Importance of Print Media and How it Benefit Your Brand

History of Print Media

Print started when China came with its first book in 880 AD. Later Johannes Gutenberg a German inventor and craftsman invented the movable-type printing press in the 15th century. Since that invention, the printing press has been used to print books, newspapers, and other materials. Furthermore, in 1770, the first weekly newspaper was created in America called ‘The Boston Post’.

In the 19th century because of the Industrial Revolution, technological advancements increased speed which helped reduce printing costs. The Golden Era of Print Media started in 1841 when advertisements appeared for the first time considering its lasting impression.

Technological advancements helped print to grow exponentially during the 1990s. From discovery till date, it remains an important source of information and continues to evolve alongside digital media.

Importance of Print Media still in 2024

Print Create Credibility which Benefits Your Brand

With the increasing digitization and number of fake identities, it takes time to identify authenticity. Now that Artificial Intelligence has come into the picture, the digital world has become easy and equally complicated. On the other hand, print has validity and authenticity. People rely on news and advertisements displayed in print publications more than on digital platforms.

The Advantages of Print Media start with niche publications and easy accessibility. Print media stands on the pillars of consumer loyalty. One can seek marketing, branding, and advertising opportunities through print advertising space. This will help the brand to increase its level of targeting.

Print is Physical

Do you know why we use the word "Cheers" and its accompanying gestures? Psychology shows that engaging multiple senses can help increase our attentiveness and awareness. While eating food, the hearing sense out of the 5 sensory organs was omitted. Hence, the sound of glass touching was introduced.

On digital counterparts only the visual sense is active. (touching the screen to swipe does not count) On the other hand, while reading print content, one can see the content, smell and feel the paper, and hear the sound of turning pages. The tangible content increases the chances of creating a lasting impression.

Print Media Increases Recall Value

Around for years, digital media has been equally powerful but print has higher recall rates. Dissemination of information tailored to specific audiences through print mass production considering demographics, literacy rate, and readership helps replicate efforts to increase recall value.

Unlike digital media, print brand recall is highly effective. According to research in 2020, 42.7% of the audience often overlooked digital advertisements. Half of the audience pays attention to the “skip ad” button. However, it is difficult to avoid advertisements in magazines or newspapers. A wide range of advertisers strategically hold onto print innovation to help businesses reach potential customers.

Preferring a Marketing mix while boosting your brand on different media platforms caters to all your needs and alters your audience according to your needs. Favoring any one media won't help in today's digital era. Combining multiple factors helps you reach an accurate audience.

Print Has Less Competition

With increasing competition and easy accessibility, people are opting for digital advertising making it difficult to stand out. However, print has a longer shelf life with ease and more readability with the audience’s trust and credibility. It is comparatively feasible to publish advertisements in print.

Have you ever waited in a queue, waiting and reading articles and magazines kept on the shelf? Have you ever read website ads or banners with the same interest? Readability is much easier through offline mediums. This media is costly compared to the digital ones. Considering all the factors, every penny makes it worth it!

Print Media have Longer ShelfLife

Print has a longer lifespan than digital medium. On average, digital content is seen for approx 2 to 3 seconds. There are multiple ad blocker plugins for each website. There is a higher chance that a group of audience must be using blocker plugins now. This indicates that digital advertisements are not reaching our targeted audience. Even if the audience does not have blockers they focus on the ‘skip ad’ button.

Print content can be saved, passed on, and can be referred to later. Considering a branding perspective, printed visiting cards must be circulated. It is easy to use, handy, and easy to refer to and it also creates a lasting impact. It is considered more personalized than sending broadcast messages. Thus, print media's importance and relevance can't be denied in today's digital age.

Additional Benefits and Examples of Print Media

Powerful Advertising and Branding

Print provides equal or more opportunities than digital platforms. Print media helps in powerful branding in custom page inserts, flyers, and magazine formats. You get to tell your brand story in an engaging format. The audience gets involved in stories. A book unfolding the truth, or a biopic can create an image of an individual or a brand. The storytelling of the brand journey, print media’s credibility, and print being tangible create long-lasting impressions with your audience which further helps promote brand value and loyalty.

Link to Digital Media Campaign

Print media can be linked with digital platforms via QR codes and website links. Print advertising is more relevant. Once attention is grabbed, it can be diverted to digital sites to gain more information about the brand. As mentioned earlier different media platforms should go hand in hand to get a powerful impact.

Advertising in Print helps with Easy Targeting

Print can be tailored according to the needs of audience preferences, content, and geographical locations. Some consider going niche to reach a targeted audience via digital marketing. This targeting works as well. But what if the brand motto is to spread awareness? One should prefer considering a wider audience in this scenario.

Have you ever gone shopping in a supermarket and bought more than your requirement? You might not have purchased those extra items if you didn’t see them. The same thing happens with print advertisements when the larger audience is targeted. It increases their chance to purchase the product or service. Print with larger viewership and longer shelf life; can gain more leads.

Conclusion

Print media will not go out of trend so easily considering its merits. Studies show that 80% of the audience never clicks on online banners. Only 20% of the audience clicks on digital ad banners and the conversion rate is even lower. Print media targets demographics, psychographics, and geographics of the audience.