It’s 2019, so some people think everything must be digital by now. Does it really have to be, though? What’s wrong with a well-thought-out print marketing concept? Nothing! In fact, there are lots of printed marketing ideas which are still very effective and are great for reaching potential customers. To show you what options are out there, what new ideas are around, and how independent companies can get the most out of them, I’ve put together this overview.
Just a cursory search for new marketing ideas in 2019 led me to alternative reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Video-marketing is also getting a lot of momentum. In social media, video and “voice” are becoming increasingly important with efforts to make marketing “more human”- i.e. to get it closer to the customer. In view of these developments, doesn’t print seems somehow out of place? But there’s no reason why it should be.
Despite the progress of digital technology, print marketing remains an informative way of advertising with a clear premium touch. For lots of people, it is still better to have something “real” in their hands – older consumers especially often respond better to well-structured printed material than to digital material, with ease of navigation and logical progression being key here. In view of this, it’s clear that printed brochures and catalogues have a role alongside digital media.
Flyers, brochures, stickers – new marketing ideas
Especially popular with independent companies, flyers and stickers can be an excellent marketing tool: as comparatively low-price print products, they are a low-risk way to spread ideas and concepts without needing to spend huge sums on digital marketing concepts.
It’s important to remember that printed materials should have a core identity so that they are distinctive enough to stay in the minds of the consumers they are targeted at.
Sticker Marketing Idea from Katarzyna Namysl, „Guerilla Marketing #saunainbukta“, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Stamp Marketing from Jess Elford, „Donut Stress Day“, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Guerilla Marketing Stamp Idea from Benjamin Schwarz, „MINI Guerilla Marketing“, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
It is also important to find out who your target group is and where they can be found. Once you know this, a timeless flyer design informing consumers about the company or about its standard offering can be a powerful tool. They can be produced en masse to keep costs per copy low, then periodically redistributed to your designated points, and so generating new customers in the long term.
Stickers and stamps are other options to keep visibility up across town: well-designed stickers will find their way pretty much everywhere by themselves: if a customer likes the sticker, he or she will take it and stick it up, thus becoming a brand ambassador of sorts. To get this to happen, though, the form and content of the sticker are crucial: you need something that is funny, ironic perhaps, and attractive enough to a broad cross-section of consumers.
That special something
Giveaways can also be excellent marketing tools, so why not design a corporate calendar with your logo and to send to your customers? Customers will then be continuously reminded about your company and the products and services you offer throughout the year, month for month. And remember to be imaginative when it comes to design.
For anyone looking for something a little more individual in terms of offline marketing, how about the following ideas:
- advertising bicycle (coat/skirt guard)
- printed deckchairs
- corporate cars (vehicle paintjobs)
- printed bags/rucksacks
- graffiti art
- printed coffee mugs
- sports sponsoring
- printed gifts (ballpoint pens, balloons)
Marketing ideas: think outside the box!
There really are no limits to how companies can use print marketing. For a start, not everything has to be printed on paper. So why not take a look at our range of advertising materials and get creative?
Marketing Idea for a park bench from Jack Johnson, „#endloneliness: Charity Campaign for British Red Cross“, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Marketing Idea for the Metro in Paris fromJulia Spieldenner, „Heetch – Paris Metro Hacking“, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Jersey Print for Sponsoring from Alexander Ruebsam & Toni Beschorner, „Cycling Trikot “Eat Bananas”“, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
A very special Flyer from Pia Solla, „Klett Flyer“, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
And to finish off, here are a few tips and trends for a few up-to-date marketing ideas:
- If you write a lot of blogs, you might consider offering them as blogcasts, allowing readers to listen to them when travelling instead of reading them. Attention spans are short these days, and long texts are often a real turn-off to readers short on time. By allowing people to listen to (really very interesting) blog posts while waiting at the check-out or at the bus stop, you can really extend the reach your content has. Why not try it?
- Slow storytelling is becoming increasingly important as a counterpoint to a world in which everything has to be done yesterday. In a way, the development outlined above means that, as people have less and less time, they want to make sure they use it on the essentials. So, don’t do things by half and invest in genuinely exciting projects and stories that will keep readers/listeners/visitors interested.
- Audience targeting is a key focus: the more individual an advertising message, the greater the effect compared to mass-messaging. It really is important to analyse your target group: people are often far cleverer than marketing products assume, and only customers who have the feeling that they have been genuinely seen as individuals will show real interest in the product or service on offer. As such, make sure you get to know your customers.
- Try something new: zines, for example, are small, retro-style magazines which are meant to look amateur, home-produced, and authentic. As they gain in popularity, it’s worth considering what their attraction is: the feeling of holding something in their hands made especially for them is something customers value above and beyond photocopied flyers. In this digital world, there is nothing people like more than something real, something actual, something authentic.
Example of a Zine by Josie Guenther, „A Short History of Minimalist Art Zine“, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Headline image by Austin Chan, “White Neon Wallpaper” on Unsplash
