At Alexander’s we provide comprehensive digital marketing services for our clients, but our roots are in print and fulfillment. It’s not a coincidence that print and digital marketing work well together. Numerous studies show that marketing efforts are optimized by concrete, offline mediums. In essence, our business succeeds because print and digital communication solutions help our clients succeed.
A recent study found that American teens respond better to offline advertisements than online. This isn’t to say that online advertising isn’t effective. In fact, the ability to target certain audiences through digital media stands at an unprecedented level. However, if marketers are looking for good response rates, offline advertising can’t be ignored. This same study found that not only were teens more likely to talk about offline ads with their peers, but they were more likely to share offline advertisements, including printed ads. The effect of print turned out to have better reach, and teens remembered offline ads longer than they remembered digital ads. As a marketer, research like this shows the value in utilizing offline mediums like print in their marketing mix.
I read an article a while back about a woman who wanted to show her marketing team that printed mail campaigns elicit more response than email campaigns. Her team split an existing client mail list and sent half of them emails, and the other half printed postcards. Both pieces lead the recipients to an online form that collected their information. This woman was not surprised to find that the printed campaign received double the amount of responses than the email campaign did.
Our clients often have similar experiences, and we’ve found that when you utilize a mix of print and digital marketing solutions, response rates are much higher. When brainstorming your next communication or marketing issue, consider a solution that includes direct mail. We find that when you use print to drive people online you have the ability to track leads and sales electronically, but the target responds better with a physical, printed item.
