ince the pandemic, the internet has gradually transformed more aspects of our lives and print has had to work harder than ever to prove its value in the modern world. Despite this, the past year has seen a revival of tactile paper-based media:
Despite the shift towards digital in many areas of our lives, print marketing remains a major contributor to the typical media mix, with advertising mail forming the third largest media channel in the UK, worth £1.7 billion annually. Though many businesses are cutting marketing spend in the current climate, a recent article suggests that those who halved their marketing budget took up to three years to catch up with competitors who carried on as normal.
The 2021 Lloyds Bank UK Consumer Digital Index revealed that we are now so dependent on the internet as a society, that the level of digital engagement measured
in 2021 is actually where it was projected to be in 2025. With consumers spending more time at home over the past 18 months, brands were forced to update their marketing strategies and connect with consumers spending more time indoors and online.
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When planning your next marketing campaign, consider a blend of both digital and print to receive maximum return on investment. After all, the effectiveness of omnichannel marketing has been proven time and time again. Incorporating QR codes can, for example, be a useful solution to bridge the gap between traditional and modern forms of marketing collateral.
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our love for books, magazines and other forms of printed content has been rekindled as lockdown saw work, shopping and socialising shift online.
rands and consumers alike continue to demand greener thinking and sustainable options from their suppliers, and the area of magazine/brochure cover finishes is no different. In a world where recycling is paramount, with more than 80% of the
rands and consumers alike continue to demand greener thinking and sustainable options from their suppliers, and the
When you’re doing these proofs you then have the option to put in your ideas. I’ll say, “Look, I hope you don’t mind but I’ve done another option for you. What do you think to that? And that’s how much that costs.” It’s really powerful. The person you’re giving it to becomes your best friend because they take that into a meeting and people will say, “Wow, that’s brilliant, how did you get that done?” They become great within their company. We’ve been advocates of this way of selling because it changes your offering, it gives you options and every one of them is great for your brand.
Walstead recently reported on the success of insert campaigns and door drops during the pandemic and, though many brands rushed to shift their marketing spend online, print marketing materials have adapted to weather the storm, with a renewed focus on direct mail, in store signage and personalised company handbooks or printed materials that may once have been shared.
21% of individuals who had the highest levels of digital engagement in 2020, are now engaging less. As consumers have had to rely more on the internet to connect with the outside world during lockdown, hours of screen time have taken their toll and resulted in increasing levels of internet fatigue.
The effects of this saturation have been noted by the media industry. Earlier this year,
Bauer Media published findings which established that, in the UK, 11% of the population
are reading magazines more than they did pre-pandemic. Dennis Publishing saw a similar trend, reporting subscription increases of 9% during lockdown. Meanwhile, the Publishers Association found that, in 2020, fiction sales in the UK were up by 16%, with non-fiction
up by 4%. The most telling statistic states that print sales generally were up 4% to £1.7 billion, an increase which points to a palpable desire for non-digital content.
Much in the same way that there’s an increased appetite for books and magazines, mail
order catalogues have become a welcome physical alternative to online browsing. In fact, payment solutions provider Dojo found that the mail order catalogue sector thrived during the pandemic. It ranked second in the top 20 industries with the highest percentage increase between March and November 2020 and witnessed an impressive growth of 349.2%.
A clear sign that, after hours spent scrolling online, turning physical pages comes as
a welcome change.
Two Sides agree, citing the time spent browsing a catalogue as ‘an event’ compared to the standard online shopping experience. Advertising mail is reported to remain in the home for
an average of 17 days and catalogues can sit in the family home for weeks, ready to be picked up and engaged with several times, whereas the average person spends only 3-6 minutes browsing online. With such a strong case being made for paper-based content, it’s clear that print marketing collateral is an impactful way to stand out from the crowd, especially when you consider that 43% of consumers believe they spend too much time on their devices.
In a recent study carried out in collaboration with Toluna, Two Sides also found that 37% of people in the UK think they gain a better understanding of a story when they read it in print. As a brand, opting for print marketing can therefore be a better way to get your message across and, consequently, generate increased consumer engagement.
As the research shows, print still has a lot of power. For many, even in this increasingly digital world, there’s nothing quite like the feel of paper. To ensure your next print marketing campaign, magazine or catalogue cuts through the digital noise, get in touch with Walstead today.
In addition, despite the acceleration
of digital engagement, it’s worth remembering that the UK still has
a sizable offline audience. Lloyds Bank revealed that 2.6 million people are
still offline and, contrary to what one might expect, this figure is not necessarily linked to age: 10% of those offline are under 50 years old.
ince the pandemic, the internet has gradually transformed more aspects of our lives and print has had to work harder than ever to prove its value in the modern world. Despite this, the past year has seen a revival of tactile paper-based media: our love for books, magazines and other forms of printed content has been rekindled as lockdown saw work, shopping and socialising shift online.
The 2021 Lloyds Bank UK Consumer Digital Index revealed that we are now so dependent on the internet as a society, that the level of digital engagement measured in 2021 is actually where it was projected to be in 2025. With consumers spending more time at home over the past 18 months, brands were forced to update their marketing strategies and connect with consumers spending more time indoors and online.
Walstead recently reported on the success
of insert campaigns and door drops during the pandemic and, though many brands rushed to
shift their marketing spend online, print marketing materials have adapted to weather the storm,
with a renewed focus on direct mail, in store signage and personalised company handbooks or printed materials that may once have been shared.
21% of individuals who had the highest levels
of digital engagement in 2020, are now engaging less. As consumers have had to rely more on the internet to connect with the outside world during lockdown, hours of screen time have taken their toll and resulted in increasing levels of internet fatigue.
The effects of this saturation have been noted
by the media industry. Earlier this year, Bauer Media published findings which established that, in the UK, 11% of the population are reading magazines more than they did pre-pandemic. Dennis Publishing saw a similar trend, reporting subscription increases of 9% during lockdown. Meanwhile, the Publishers Association found that, in 2020, fiction sales in the UK were up by 16%, with non-fiction up by 4%. The most telling statistic states that print sales generally were up 4% to £1.7 billion, an increase which points to a palpable desire for non-digital content.
Much in the same way that there’s an increased appetite for books and magazines, mail order catalogues have become a welcome physical alternative to online browsing. In fact, payment solutions provider Dojo found that the mail order catalogue sector thrived during the pandemic. It ranked second in the top 20 industries with the highest percentage increase between March and November 2020 and witnessed an impressive growth of 349.2%.
A clear sign that, after hours spent scrolling online, turning physical pages comes as
a welcome change.
Much in the same way that there’s an increased appetite for books and magazines, mail order catalogues have become a welcome physical alternative to online browsing. In fact, payment solutions provider Dojo found that the mail order catalogue sector thrived during the pandemic. It ranked second in the top 20 industries with the highest percentage increase between March and November 2020 and witnessed an impressive growth of 349.2%.
A clear sign that, after hours spent scrolling online, turning physical pages comes as
a welcome change.
In a recent study carried out in collaboration with Toluna, Two Sides also found that 37%
of people in the UK think they gain a better understanding of a story when they read it
in print. As a brand, opting for print marketing can therefore be a better way to get your message across and, consequently, generate increased consumer engagement.