Why Print Media Advertising Is Still Important In 2021

Close up of row of newspapers on news stand

That classic paper feel of advertising never gets old. In the age of social media and digital advertising, is there still room for print media advertising? Print media has a straightforward approach to advertising that cannot be replicated by email or social media marketing. Print advertising provides your customers a unique brand experience that sticks like glue.

With many brands spending most of their ad budget on digital marketing or online advertisements, is print advertising still worth your buck? Considering that there are many free and paid options to advertise or promote your business online, do you still have to spend on print ads?

While online advertising does have its strengths, like how you can easily measure the effectiveness of a campaign, print advertising has enormous advantages because it provides a lasting impact on a target audience. Thus, precision is a competitive advantage with print advertising, and there are many more reasons why it remains crucial and significant in 2021.

 

High Trust Ratings

Most consumers feel more confident buying from what is advertised on print ads than other advertising channels online.  In addition, businesses advertised in magazines and newspapers or on billboards have more credibility than emails or intrusive ads that pop up on your screen while you’re socializing or browsing online.  

There’s something about the newspapers and magazines that have been around for decades that gives products and services that extra credibility factor.

 

Brand Recall

Online advertising can be highly chaotic to a normal eye. There are countless options when you browse or shop online, and you would also be taken to multiple links or calls to action when you reach a squeeze page. It’s just a dynamic interaction when you encounter online advertisements.

There is so much distraction when you shop online, but you are led to just one call-to-action with print media advertising. It reduces confusion and overwhelm.  With the newspaper or magazine in your customer’s hand, you have more control when it comes to capturing and holding their attention for a longer time.

When you browse digital content, you tend to scan the content as quickly as possible. On the other hand, with reading print ads, you get to consume or digest content slowly, leading to long-lasting brand recall and increased sales or ROI. 

Physical or print advertisements can trigger or activate more parts of your brain compared to using online ads. Brand association and brand recall become easy this way.
 
Newspaper sitting on desk with glasses sitting on top of newspaper
 

Longer Shelf Life

When you create online ads like on Facebook, it stays on, and your target buyers would have that pop up on their screens depending on their browsing behavior. However, if people pause or stop using Facebook or Google for a while, you also lose your brand visibility.

With print advertisements or traditional advertising, the content has this longer shelf life or value as long as it’s up on the billboards or the newspapers and magazines are on your desk. 

The fact that it’s a physical and tangible product means it could generate countless impressions. It would most likely stay at your home or office table and could even be passed along to other potential customers. Thus, print advertising has an audience reach that compounds over time.
 

Long-Lasting Results

With digital ads, you get to see instant or quick results. On the flip side, print ads usually take some time before you get to see results because it’s being passed on from one user to another for an extended time.

This traditional print media advertising can be seen in publications that have become household names in an area or industry. Print advertising is worth it over the long haul because its value compounds over time and does not stop with the first person who gets a hold of it.

 

Unique User Engagement

It’s an entirely different mental space when you’re consuming print ads. You can read it over and over again, and the value doesn’t diminish a bit. In addition, magazines are very interest-based in that they target a particular audience with their content (so it’s not just trying to connect with everyone).

Magazines only attract a specific niche or audience and focus on that market. In this way, magazines attract subscribers who are already interested in what they have to offer. Print advertisements also appeal to this market because the magazine aligns everything to provide the best value to their audience.

The laser-beam targeting that print ads offer is exact: there is always value upfront, even before buying. That said, subscribers would most likely read the ads because everything in the magazine is consumable and adds value.

 

Rich Visual Landscape

Print ads are visually appealing. With print advertising, you get to season the entire newspaper or magazine with a visual storyline that people would love to consume in pieces or bit by bit for hours. Rather than just a one-liner, with print ads, you get to explore and weave your ads so that it interacts with your readers in every page alongside rich content.

 

Print Media Advertising is Ageless

As more brands take the online marketing approach, this is the best time to revive the old and integrate it with your marketing strategies. After all, the good old traditional advertising has not lost its touch – not one bit. 

It’s apparent that many email advertisements are ignored and dumped into the trash bin, making print media advertising the tangible option you need to invest in.

With print advertising, less is more. As today’s generation of consumers has minimal attention spans, print advertising is too hard to ignore or skip, unlike unsolicited ads that you get in your inboxes or intrusive ads on websites.

A mix of online technology and print advertising will help your brand visibility and engagement soar. Marketing campaigns today that you can see online are more fun and interactive, but people love content that they can feel and touch – and this is where print advertising does its magic with consumers.