To help our customers achieve business growth we look to the future for the new trends and technological advances. It’s why objective setting is so important – you can’t reach your destination if you don’t know where you’re going, how you’re going to get there or even what you’ll do once you arrive.
Integrating digital and print marketing
In the year ahead, I see the integration of print and digital marketing to continue gathering pace. I foresee a massive uplift in augmented reality being used in conjunction with print. This Thomas the Tank book, belonging to my son, Harry – thank you Harry for wearing your BISON branded shirt … – is a great example of the tangible hardcopy being augmented by an interactive downloadable app: the two elements working together hand in hand. We’ll continue to see the growth in digital content with tutorials, competitions and usage ideas supporting print ads with an interactive experience.
As we’ve highlighted previously, the cost of digital newsletters might be low but then so are the response rates. Distribute a printed newsletter and you get back what you pay for by reaching more customers. Printed marketing has now become the disrupter, the tool that helps brands to cut through the digital noise and make an impact.
We are seeing clients switch their marketing approach from going a mile wide and an inch deep, to an inch wide and a mile deep. In other words, the same marketing budget is being spent on fewer, high value activities. Not only have we seen a massive resurgence in people using print to reach their target audience, but we find they are willing to spend much more to find, win, keep and grow their ideal client base.
A shift towards high value mail pieces
We’ve also seen a shift from customers wanting direct mailshots that cost less than one pound a unit, towards high value campaigns with unit prices ranging from twenty-five to fifty pounds per mail piece; the value of some even top one-hundred pounds per person. The emphasis is on personalisation, targeting and building the trust that digital marketing has undermined.
In a similar vein, our customers are keen to show their clients and new team members their appreciation by investing in onboarding packs – in Quarter 4 of 2018 we saw record orders in this area. Onboarding-pack projects range from welcome cards and giftpacks through to custom-made branded boxes with useful and fun gifts inside, including water bottles, USBs and user guides.
For 2019, I’m certain we’ll see this trend continue – as the end customer continues to demand quality and customised experiences.
Visit our website to find out more about our marketing printing solution. If you’d like to discuss this further, call Managing Director Mark Bidewell on 01622 677541 or email mark@madebybison.co.uk
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