The Role of Print and Paper in Advertising: A Multi-Industry Perspective
(Montreal, Canada, August 05, 2016) Even though it’s up to each company to choose the mediums in their communication mix, print remains a vital, trusted component for many businesses and markets.
Jeff Coe of the Blueline blog writes: Having worked with multiple companies in a variety of industries, it’s interesting to see how each business views the role of print and marketing. Each company I’ve worked for certainly realized the importance of their marketing efforts, but each viewed it in its own unique way. All efforts were ever-changing, but one thing is constant across each company and industry: every organization strived to communicate a relevant message with the media that their target customers’ are utilizing.
In retail, print is king — look at the number of ads that are in the newspaper, that you get in your mailbox on a weekly basis or the direct mail pieces you receive. For many retailers, the weekly print ad is a staple…a necessity. Many people depend on print to plan their weekly shopping needs. Retailers consider print to be the primary vehicle in which they talk to their customers and keep themselves top of mind. Think about it: how often have you shopped for groceries or discretionary items online?
Fast forward to working for a paper company and print is equally important (okay…probably more so since it is our core business). It’s the primary vehicle for how we speak to our customers and how we communicate our brand out into the marketplace. It’s challenging enough to create a compelling marketing piece without having to be concerned with what it will look like when it’s printed but, when paper is your core business, the end result is even more critical. Think about it, we’re promoting the products we’re communicating with–I can’t think of too many other industries that get to do that. Our promotional pieces have to inspire, spark creativity, demonstrate capability, look beautiful and speak to a broad audience (merchants, printers and designers). There are a lot of considerations that go into the strategy and design of a piece: from the format, to color and image choices and finally finishing. No detail is too small and there are countless hours that go into the conceptualizing and design. But it doesn’t stop there; press checks are a critical step to ensure we get the final outcome we desire and our customers expect.
Even though it’s up to each company to choose the mediums in their communication mix, print remains a vital, trusted component for many businesses and markets.
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Image: Courtesy Domtar
