One of my favorite videos is Le Papier Ne Sera Jamais Mort. When I first saw it I wrote a blog post, “Print Marketing: Dead or Alive?” highlighting some statistics that supported the idea that indeed direct mail was alive and well.
Reading the January/February 2016 issue of Target Marketing, I came across “The Trouble with Digital Marketing,” by fellow copywriter Bob Bly.
In this piece, he explains how print promotions such as newsletters have more attention-getting power than their electronic counterparts. “Yes, it [print] is easy to dispose of and ignore, but not as quickly disposed of as electronic communications, which vanish into the ether with a mouse click.”
Bly continues by highlighting three reasons for print’s comeback:
1. Print stands out because there is so little of it. When I wrote my post last year, I mentioned how consumers were getting less “junk” mail in their “snail” mailboxes while being overwhelmed with countless emails in the inbox. It still holds true and therefore, holding a printed piece in their hands has gained popularity as a welcome addition to their mailbox.
2. Print often generates significantly greater readership and response than electronic marketing, wrote Bly. In my post, I referred to an August 2014 study where 22% of respondents stated they were more likely to purchase based on direct mail than on email advertising.
Bly offers up an interesting finding from a JWT report that “almost eight out of ten Millenials – the biggest segment of B-to-B buyers – said print makes them feel more connected than digital.”
Surprised? In this technological society, where Millennials seemed glued to their smartphones, I found this statistic refreshing.
3. “It [print] makes more of an impression to hand a prospect a physical brochure after a sales call rather than just say, ‘It’s on our website.’”
Bly refers to Google, a company that owns the world’s largest search engine, yet look in your mailbox and you may find (like I have and Bly has) a direct mail package from the Internet giant encouraging you to purchase Google advertising. They understand the value of including direct mail in their marketing mix.
What’s been your experience? Are you more likely to make a purchase based on something you first saw in print in your mailbox or online in your inbox? Please share you comments below because I’d love to hear from you. Thanks a million and here’s to your sweet success.
