With so much marketing now happening online, it would be easy to assume that printed materials have had their day.
They haven’t. They’ve just got a different job to do.
Websites, email, social media and digital advertising are obviously an important part of how businesses promote themselves today. But print can still be incredibly effective – particularly when it’s well designed, professionally produced and used alongside your digital marketing rather than instead of it.
And after more than 30 years designing things that eventually end up covered in ink, I’m certainly not ready to give up on it yet!
Print gives people something tangible
One of the obvious differences between print and digital is simply that you can pick it up.
A well-designed brochure, business card, presentation folder or leaflet gives somebody something physical to keep, refer back to or pass to somebody else.
That can be particularly useful when you’re meeting customers face-to-face, attending an exhibition, sending information through the post or presenting a product or service where people might want something more substantial than another link to click.
Good print can also say quite a lot about your business before somebody has read a word. The choice of paper or board, print quality and finishing can all contribute to how your brand is perceived.
Print can be very targeted
Printed marketing doesn’t necessarily mean ordering 20,000 leaflets and firing them indiscriminately through every letterbox in Essex.
It can be much more focused than that.
A leaflet for a particular service can be distributed in a specific area. A brochure can be sent directly to selected prospects. Printed materials can support a sales meeting or event, while advertising in an appropriate publication can put your business in front of a particular audience.
The important thing is knowing who you’re trying to reach and what you want the print to achieve – rather than producing something simply because you think you ought to have a leaflet.
Print and digital work better together
This is probably the biggest change from the way businesses used print years ago.
It doesn’t need to be print versus digital.
Printed materials can work alongside your digital marketing, leading people straight to your website, a particular landing page, your social channels or an online offer. Adding a QR code makes that journey even easier – somebody can go from holding your brochure or leaflet to viewing the relevant information online in seconds.
And the journey works the other way too. Somebody might discover your business through Google or social media and then receive a brochure, quotation folder or other printed material later in the buying process.
They’re simply different parts of the same marketing mix.
Keep your branding consistent
Whether somebody finds you through a business card, brochure, website, social post or email, it should still feel like the same business.
Using your brand identity consistently – your logo, colours, typography, imagery and overall visual style – helps people recognise your business wherever they encounter it.
That doesn’t mean every piece of marketing needs to look identical, but there should be a clear visual connection between your printed and digital materials.
It’s one of the reasons I look at print as part of the wider brand rather than something that sits in its own little box.
Is printed marketing still worth it?
For the right business, audience and purpose – absolutely.
Not every company needs every type of printed material, and I’m certainly not going to suggest ordering a brochure purely for the sake of having one.
But when there’s a genuine use for it, professionally designed print can complement your digital marketing beautifully and give customers something useful and tangible to take away.
So no, print isn’t dead.
It’s just learned to play nicely with digital.
Need something designed and printed?
My graphic design and printing services cover everything from business cards, leaflets and flyers to brochures, catalogues, presentation folders and exhibition graphics, including managing the printing and delivery for you.
If you’re not sure what would work best for your business, tell me what you’re trying to achieve and I’ll happily point you in the right direction.
