It’s important not to overlook the opportunities that lie in bespoke print products and the role they play in achieving marketing outcomes.
Back in the day, boy band NSYNC was hugely popular, and Destiny’s Child was high rotation on the radio and that was great, but it was in the good ole days of music, and times have changed.
It’s the same way many businesses feel about print collateral.
Digital marketing has changed the way businesses market their products and services, with so many moving all their marketing efforts online. To some, printing marketing materials sounds archaic.
But just like NSYNC and Destiny’s Child may be caput, Beyonce isn’t, neither is Justin Timberlake. And while businesses are so focused on their online presence, it’s important not to overlook the opportunities that lie in bespoke print products and the essential role they play in achieving marketing outcomes.
In fact, print collateral is so much a part of our lives in such a way you’ve probably never considered it – and life would be very different if it were gone.
Imagine a stroll through a town without posters advertising upcoming gigs? Or if council suddenly stopped dropping flyers notifying you of imminent road works? And who doesn’t have a magnet on their fridge advertising emergency plumbing services?
What is custom print collateral?
In the biz, we call them leave-behind materials – that is, marketing materials that stay with the consumer long after they have left the store, walked back from the mailbox, or thrown away the packaging from an online purchase – and they are all printed.
Print collateral can range from the most basic (business cards, flyers), to the more in-depth (catalogues, booklets), to the high end of custom print marketing (booklets, pens, magnets).
A quick look around your home and you’ll probably find several examples of print collateral in your home.
And that’s the point.
What are the benefits of creating print collateral?
Custom print collateral builds strong brand awareness
Branding is more than simply recognising a logo – it’s the relationship between the business and customer, and print is an incredibly effective means of nurturing it.
For example, we’ve all ordered stuff online and received a thank you email, which is great. But remember that feeling when a purchase arrives with a thank you postcard or note?
Recently, Assemblo’s campaign incorporating a marketing mix that included digital and print collateral that worked together, was very successful in building the brand recognition of Bass Coast Skin Doctors and establishing it as the preeminent skin clinic in the Gippsland region.
Bespoke print collateral offers something tangible
These days, being online means being inundated with electronic marketing.
We see banner ads, social media campaigns, and who doesn’t feel exhausted just opening their email in the morning? If you’re like most people, you probably spend a lot of time scrolling and deleting.
Print collateral hangs around longer simply because it’s real.
Takeout menus get put in kitchen drawers, fashion catalogues are put on the coffee table for browsing when the kids go to bed, brochures about upcoming community events are stuck on the fridge.
Document folders we created for LDB, for example, are kept by potential customers as stationery and used for extended periods of time.
Custom print collateral connects with people when offline
Although it may sometimes feel like it, we don’t spend all our time in front of screens, and effective marketing campaigns call that an opportunity.
Camberwell Junction’s ‘What’s on the menu?’ brochure kept locals informed and entertained during lockdown, and as we begin to emerge, Christmas signage, posters and flyers will play an important role in driving customers back to the precinct.
Real life sensory experiences also present a great opportunity to enhance your brand or your unique selling proposition.
Say for example, you are a beauty business, specialising in organic products. You might produce postcards created from rough, or untreated stock, giving it an earthy feel.
Bespoke print collateral is memorable
As more and more businesses move the bulk of their advertising online, the amount of print collateral we see decreased, and for marketers that means one thing: less competition and the ability to stand out from the crowd.
And with custom printing collateral, you can really let your imagination run wild. Sticker Mule’s custom stickers are a great example.
One year, we created branded Assemblo holographic stickers that we included in Christmas gift packs we gave to clients. It was a fun and interesting way to thank them, and one they won’t forget any time soon.
Print still has a place in marketing
Marketing strategies deliver the best results when all campaign elements work together to guide customers through the buying cycle to purchase, and print is no different.
Most marketing campaigns will incorporate print and digital, with print carrying the weight for awareness and interest, and digital finishing off the process with consideration and purchase.
Increasingly, companies are using QR codes to drive potential customers to their website, but other strategies include discount codes or promotions that can be used online, or a teaser alerting customers to more information or offers online.
Call in the marketing experts
Assemblo is a full-service marketing agency based in Melbourne, that understands the opportunities of custom print collateral, and the nuanced relationship between print and digital marketing, and how including the two in your marketing strategy can deliver tangible bottom-line results.
To find out how we can help your business, give us a call on (03) 9079 2555 or send us a note via the contact form below.