The printing presses have slowed down…a lot, but they haven’t stopped. There are still plenty of uses for printed materials to help market your company. Let’s start with a list that will might jog an idea or two. This list won’t be exhaustive and we’d love to hear from you if we’ve left something out.
NEWSPAPERS
MAGAZINES – Consumer and Industry or Trade Publications
FLIERS AND BROCHURES
CATALOGS
BUSINESS CARDS
MAILINGS
DOOR HANGERS
TRADE SHOW HANDOUTS
YARD SIGNS AND OTHER SIGNS
PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS/ADVERTISING SPECIALTIES
PRINT MEDIA
Leading the way toward extinction, there are very few newspapers or magazines left today. Most businesses would never think of marketing themselves in a local paper or a national magazine. However, there are few places where this is still a smart move.
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Most of these media types are backed up with an online presence which commonly includes the entire print magazine. Some are the following examples.
1. Very slick magazines where art is the main focus. Interior design, fashion, travel, university publications, and art would be some examples. If your customer is reading these types of magazines, you could get pretty good attention here.
2. Industry magazines are still commonly found in print. The convenience of having the print version sometimes is the ongoing benefit.
3. Where seniors are the main target. The Internet has been around long enough that the vast majority of seniors are familiar with the Internet. However, many struggles to use electronics and are happier to have a print version.
4. Event publications. Programs, trade show dailies, fan souvenir magazines. Online versions are taking over, but there are still many of these published each year.
BROCHURES
CATALOGS
AND MAILINGS
Almost every company still continues to print product or service brochures and some form of printed catalog if their offering is large enough. Leaving something behind, handing something out, or being able to mail a slick printed piece continues to have a place in marketing. The hope, of course, is that the paper version will stay on the desk long enough to encourage a positive decision to purchase.
Mailing pieces from restaurants, realtors, spas, and other local businesses are still a part of marketing for many. It is possible to get a large card into the hands of your neighbors for much less than $1 per using the USPS bulk mailing offers or Every Door Direct Mail program.
Mailing specialty consumer catalogs seem to be viable, based on how many I received.
PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS/
ADVERTISING SPECIALTIES
The promotional products industry claims that cheap plastic products with your brand on them are the best way to stay in touch with your clients and prospects. The industry is massive, and you can get your company name and message on anything from a pen to a live flower petal or
a piece of chocolate.
There can be little question that a well-thought-out promo product can end up providing hundreds of impressions for the recipient and others around them. If the product is clever enough, useful enough, or expensive enough, the odds increase that an actual ROI might result.
Most products are purchased through promo products salespeople. It is a mistake to hire your promo products company or representative based on their great personalities or even their price. Your goal should be to find the representative that has the best marketing ideas, experience in making decisions about the product, the messaging, the location and design of the message, the suppliers who produce on time, and no ink off or product problems. Handing out pens that don’t work is counterproductive. But I receive such pens all the time.
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