Although marketing has become more accessible and convenient, it’s also become quite massive. The choice between direct mail, email, social media, blogging, pay-per-click, web presence, print ads, and on and on, can be difficult to navigate on a limited budget. Often the tendency is to utilize online marketing because it is instant and can be less expensive. However, overlooking the important role print marketing plays in the marketing mix is a huge oversight. Digital marketing is rarely read in its entirety, is usually part of multitasking and skimming material to get snippets of what you need and moving on as quickly as possible is the norm. Not so with print marketing. A study by Bangor University and Millward Brown reveals some reasons why print marketing: leaves a bigger footprint on the brain – tactile media, media you can touch and feel, is conceived as more real by the brain than digital media. So it engages the brain differently, lighting up a part of the brain that is connected to memory. Reasons why print is so effective include:
conjures positive brand association – touching something ignites more emotion due to utilization of a specific part of the brain that is required to comprehend touch which
supports motivation – stimulating emotion makes the tactical media experience more personal. Outside the science of physical media and the brain, there are also some practical reasons why print marketing is so effective:

it’s targeted – while print marketing has decreased, those left are 100% engaged
it’s trustworthy – according to a survey by Marketing Sherpa, 82% of internet users in the United States trust print ad more than digital, and only 25% trust the ever-surfacing pop-up ads
it supports digital platforms – direct mail used in conjunction with digital platforms produces a 28% higher conversion rate, and the National Retail Federation reports that consumers are most likely to shop on line after engaging with print media
it has cachet – Print has a long history that has earned it landmark recognition and seal of approval.Research supports the conclusion that synergizing digital and print platforms in a marketing strategy has the most successful outcome when it comes to brand recognition and response. Direct mail is a great way to use print in tandem with digital marketing. According to a study by True Impact, when a group of partakers were asked to recall a brand from marketing pieces they reviewed, recollection among partakers exposed to direct mail marketing was 70% higher than those only exposed to digital marketing.
For tips on how to optimize your direct mail strategy, contact us.
