A digital world can’t replace our tactile one. When it comes to marketing strategies, print will always have its place.
I don’t know about you, but zoom family dinners are not a replacement for the real event. The digital world has been a key to keeping connected, seeing faces of friends and family, but they will never replace the feeling of a hug, the touch of a hand, or the exchange of energy being in the same space provides.
I have found the next best thing to visiting loved ones in person. I start everyday writing a letter with pen and paper to whoever is on my mind, or who would be a great sounding board as I process that moment in my life. It feels like I’m on an isolated island and I’m putting a message in the bottle, realizing that I may never know what the person who finds it will think of my thoughts.
The return I have experienced from writing for almost a year has been nothing but uplifting. It may prompt a phone call, or even better, a returned letter. I get to let someone know that they matter enough to write on paper, stuff it in an envelope and the cost of postage, even if they live a few blocks away.
Print is slow and less forgiving
Printed marketing materials are the slow version of marketing. A person physically handles the paper in hand, the subtle nature of the texture of the paper mixed with the smell of ink reaches one through more than one sense. Designing in printed form forces a creative person to apply critical thinking to their work. The quality of the paper stock, the flow of the fold as they plan what one will read and notice as they flip from panel to panel, page to page, or see a product on the retail shelf. Print materials are less forgiving than digital. In fact, it will have no remorse for spelling errors or design flaws. There is no quickly fixing a typo or re-uploading a video that digital offers. It’s a commitment to a vision.
Print is confrontational
There is no power button on a brochure. Once it’s in your hands or on your desk, it doesn’t disappear from view. A person can’t swipe it away to the next thing and be able to forget about it. Printed materials demand attention and need to be physically dealt with. You can leave it on a surface, forget about it, and then come across it again to be reminded. No app required.
Print lasts
There is a value to print. It can preserve stories for generations in a beautiful and tactile way. The physical passing of a book from person to person creates a connection. A well-loved journal is worth its weight in gold and to the right person will be a treasure that is passed on.
Use print to reach out and touch your client, or use it as a way to make an impact on a new connection or one you’d like to make. The world is filled with enough dings and buzzes… that your printed piece will overpower the noise with the resounding silence it provides.
Written by Crystal Reynolds