When researching marketing campaigns, you’ll mostly be served digital-only advice. Landing pages, email templates, how to use Google Ads. They’re useful, sure, but they leave out a huge chunk of what works: print.
Many have left print marketing behind, thinking that it’s been supplanted, no longer relevant. However, we argue it’s anything but extinct; in fact, it’s more effective than ever.
What is Print Advertising, Exactly?
Print marketing is anything that uses printed media to boost your brand, send unique messages to consumers, sell a specific product or service, or simply increase your company’s visibility.
We’re talking direct mail, flyers, posters, ads in magazines or newspapers, anything tangible that you, well, print. Business cards also count, for example.
Print is Tangible
Humans like connection, touch. Digital doesn’t quite build the same bond between consumer and advertisement. Using patterns in print, together with haptics, for example, can further elevate that tangible experience.
The tangibility is not just a better experience, but it also builds trust. A flyer or poster is just innately experienced as more ‘real’ by a consumer, especially when we’re so used to the fake businesses that send us spam online.
Direct Mail vs. Email Marketing
We get so much junk mail every single day that hitting the ‘delete’ button has become second nature. Most of the time, we don’t even open the emails anymore, or Outlook automatically puts them in the junk folder.
However, for print marketing, research shows that customers overwhelmingly engage with it. For direct mail, some studies indicate that it reaches a staggering 98% of consumers.
Lower Competition
In 2025, most companies have left print marketing behind. The days of Kramer having to cancel his mail because of Pottery Barn catalogs are well and truly behind us.
They’ve primarily migrated to running marketing campaigns via email or other digital methods. But that means it’s now oversaturated, leaving a gap for companies that can effectively work with print marketing.
Take advantage of the fact that most companies tend to prefer digital over old school methods. But let’s keep it our little secret, okay?
Print Marketing Has Longevity
Digital ads disappear with just a click. They’re there, and then they’re gone. Print marketing has a permanence that digital can’t replace. It’s a marketing strategy that can continue giving.
Just think of your average family fridge. It usually has magnets with takeout places, the number to your pizza parlor, and any other random flyer that’s arrived through the mail.
Enhanced Customer Targeting
Effective marketing campaigns don’t just ‘spray and pray’. You need to target customers that are more likely to engage with your material. Print marketing allows you to do that.
You can go for specific demographics, areas of towns or cities, or go more granular: individual high-value consumers. Yes, this type of marketing will require a little bit more work and each printed item is more expensive than an email, but it works.
Think about it this way: sending 10,000 emails may cost you just a few bucks, but if they don’t even get through the junk filters, is it really money well spent? Yes, a brochure is more expensive than an email, but if it converts, it’s worth it.
Digital Tracking Methods in Print Marketing
Some will (erroneously) tell you that print marketing may work to a degree, but that it’s almost impossible to track what’s working or not, making it a guessing game. But that’s not exactly true. There are several ways you can track campaign performance:
Personalized URLs: Use a unique URL for every campaign you run, allowing you to track consumer behaviour.
QR codes. Super easy to use, and consumers are used to them. Point your smartphone camera and it takes you to the website, and you can track conversions through the QR code as well.
It’s Not an Either/Or Game
Listen, we’re not trying to get into the DeLorean to turn back time. Digital marketing is here to stay, and for good reason: it’s effective.
But that doesn’t mean you should throw print marketing on the Dodo pile. It’s still very much a powerful part of any successful marketing campaign, whether you’re selling trinkets, own a restaurant, or even a Saas business.
The point is, go with results. Track performance, fine-tune as you go, and leverage the tools available to you. In the digital age, traditional marketing methods still very much have a place.
