The peoples of Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt all used papyrus for hand-bills to communicate important declarations, meetings, and messages to the general public, including sales advertising.
They knew then what many still hold true: Write down what you want the public to know and let them take it with them. The value of physically holding a message in one’s hand is much stronger than simply making an oral statement.
Print advertising has been around a long time for a very good reason – it works and dealers know it. You pay for an ad, place it in periodicals or mail it out to as large a number or area as you want. Why would you want to change something that works? Why would you put an ad on the internet where it has no physical appeal when you can place an ad in someone’s hand? “A bird in the hand” comes to mind!
Those are all good and true statements when debating the difference between print advertising and digital/online advertising. All forms of advertising have advantages and disadvantages depending on what your needs are. Your challenge is to determine which form of advertising will benefit you the most.
Even with all the tracking devices to help a business monitor the performance of an ad, the debate can still be a little confusing for some. Which is better: print ads or digital internet?
- Print ads have tangible value.
- Print ads have been around forever.
- The older demographic still reads print and doesn’t always do “that internet thing.”
- Digital is unlimited.
- Digital offers additional value such as video, audio, and lead capture.
- Digital is green.
All of the above contain truth. So, the better question is: What is the return on advertising investment?
Just because you found us on the internet while searching for automotive marketing doesn’t necessarily mean we only endorse King Digital nor does the fact that we often discuss, promote, and rave about digital advertising mean that the print ad is dead to us! The truth is that we favor whatever works!
Some of my comrades in the internet world would tell you that the Yellow Pages no longer work, that television is too expensive, and newspapers are a waste of time and resources. You will not hear that here. Do you want to know what media I personally favor? I favor whatever brings a beneficial return. That is why I offer consultative advice first, specific marketing services second.
All media has a chance of being beneficial if you use the right message, matched to the right market, at the right price.
I will agree that when someone hands you a printed advertising piece, it has tangible value because it is right in front of you. Because of that, it may seem as though the printed ad offers more than a small classified-sized ad online would. But you have to consider the entire picture.
For example: When someone sees your print ad or television commercial, they can pick up their phone right then and there to call about what they’ve seen. Moreover, a print ad can be taken with the car buyer to the kitchen table, to a neighbor’s house, or in the car as they drive toward the dealership.
Likewise, when you’ve seen an ad on the internet a person can be motivated to place a call on the phone, talk with their family and/or neighbors, or take their device with them in the car.
So far, the benefits of both are the same – whether the same ads are in the newspaper, in a mailer, in a television commercial, or on the internet, a potential customer can take action if they are so inclined.
As the late-night infomercial says: But wait, there’s more . . .
The additional advantage you get from digital is that the person can be led to something else. Say they see your Google or Facebook pay-per-click ad or some type of banner on a website and they click on it; it can lead the customer to take an action. It may lead them to call, but it can also lead the customer to fill out a contact form, apply for credit, click through to your website and browse, looking at various pages of your website, watch videos, listen to or read customer testimonials, read online reviews, and the list goes on.
Your digital media is an endless supply of content all having the same purpose: to build trust and lead the customer to you. In print media, you can only pay for so many lines or pages in a magazine, newspaper, or yellow pages.
Yes it is true your print ad has tangible value even with printing, distribution, shipping costs and more. But digital media offers benefits that print does not.
When placing an ad, consider only your ROI and forget the costs of the company selling you the ad. Also, consider if the person you are speaking with about advertising and marketing has their own agenda as they explain what they deem to be the difference between print and digital advertising.
We often combine both print and digital media for maximum value, but every situation is different. Discover what is best for you with a Discovery & Diagnosis Consultation.