When was the last time you stopped to look at a print ad while skipping through the pages of a magazine or newspaper? I personally cannot remember. With ad pages diminishing for nearly every publication, it seems like advertisers are noticing that their hard work is practically nonexistent in consumers' minds. Some say print advertising is at its doom...I think not.
We have to find better ways to use print while securing ROI for our clients' ad dollars. Print advertising, in its normal form, is not as effective anymore because consumers have developed a talent of ignoring them. They are more interested in the content of the publication, than in advertisements that tune each other out within the clutter. So, how do we use print to get the attention of consumers?
Esquire Magazine did something really unexpected on the cover of its February issue: it used a flap next to an invitation asking consumers to "open here". Inside the flap were quotations from articles and an adjacent print ad. The magazine gained the interest of readers by teasing them into seeing what lies behind the flap. Curiosity is like an itch that we need to scratch, and the technique that Esquire used effectively took advantage of consumers need to satisfy an itch. We, as advertisers, need to think of innovative ways to make our clients' brand stand out in magazines and newspapers. There is so much we can do with this medium, but we need to "push the envelop" as my advertising professor used to say.
It is time to think outside of a full page or spread and consider things like branded print entertainment, sensory marketing and print product placement.
Comments
Just wanted to share some information that I came across in a few articles discussing about recession and how we can adopt a different marketing strategy to promote our business. It’s quite eminent that most of the advertisers and businesses are taking to online advertising medium since the Internet has now become a necessity to reach global audience. However, even today there is still a huge chunk of people who do not access Internet and to reach this segment of the society; we can rely on the print media. This in fact would be a great choice for anyone whether they are looking out for global, national or local exposure.
Since the economies are now at the bring of recession, it’s a good idea to consider print media as well in the marketing mix so that you can extend your reach further to get additional traffic to your website or business. You can try a blend of online and print advertising through a reputed ad agency that can help you professionally.