Print Continues To Be The Workhorse Of Marketing And Brand Identification
Print is a powerful media … and its power is multiplied even more when used as part of a multi-channel campaign. Print enhances the impact of television, telemarketing and the internet by providing an added dimension that’s warm, inviting and highly personalizable. Print is still the most effective way to reinforce a brand’s message, introduce new products or services and drive traffic to online channels.
From printed ads in magazines and newspapers to postcards, direct mail packages, catalogs, door hangers, newsletters, billboards and more, companies everywhere are using print to effectively increase their sales. Below are a few facts about the continued importance of print.
• EMOTIONAL FOOTPRINT — physical media, such as direct mail, “leaves a deeper footprint in the brain” and produces “more brain responses connected with internal feelings, suggesting greater “internalization” of the ads.”
• PRINT GETS READ – 78% of households either read or scan advertising mail sent to their household.
• KEY STIMULUS – Google™ research shows that print is the key stimulus to on-line research before a purchase is made.
• PRINT INCREASES ONLINE SALES – 76% of internet users surveyed have been directly influenced to purchase an item or service thanks to a direct mail piece.
• PRINT GETS RESPONSE — 3.40% response rate for letter-sized direct mail to a house list and 1.28% to the general public or a prospect list. This compares with email response rates at 0.12% and 0.03%, respectively.
• PRINT BUILDS AWARENESS — 73% of U.S. consumers and 67% of Canadian consumers said they prefer direct mail for brand communications because they can read the information at their convenience.
Print continues to be the workhorse of marketing and brand identification; when combine with the newer, electronic media, it sharpens and enhances the role of both medium, creating an exciting partnership in how to reach customers and potential customers.
Source: ChoosePrint.org
JCPenney Revives Print Catalog – Print Is A Major Driver Of Online Sales
The Retailer JCPenney is bringing back a catalog filled with housewares after learning that the print catalog led to more online sales.
The Wall Street Journal reports that some retailers now use catalogs as a “branding tool.” They aren’t a catalog in the traditional sense, but an aspirational magazine featuring products that shoppers can then visit the website to order.
The company assumed that catalog shoppers would switch to making their purchases online, as they have at other retailers. That wasn’t the case: The company discovered that many online sales actually began when the customer was flipping through a print catalog offline. JCPenney’s justification for bringing back their catalog is they want customers to leaf through the pages, see something that they like, and visit the store or the website.
Source: consumerist.com