We followed the data even before digital marketing appeared and analysis and statistics became a mantra. So why throw away traditional media and marketing channels? Here are some reasons why you shouldn't ignore them in your marketing strategy and how to evaluate their effectiveness.

Consider the average response rate. Printed direct mail has an average response rate of 4.9% to 9%. Answer for yourself how high the average conversion rate of your digital channels is, 0.7%? 1.33%?

On the other hand, print offers audience value only at the moment, while digital content can usually be received continuously by users or searched regardless of relevancy. The only thing that follows is that both traditional and digital media complement each other, and it is clear that the optimum combination of channels (optichannel) also includes marketing in the press.

The perspective on print marketing is changing

The conclusions of the extensive 2018 DMA Response Rate Report showed that 53% of Generation X representatives and 41% of the Millennials open and read printed catalogs. This doesn't sound like an inefficient waste of money and paper, according to a common idea that some marketers have when considering what media to include in their marketing mix.

In addition, the way to evaluate printing efficiency is gradually evolving. For example, with direct mailings and catalogs, this approach used to be much more linear. Catalogs were mailed, orders increased, and the revenue generated was attributed to this marketing tool, regardless of other marketing channels.

However, a catalog or a printed letter is no longer a channel in itself, it is a powerful driver that pushes customers online and into physical store locations. This is an example that gives valuable space to tell the brand's story overtly or through thematic product spreads.

Direct mail vs. catalog vs. retargeting

Direct mail must motivate consumers to do something immediately, usually with a compelling offer, while the catalog is intended to inspire and arouse desire. However, they are still "converters" for a certain action.

Then there's retargeting, which has the perfect ability to extract psychographic data along with behavioral data and connect with other activities to those users we know already know about the brand and are able to offer them the right product at the right time and at the right time. This is synergy.

How do we measure print results?

Print marketing is not particularly difficult to measure, the difficult part is the division of revenues from any multi-channel campaign. It is not easy to determine whether the key stimulus for the purchase for the customer was the email he received, an advertising campaign in the newspaper or on Facebook. The key is therefore a combination of web analysis and traditional channels with the involvement of time.

We can measure the degree of overlap - transactions that cover multiple channels - and then determine uniform rules for allocating overlaps between channels based on different attribution models (last contact, time breakdown, etc.). Due to all the variables, this can be different for each company.

Optichannel campaign

So how do you find the optimum marketing mix? As with all data-based activities, start with general industry-relevant data, make initial projections, then test and adjust. Also conduct market research, verify customer behavior, conduct online surveys. Then set up a strategy that includes the spectrum of channels that will intersect and test them.

Now you know how to do it. And the next time you start thinking about "cutting" the cost of printing to be able to pay for digital, remember that printing can be the one that arouses the awareness and interest of your potential customers and improves the results of any marketing mix.

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