Perfectly executed print can engage customers in ways digital media can’t.

Printed brochures used to be the best marketing strategy a growing business could utilise. If you wanted to put your brand out there, this was the fastest and easiest way to do so.

However, with the rise of social media and the internet, digital content took the place of traditional print media. Or did it?

Quality print media can still be used to help grow your network, expand your brand, and bring in new business, if you know how to use it.

Is Print Media still Useful?

Brochures, posters, and business cards may be less prevalent nowadays, but they create an opportunity to stand out and boost your business.

Do you remember junk mail? We used to be bombarded with marketing materials coming through the letterbox, not anymore. Now we are bombarded by ads and brands every day of the week; on every screen we use. This is digital marketing overload, and it’s nearly impossible to stand out from the crowd.

With every screen we see full of content and ads, it’s a nice change to receive a physical representation of a business. A brochure, or physical newsletter are not only a nice thing to look at, they show off your business in a way that won’t be forgotten after a few minutes. Not only that, you aren’t constrained by the size of a screen, you can go to the size of a broadsheet newspaper like the Times and really give impact to product and images.

Some businesses take an entirely digital approach to their marketing. We’d never tell you that this won’t work, we live in a digital world after all, but don’t discount the old-school print because if you do, you are missing a trick.

What is Print Media?

Print media, sometimes called physical media, involves using physical, printed flyers, cards, and posters to sell what you do. They give you a lot of versatility, and if you splash out on some quality printing services, they’ll show your brand’s best side.

For physical media to work, it needs to look and feel good. If your flyers are printed on regular paper, with visible borders and faded colours, it won’t help your cause. Tough, bold prints look great from all angles and ensure that your brand is front and centre.

Some companies prefer to create their own designs for print media. This is great but it’s harder than it looks. Creating a flyer may seem simple, but it’s a chance to get creative and engage the recipient. You can do clever things with folding to reveal hidden content and play with your audience, something very difficult to do in the digital world. Good print design is a real art form.

Knowing how to format it, wrap the text, and ensure no information is missed can be a challenge, even if you’re a master of branding.

If you leave it to the professionals, who are experienced and know what really works, you get a much better product. Like any marketing, cutting costs can do more harm than good, so make sure you’re investing wisely into your physical media.

How to Use Print Media

Ordering a thousand brochures is great, but only if you know what to do with them. It can be a large investment if you want it done properly; the last thing you need is for a few hundred to be gathering dust in your store cupboard.

So what do you do with them?

Let’s start with the big one. If you’re familiar with what we do, you’ll know we love exhibitions. They’re a great way to sell your business and get valuable feedback on your new products and services. An event or EXPO is also a fantastic networking opportunity, you’ll be face to face with hundreds of people who want to know what you do.

However, at any industry-specific event, you’ll be surrounded by your biggest rivals. It’s vital that you stand out from the most competitive crowd you’ll encounter. A bespoke exhibition stand is the best way to do this, and you can maximise enquiries with some quality prints.

 

Lasting impressions are everything at an exhibition. You could have the best product ever, and the pitch to back it up, but remember how many products and pitches every visitor will experience before the event is over.

To be truly memorable, your potential customers need to leave with something physical that will remind them of what you do. When they get back to the office, they won’t follow up unless they remember you. Be sure everything you hand out matches the visuals used on your stand to jog their memory.

Here’s a thought for you. Imagine you’re at a large trade event or exhibition and are on the free bus to the local train station. You notice there’s a load of people reading a large broadsheet brochure. The back page of the brochure is bright orange with the words “You are looking at your next free holiday” The brand name, web address and QR Code. You get the train and you notice fellow commuters and the same thing. What do you do… check out the offer. Heard advertising also known as ambush marketing.

The Best Brochure Designs

To get the best results from print media, the design is everything.

If you’re handing out brochures at an event, the way they look is essential for their success. Plain backgrounds with a logo in the corner never looked good, they were just the easiest design to do back in the day.

The amount of text you use can be tricky too. People don’t like to read paragraph after paragraph, keep it clear and concise and make sure what you do can be understood from the first line. If your branding is good, this shouldn’t be a challenge. If you aren’t able to convey what you do with just visuals, you might want to consider your brand as a whole before you order your next batch of prints. There is a whole phycology behind the use of colour, fonts, spacing and positioning, it’s a science and if used correctly, can deliver real success.

If you have the space, use it to show the human side of your business. A picture of you, your team, or all of you at a recent event you were a part of may seem irrelevant, but people like to see the face behind the brand!

Using other Print Media

It isn’t just brochures you can benefit from either. You’ve spent a long time working on brand recognition and designing it from scratch so that it represents you and what you do.

After years of marketing work, you need to put your brand out there as much as you can, so don’t be shy about putting posters and flyers around wherever you ply your trade. At talks, events, even your offices themselves. Every inch of your place of work should represent you; print media is the way to do it. You can even go even bigger, with banners and eye catch van livery to ensure no one will miss what you do.

There’s another method you probably still use without even realising its value. Business cards have fallen out of fashion along with their larger printed counterparts, but there’s no better way to sell yourself. Connections on LinkedIn are great, and digital cards are better for your carbon footprint, but a few cards here and there do a lot to make good impressions, , but spend that bit more to make your cards stand out.

You can be imaginative and use heavier weight card, soft touch lamination, spot UV finishes, embossing, cut outs, rounded corners, acid etched stainless steel card and so much more to make your card a talking point and you memorable. You can’t do that very easily on a digital card!

The Future of Print Media

It’s sad to see physical media fall out of fashion due to cost cutting, sustainable pressures and the dawn of the exciting digital age. People forget we plant sustainable forests so we can have wood and paper without damaging the environment. Let’s not forget the environmental effect creating the energy to drive the digital age.

Digital marketing is very valuable, but it’s not the only answer, you should engage a mix of digital and physical in order to optimise your marketing opportunities.

Also, this reduction in the amount of physical media can work in your favour. When printed flyers, cards, and more are rarer, using them will make you even more memorable. So when you’re planning your next event, or if it’s time for a rebrand, think about whether physical media can benefit your business.

How do you stay memorable when your customer goes offline?

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Digital

We have over 30 years of design experience and were early adopters of the web, so we know how to grab the attention of the viewer - whatever the target audience.

Strategic Marketing

At Williams&Crosby we believe that marketing is about delivering a sustainable competitive advantage for our clients.

Exhibitions & Events

If you are looking for an exhibition stand that will give you stand out and attract more we can provide a solution to meet your budget.

Design

Creativity and solution creation should never be about making pretty marks, it’s about the intelligence behind the marks. This is what distinguishes good from outstanding.