Print vs. Digital Marketing: Why Should We Balance Them?

In the last ten years, a monumental change has occurred in how we consume information. The explosion of digital devices means we are more switched on than ever before, and all the information we need is with us at the touch of a button. We are more likely to obtain the latest news by scrolling through our phone when we open our eyes than by reading the morning paper at breakfast or on the commute to work. Yet despite advances in digital technology, traditional print solutions continue to do well, and it’s safe to say there is still an appreciation and demand for print journalism in the form of newspapers, magazines and leaflets.

According to an IPA Databank study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, print readers tend to be the most engaged and attentive and spend 24% longer reading their newspaper. Print allows people to disconnect from technology, and readers value the physical presence of printed material and its associations with it. This high engagement provides a healthy return to advertisers and brands, both in terms of short-term business metrics such as sales and market share, as well as longer-term business metrics such as price sensitivity, loyalty, customer acquisition, and profit. Therefore, print marketing is still highly effective in helping companies reach their customers.

Where digital media comes into its own is that it’s more beneficial for quickly browsing and searching. Digital platforms provide a more interactive and memorable experience for users. For marketing and advertising, companies on a budget can carefully focus on a select target demographic to maximise their campaigns’ impact. A digital ad has the potential to offer an advertiser greater control over who sees it, which means less money wasted on people who have no interest in the general subject of the ad. Digital advertising is also beneficial for generating helpful marketing information and metrics.

Although print and digital have advantages, the two can work even better together. Rather than burying print, digital marketing can liberate it. The great thing about using the two is that print can lay the seed of information, and customers can go online to bear the fruits (or find more details). A study by Merkle found that marketing campaigns that use both direct mail and one or more digital channels often experience a response rate increase of about 118% compared to only using one or the other.

For those who say that print is dead or on its way out, I question this theory. Marketing is always about reaching out to someone with the right message at the right time. The great thing about print and digital is that they offer more opportunities to catch consumers at the right time and can complement each other. Together, they make a powerful marketing partnership, and print messages will resonate more if they reinforce online messages and vice versa.

Find out more about how we can help you balance digital and print advertising by getting in touch today!