DOES PRINT STILL HAVE A PLACE IN MARKETING STRATEGIES
Agence Puck
29 October 2021
Advertising has never been so omnipresent: an explosion of offers and a proliferation of messages, no doubt thanks to increasingly digital communication. Yet, having been the king of formats for years in advertising agencies and for advertisers, print media, whether posters, press or mailings, seem to be becoming the poor relation of communication in general.
Digital communication reigns supreme
Constantly growing thanks to new, hyper-connected generations, digital is taking up more and more space. Faster to execute and less expensive than print in terms of media buying, digital advertising has won over advertisers.
It is found on every network and uses personalised targeting to reach people more precisely and so capture their interest. Digital also enables advertisers to track more easily the profitability (Return on Investment, ROI) of the actions undertaken.
Yet digital communication doesn't do everything
It also has its weaknesses. It doesn't reach all populations in the same way. Targeting that looks simple and effective isn't always so. Trying to target a purchasing decision-maker for a business jet or a specifier of solutions for airport infrastructure quickly makes you realise that without visibility or awareness work, which also requires going through more traditional media, digital campaigns have little chance of performing. Print, on the other hand, can reach a decision-maker in an airport or a design office expert reading the trade or business press.
In addition, digital advertising also struggles to control repetition. This recurrence of information tends to saturate the target and reduce its attention. In fact, the memorisation beta of the digital channel is extremely low (Beta = Morgensztern's memorisation coefficient, which enables consulting agencies to analyse how long a message persists according to the time elapsed since exposure).
It is a medium of the ephemeral, just like the information delivered by social networks. The press beta (10/11%) is close to that of TV (15%), while banners are probably around (3%). That of online video (excluding catch-up) averages 5.7%.
Print: a premium on impact and image building
The print format, whether posters, press or mailing, also has the advantage of being a demanding creative exercise.
The message must be decoded in the blink of an eye, and its exposure area is well suited to this exercise. It gives full scope to a visual, a tagline and a creative concept that will have time to make viewers think, whereas digital communication tends to speak to the reptilian brain.
All these assets enable print to help build brand images or strengthen a positioning.
Far from being a real threat to print, digital is proving to be a superb complement, forming a winning duo in agencies' communication strategies. The fusion of print and digital is valuable for reaching a wide audience. It enables channels to develop and makes strategies more effective. All this within an overall push and pull strategy, of course.
