Commercial printing companies can help with better brand recognition, recall and trust by developing high impact print marketing materials.
Print is a perfect complement to online marketing and remains an effective branding tool because:
- It attracts and retains attention
- It is permanent in a way that digital is not
- It requires people to focus on your brand
- It comes with a high degree of trust
- It’s better for people who need something tangible
- It can be targeted to high value customers and clients
To fully leverage these advantages, a commercial printer can develop a customized print marketing mix for your brand.
What Does a Commercial Printing Marketing Mix Include?
A company’s print marketing mix refers to the print materials that will be used for that company’s marketing campaigns. The mix of printed materials may include:
- Banners
- Brochures
- Flyers
- Posters
- Catalogs
- Magazines
- Pamphlets
- White papers
- Business cards
- Letterhead
- Stationary
Your marketing mix may also include print giveaways, such as branded calendars, office items (pens, staplers, flash drives, chargers, etc.) and even apparel.
When expertly handled, print mixes are designed with the client’s marketing goals in mind. For example, a furniture business may need high quality product catalogs, while a B2B equipment manufacturer may rely on white papers to attract clients.
Your commercial printer can develop an optimal print mix for any target audience, which is one of the greatest advantages of working with the commercial printing professionals.
Five Ways Commercial Printing Can Help with Brand Recognition
Every print marketing mix is slightly different, but they all support better brand awareness and brand recognition through the following:
- Grabbing (and holding) attention – Print materials and ads are more likely to be viewed by people – and people are more likely to view them for longer than digital materials.According to Lumen, a marketing research firm, only 4 percent of digital ads are viewed for at least 2.8 seconds – Lumen’s definition of an impression. By contrast, 88 percent of print advertising holds the audience’s attention for at least this long. This data was collected using eye tracking technology and has been repeated in other studies.The longer people are focused on your branding, the more likely they will recognize and recall it at a later time.
- Providing a long-term brand awareness boost – Once a piece of print lands on a kitchen counter or a client’s desk, it may stay there for a while. During this time, anyone who sees your print media will also be introduced to your brand. In this way, print’s permanence means you will get several impressions from a single print product.
- Establishing trust and credibility for your brand – Print marketing has a major trust advantage, a fact that’s been demonstrated in multiple studies and surveys. One survey, organized by Marketing Sherpa, included 1,200 consumers and asked people which form of marketing content they trust. Options included TV, radio, billboards, online banner and popup ads, mobile ads, social media ads, video ads and print.Leading the pack in terms of trust was print marketing, which was considered trustworthy by 82 percent of respondents. This was markedly higher than search engine ads (61 percent) online banner ads (39 percent) and pop-up ads (25 percent).Trust is a valuable advantage for brand recognition, and printed materials lead all other types of marketing in terms of customer trust.
- Engaging people who need something physical to consider – Many people are kinesthetic learners – meaning they need to touch and handle something to get comfortable with it. These people (who represent more than 40 percent of learners) respond better to print, which offers that tangibility. If your marketing includes print, your brand will engage those kinesthetic learners better and improve brand recognition.
- Targeting important clients – With print marketing’s targetability, commercial printers can produce a small, specialized run of print products and send them to high value clients. This could be a boutique publication, special promotional items, or a simple postcard thanking the client for their business. For some companies, it’s more important to improve brand recognition among a select group of clients. The right print marketing mix can help achieve that goal.
Why Businesses Need a Commercial Printer for Their Print Marketing
Print marketing is a proven brand recognition booster, but only when it’s trusted to the right experts – an experienced commercial printing company. Here are the reasons more companies trust their print branding to commercial print services:
- Professional-quality design practices – Commercial printers have professional design talent on staff. These visual communication experts have mastery over color, shape, and type – skills they can use to create professional-looking logos and other brand marks. Your branding doesn’t have to be worthy of an art gallery to improve brand recognition, but it does need to be clean and clever.
- Access to a full range of print materials and processes – Commercial printers invest in specialty printing equipment and processes, so they can develop a comprehensive print mix for every client. This includes esoteric print processes that can be used with metal, wood, vinyl, and a variety of other non-paper materials. These processes can be used to develop memorable brand marks that boost brand recognition.
- Marketing experience that can be applied to any brand – Commercial printers are visual marketers, and if you’re working with an experienced printer, you’ll have a branding partner who can effectively support your marketing efforts. Commercial print marketers have a keen understanding of demographics and can target them with effective design practices.
- Adaptability and flexibility with print campaigns – Print marketing involves a fair amount of A/B and multivariate testing in order to identify the most effective branding concepts. Commercial printers know how to run this testing efficiently and apply the results, so your branding campaigns are optimized in real time. If you’re aiming for maximum brand recognition, print marketers can target it when surveying consumers and adapt as new information is available.
Commercial Printers are Brand Recognition and Marketing Experts
Effective print marketing drives better brand recognition, as your print mix is the foundation for your company’s visual branding. A commercial printer can customize this mix for your business, effectively reaching your target audience and making an impact.
If brand recognition is a priority for your business, partner with a reputable commercial printing company to determine how to support your brand with better print marketing.
