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Print sells!

19 Apr 2010

Following on from the ‘Examining the future of print’ feature published last year, we conclude with how print will continue to be a powerful marketing communications tool.

Print continues to be portrayed as the ugly duckling of the communications sector, in contrast to its cool broadcast and new media siblings in TV and radio, email, SMS and online, who are often perceived as the sexy option that turns the heads of consumers and marketers alike.

But the simple truth is that, according to a raft of well documented research studies, print is actually a more environmentally friendly medium for disseminating information than electronic media, a fact we at Finsbury Green have been promoting for many years.

However, rather than trying to sell that concept with all of the overwhelming environmental science facts and figures, perhaps we should focus on a new but deceptively simple and indisputable fact – print sells.

Supporting this statement in a recent survey by PrintWeek in the UK, is the finding that almost two-thirds of the major print buyers polled (450) recognised that print offers the best return on investment, pound for pound (read: dollar for dollar) of any medium.

New phase
Far from being past its use by date, print is entering a new phase where it will hold its own in the marketplace, working in conjunction with other media.

While print faces challenges, not only from the turbulent economy, but also from competing technology, almost every sector is feeling the pinch as companies look to find new ways of communicating with their clients. Printed direct mail goes head to head with email and SMS. Devices like Sony's e-reader and Amazon's Kindle are aiming to eat into the printed book market and newspapers are suffering from dwindling sales thanks to a growing number of readers migrating to the Internet.

So it might seem that print is a dwindling sector, but rumours of its demise are very wide of the mark. While volumes are declining in many markets, the demand for printed materials is still there. Total print volume worldwide is increasing; the total tonnage of writing and printing paper increased by an average 7.5% a year between 2003 and 2008. Brochures, point of sale and direct mail are the kind of applications that are still having an impact with consumers.

It's also not simply a case of putting ink on paper, because print is more powerful than that. Smart designs and impressive finishing can tantalise the senses of consumers, as well as gaining a useful return on investment.

Powerful print
A well-conceived piece of marketing can go further than an electronic correspondence. There’s a feeling among some marketers that electronic forms of communication are better. We get pelted everyday with unsolicited emails and most people just hit ‘delete'. With a direct mail piece, you can just throw the correspondence away, but if the mailer does its job, then it can make the recipient open the envelope and look at what’s inside.

What marketers are finding is that by combining print communications with digital they can get some terrific results. They complement each other, so it's a matter of choosing the relevant way. It also depends where it appears.

Direct marketing is one area in particular that's benefiting from a more coordinated, multi-channelled approach. A mail shot can give consumers a web address for them to access personalised offers or an SMS text can trigger a personalised piece of printed direct mail. It's these kinds of campaigns that have been shown to boost the return on investment for companies. Traditional direct mail response rates of 2% have gone up to around 10% thanks to a creative use of variable data.

But alongside the clever use of data, there needs to be an element that grabs the consumers' attention and print can do this. Print is just so beautiful to look at. There is something special and tangible about handling a beautiful bit of printed work. And with a bit of forethought, it can be cost effective.

The money or the box
In Australia, creatives in ad agencies are under increasing pressure to prove their value to clients, because success will only be achieved by delivering innovative solutions that their clients can’t provide themselves.

According to Stephen Ball, Production WorkflowManager at Fuji Xerox, many Australian ad agencies tend to see print in one box and electronic options in another more profitable box, but don’t see the integration that’s possible. There’s no silver bullet medium says Ball. Print and its unique qualities is still undoubtedly an important part of the marketing mix.

Image makeover
The printing and paper industry is often guilty of selling itself short. Therefore if the printing and paper industry is to overturn its reputation as environmentally unfriendly, it must learn to communicate much better.

Take paper and pulp for example. Despite the valiant efforts of paper mills and merchants, there remains a great deal of misunderstanding and misinformation surrounding the industry's green credentials, but it's important to underline that the paper and pulp industry has made enormous efforts to green up its act over the last two decades, and actually does a lot of good in terms of the environment. They plant trees, grow them, harvest them and grow more trees. It's a pretty sustainable operation and few industries could argue that their own business model is more sustainable than that of the papermakers.

Sustainable print alliance
This inability to spread the good word is why the launch of the long-term promotional and information campaign, with the slogan, ‘Print – part of every day’ was launched by the Sustainable Print Alliance last year in Sydney. Before an audience of leading industry figures, they outlined the goals and the strategy of the campaign, which is designed to improve perceptions of and lift morale in the print and paper industry.

The Sustainable Print Alliance comprises key associations* involved in the paper and print industry providing a wide range of information and supported facts concerning the sustainability and environmental credentials of this important industry segment. The alliance seeks to demonstrate why print is both socially and culturally important to a modern society, and is also one of the world’s few truly sustainable industry segments.

The campaign seeks to enlist the 76,000 people who work in the industry to help push back against the vilification of the industry. The aim is to combat the notion that paper and printing is damaging to the environment. It looks to win the debate around the barbeque when people are criticised for working in the industry.

‘Print – part of every day’ is not a public campaign but is rather directed at the industry itself. It depends on industry professionals signing on and spreading a ‘viral’ message.

Powerful marketing tool
It's a challenging time for the print industry, but there are plenty of creatives and designers prepared to use the medium creatively, not just in direct mail, but also through other applications.

Print, when used properly, will continue to be a powerful marketing communications tool. While print and paper may need a makeover, print buyers are still saying it will remain a strong marketing tool for many years to come. The industry does have a good story to tell with lots of exciting statistics.

So if that’s not attractive to a marketer in the current climate, or any economic climate for that matter, then what is?

*Australasian Paper Industry Association (APIA), Graphic Arts Merchants Association of Australia (GAMAA), Australian Catalogue Association (ACA), Graphic Arts Services Association of Australia (GASAA), Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) and the Printing Industries Association of Australia (PIAA)

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