Almost any enterprise of small, medium and large business needs advertising. Without using this tool, simply no one will know about the existence of the company. One of the most affordable and effective ways to tell about yourself is print advertising. This variety of species and affordable prices for such products make it one of the most popular ways of communication between the manufacturer and the consumer. It is also worth noting that this marketing tool can also be used as corporate advertising. What is attractive for this type of communication? Is it really profitable? You can find the answers to these questions in the article.
Definition of Print Ads
To understand this type of communication, you first need to find out its academic definition. So, print advertising is a marketing message that is distributed through the channels of printing media. For example, through flyers, brochures, posters, booklets.
Print ads can be placed in periodicals: newspapers, magazines, even books. The published periodicals will simultaneously appear as advertisements of printed materials.
Print Advertising as a Marketing Tool
The effectiveness of the organization of communication between the manufacturer and the consumer or between the seller and the consumer is based on the correct choice of the delivery route of the desired message. In this case, a message is understood as an advertising text, information about discounts and promotions, news, bonuses.
For transmission and distribution, you can use different channels, for example, advertising in newspapers or magazines. Forms, catalogs and brochures are also types of print advertising. This list can be supplemented with business cards, letterheads and newsletters can be used to transmit certain marketing messages.
Long live the Internet
In addition to magazines and newspapers that you can hold in your hands, there are also electronic publications or electronic versions of physical publications. It also advertises, but can it be considered print? Not really. Although this type of marketing communications may seem "print", but it is a separate set of marketing efforts - digital. Therefore, an article published in a newspaper may be a printed advertising message, but posted on a website on the Internet - no.
Types of products
There are so many varieties of print ads. These are such obvious ones as a leaflet or booklet, and others that are less obvious, for example, a poster. Many tend to attribute it to the types of outdoor advertising, because in 90% of cases it is placed on the street. But the poster is a unit of printing products, which makes it a means of disseminating print advertising.
It is interesting that even an ordinary business card is or can become an advertising message. Firstly, it always contains a brief description of the product or service that its owner offers. Secondly, it contains contact details, which can also be used to guess the scope of the company or individual entrepreneur. Thirdly, the reverse side of a business card can be used to place a more detailed message about the goods and services provided.
Print advertising is an important process. To do this, you can use magazines, newspapers, catalogs, bookends, covers, bookmarks, packaging, free gift bags.
Most common types
The most common types of print advertising include the following types.
The catalog, as a rule, is made out in the form of the brochure or the book in which the list of goods is indicated. Most often, in such a publication, you can place a lot of products with or without pictures, indicating the price, as well as indicate additional parameters. Goods can be placed in alphabetical order (A to Z) or in groups with similar characteristics (goods for home, garden).
The catalog has the following parameters:
- a large number of goods;
- availability of product information (dimensions, weight, material, country of manufacture);
- the presence of a photograph;
- good print quality;
- the presence of an alphabetical and / or thematic index.
Most often, catalogs are designed for a long service life, so they are made of high-quality materials, including page paper and covers, ink for printing, glue or threads for firmware.
In addition to the catalog, there are the following types:
- The prospectus is a form of catalog, but advertised in it is either a single product, or the position of one category. Inside such a publication, you can provide more information about each of them. It is advisable to print brochures for goods with a large number of functions, a more expensive price category or if they have special characteristics, a detailed description of which will help people give them preference when buying. There are several types of brochures: brochure brochure, letter prospectus, prospectus with an image of the product (suitable for samplers of perfumes and cosmetics), a prospectus with information from the catalog (usually there is a product order card with it).
- The booklet is a publication folded several times (two, three, four or more). Most often designed for short-term or even single use. In such a publication can be presented as one product or several. In addition, in the booklet you can talk about the activities of the company as a whole, its services, merits, special promotions or history. It can sometimes be used for corporate marketing.
Packaging as a marketing message
A paper or other wrapper that serves to store goods can also be a means of distributing an advertising message. First, it should attract the attention of consumers. The strongest tendency to beautiful packaging can be seen for more expensive products. Secondly, a large amount of text can be placed on the packaging: to talk about the properties of the product, about the benefits of its consumption, the conditions for advertising and the company that produces the product.
To make a means of distribution of an advertising message out of ordinary packaging, you need to design it in a special way. Firstly, originality and non-standard packaging, the right color, ease of use are important. Secondly, the text placed on it should contain graphic images and be easy to read.
The advantages of this type of communication
The main positive aspect of such advertising is its visibility. The visual part enhances perception, and a concise and accessible text helps the consumer remember the product. Complete leaflets or brochures can be an effective marketing solution.
Another positive feature of print advertising is the ability to work with a narrow target audience. Products can be distributed directly to consumers or potential buyers. This makes a single advertising contact more cost effective. For example, if the product is aimed at young mothers, then it can be distributed in the form of booklets in places where they spend a lot of time: parks, playgrounds, preschool educational and entertainment institutions.
Unfortunately, advertising in print media will be more expensive, but also be more effective in some cases.
The cost of printing in the modern world has also become quite cheap. At least it is cheaper than posting a message on radio or television. If you need effective advertising with minimal budget, you can always make leaflets black and white and replicate them on a duplicator. Typically, the cost of one such leaflet does not exceed 2-3 rubles, that is, less than 10,000 rubles will be spent for a circulation of 2,000-3,000 copies.
Disadvantages of Print Advertising
The most obvious minus of print advertising is the need to order a design if you need to do something really beautiful and effective. And here you can encounter two other difficulties at once:
- The financial side (a high-quality design project will never be cheap).
- Search for a reliable artist (sometimes creative people suffer from inattention, irresponsibility and other not very pleasant things).
When choosing the means of print advertising and its creation, the services of copywriters and / or proofreaders are often required, which could make a real “weapon” out of ordinary inconspicuous text to win more consumers.
Do not forget about the category of people that is simply not susceptible to print advertising (people without education, blind and partially sighted, children, expatriates and some other categories of people).
It is important to remember
To create high-quality advertising in print media, one must not forget about the following aspects:
- The title should be short, vivid and memorable;
- the text is concise, understandable, does not contain words and phrases difficult for the mass consumer;
- illustrations add visual advertising to print ads;
- Printing design should be unique and colorful.
By following these guidelines, you can get the most out of your print advertising message.