After browsing through several marketing blogs for some inspiration, I came across Chuck English’s blog “ Six Reasons that Print is Alive and Kicking.” In his blog, he emphasizes that print isn’t dead, instead, it still play an important role in the marketing mix. He notes that many evidences have shown that the battle between print and online advertising has never stopped. For example, it is noted that direct mail fundraising still outdistances email fundraising; and there are still 43 million out of 187 million American magazine readers read exclusively in print. Moreover, over half of internet users learn about new brands, products/services from TV, radio, and offline print sources; and most readers spend infinitely more time with newspapers than their digital counterparts and generate 10 times more revenue.
All these evidences suggest that strategic use of print can still be a very effective way to market products. Therefore, in my opinion, marketing strategies using print ads can be implemented in different stages of the product life cycle to increase revenues.
In the introduction stage of a new product, in addition to online advertising, companies should use print ads to inform a range of consumers of the new product and get them to try it. Since over half of Internet users learn about new brands, products/services from TV, radio, and offline print sources, using print ads is a great way to launch a new product. Moreover, print ads can generate a visual impact more quickly and effectively than any ads on smartphones, which would likely enable it to leave a lasting impression of the brands in consumers’ minds. In the growth stage, however, companies should emphasize more on using online/TV ads to build awareness and interests in the mass market. Print ads can assist online advertising, as it doesn’t reach out to as many consumers as online advertising can. In its maturity stage, successful companies should evolve to meet changes in consumer needs, and one of the methods can be to modify its marketing mix. Companies can offer new or improved products to consumers, and use print ads to aid aggressive sales promotions. Since the average revenue per user with newspapers is shown to be 10 times more than the average revenue with online news, print sources are likely to be more effective on improving sales.
Therefore, successful use of print sources in different product life cycle stages can distinguish the product from others, and help improve brand awareness and sales.
Link to the article:
http://www.the-cma.org/about/blog/six-reasons-that-print-is-alive-and-kicking