Attention to Conviction: Print ads do much better than digital
A billboard banner placed at a place you pass by everyday or a small social media ad that you just swipe up – which one do you think you will remember better? Something you see every day, or something that appears on your phone once and then gets lost in the digital clutter?
Exposure of digital media has risen tremendously, making brands look forward to digital campaigns. But print advertising hasn’t lost its charm and touch yet. In fact, after the initial heady days, when digital media treated print as old-fashioned and obsolete, marketers have rediscovered the power of prints.
Research shows that people pay attention and remember ad campaigns that are on print more than those on digital media. Although digital ads are processed faster, print ads engage the audience for a longer time. In fact, the audience shows greater emotional response to print or physical media ads when compared to digital media ads.
The Key Reasons
Broadly, there are 4 main reasons why brands and industries are still investing a large amount on print advertising:
- People engage better with printed pages: Although digital media has pros like being easily adjustable and freely accessible, why is it that people remember what they see in print media better? Apparently print scores in both attraction and attention, while digital media whizzes past. Readers are willing to go through the content being shown in print – be it magazines, newspapers, flyers or catalogues – while in digital the urge is to get on to the next before the first is absorbed.
- Print ads stimulate the senses more: This is one quality that digital can never match up to print in. The print media will always stimulate the sense of sight, smell and touch – something that digital media will never be able to do. This helps people remember and process complex information easily as they can rely on the memory of their senses.
The tangibility of the paper also makes the people engage with it more than that of digital media. The person who is reading the content has to pick it up, hold it and read it. This creates greater emotional bonds
- Different print channels offer different benefits: When you think of print media channels, what comes to your mind? Newspapers? Magazines? Leaflets? Each channel has its own specific type of content and work on the psyche differently. For example, a newspaper will lure the reader through news, views and information. Online news is read to stay updated whereas printed newspapers are read to know the matter in detail.
Printed magazines are dominated by entertainment and therefore engage our leisure hours. Leaflets and catalogues are a major source of information for the consumers before they purchase any item. This is quite distinct from idle browsing that marks online behaviour.
- Print is free of constant interruptions: What is it that print offers but digital cannot? The key is uninterrupted reading experience. There is no distraction for the reader until the very end of the article he or she is reading. No news bits or pop-ups distract the reader. This means complete attention to the content in front of their eyes, and more meaningful absorption.
The Marketing Experience
Almost all brands depend on print advertising to reach out to large audiences with their message. Here are a few examples where brands used print ads to ace the game:
- 28 Too Many: A charity called 28 Too Many wanted to create awareness in UK about female genital mutilation in order to stop the heinous practice. They resolved to print a campaign in order to spread their message. The creative arrested the attention of the viewers because of the uncomfortable visual — the message behind it had immediate impact.
- McDonald’s: McDonald’s is well known for the ad campaigns from across the world. One eye catching example is the outdoor advertisement that informed the people passing by that the outlet will be open all night.
- Amul: Amul is well known for its usage of print media to talk about any topic it wants to bring to notice. A pioneer in Indian moment marketing, almost all Amul ads are in print rather than digital.
To conclude with a caveat: Although print is more engaging and attracts more attention, depending only on print campaigns might not bring out the maximum results we want. The changing times and habits require digital media for a variety of purposes, including interactive and augmented experiences. Successful marketing requires harmonising digital with print. Together they can conquer!