Print and online advertising are two forms of business promotion that are readily available in today’s market. Both forms of advertising have their pros and cons, but at the same time they are both successful in their own ways. Many companies choose to do both so they can reach a wider customer base. Some say that ‘print is dead’ but I completely disagree. Millions of people still reach for their Sunday paper, their favourite magazine or trade publications to see what’s new. There is something about the feel and smell of paper that attracts us to it. Maybe even the fact that you can rip out your favourite page and save it for later. Over the recent years, online advertising has become huge, and a necessity for businesses who want to have a digital presence. In today’s world, you need that online presence to exist. The good thing about online advertising is that you can change your online campaign often and you can also reach a wider range of people. Which form of advertising is right for you?
Print advertising
It used to be that print was your only option to advertise, thus it became quite an investment into your business. Print advertising is expensive. The price of an ad depends on the publication, size of the advertisement and whether it is full colour, 2 colour or black and white. Prices can range from tens to tens of thousands of dollars for a one time ad. In most cases for an advertising campaign to be successful or to be noticed, it will need to be printed several times which means higher costs. Return on Investment can be hard to track with print advertising. Print advertising is not the right choice for every business because some might not need that kind of exposure, but those who need that customer to touch that page in a magazine or save it for later or even pause on that page for second to see today’s sale, rely on print advertising as their main source of attracting new customers. So no, ‘print is not dead’ and I don’t think it will ever be. It’s not the right choice for everybody but still a great option for most.
Online advertising
Today we access most information online on a daily basis. If you don’t have online presence you don’t exist. Online advertising is huge. It is a great option for business’s who are just starting out with minimal advertising budgets or those who have an extensive budget. You can set your budget to your needs. Your online advertising options are endless as you can target your ads at specific consumers. Your ads can also be tracked to see what works and what needs to be changed to work better. The only negative aspect of online advertising is your audience’s attention span. Most people spend only a few seconds on a webpage and if nothing captures their attention, they move on, which sometimes makes it hard for online ads to work. That’s why placement of these ads is crucial. Since customers can’t touch these ads like they can with print advertising, it is important to create unique, eye catching ads that will grab their attention and make them click for more information.
Print or online advertising; which one is right for you? If you can’t choose where to spend your advertising budget money, why not try both and see which one brings you a higher return on investment!
Kasia De Luca
Creative Director
