketing mix, direct mail delivers growth and can increase ROI by as much as 12%. In addition, IPA Effectiveness Awards Databank analysis showed that campaigns including mail were 27% more likely to deliver top-ranking sales performance, and 40% more likely to deliver top-ranking acquisition levels, versus campaigns without mail.

Mail order may seem old hat, but in conjunction with quality websites and effective direct mail campaigns can produce staggering ROI. In the last 12 months nearly 18m people ordered from a mail order catalogue or their associated website! 43% of consumers went online, 30% ordered by post and 25% by phone. Direct mail order campaigns also heavily reduce ‘media wastage’. Media wastage is most prevalent with national TV or press campaigns that can see 30% or more of the wrong people being exposed to their marketing message.

Email Fatigue

As customers face email fatigue and the novelty wears off banner advertising, direct mail is again outperforming digital. Direct mail delivers an average £3.22 return on investment compared with online £3.12 for every £1 spent. And don’t forget the digitally disenfranchised. According to TGI 58% of those over 65 and 46.6% of those in socio-economic group E have not used the internet in the past year.

Therefore using a professional design agency, such as Hughes, will help you target your audience effectively through creative design, but also guide you through the media selection process to get the right look and feel for your brand. We know our A6s from our A4s and our 80gsms from our 200gsms so you don’t have to!