Do you all visit the library?

Since I have an elementary school-aged child, we often visit the library on our days off. Being surrounded by books is exciting, as there are so many interesting ones to discover just by walking around. Unlike what you see on a smartphone, books have no distractions, which makes it easier to focus and absorb the information.

When I was a child, I used to spend a long time reading books at the station bookstore on my way home from cram school. Nowadays, bookstores have significantly decreased.

For several decades, the volume of printed publications has been declining, consistently being overshadowed by digital media. Free papers have disappeared, fewer people subscribe to newspapers, the number of inserted flyers has decreased, informational magazines have vanished, and many magazines have either become quarterly publications, ceased publication altogether, or halved their circulation. The examples are too numerous to count.

On the other hand, we are fed up with advertisements in the digital society. When we search, we see sponsored ads; when we open a webpage, there are banner ads; when we watch a video, there are commercials. Everywhere we look, it’s filled with advertisements.

Since our company deals with paper, let’s take this opportunity to revisit the strengths of print advertisements.

The Importance of Tangibility

The biggest difference between digital and paper is the presence of tangibility. Digital media depends on the existence of hardware to display it, whereas paper inherently holds value on its own.

According to a study by Dentsu, print advertisements have a higher impression and recall rate compared to digital advertisements. This is because they directly engage the human senses, making them more memorable.

Most digital advertisements use GAFAM services, making them prone to similar appearances and content. On the other hand, they have the advantage of reaching only those users who are likely to be interested, thanks to big data analysis.

Advertising Expressions that Appeal to the Senses

Print advertisements, such as direct mail and flyers, can combine various elements like paper type, processing methods, and printing to create very unique and memorable advertising expressions. Another characteristic is that users can interact with the advertisements, such as by writing on them, collecting them, or simply putting them in their bag for later.

By leveraging these aspects, you can enhance effectiveness even further by using special paper textures and processing, printing with scents to appeal to the sense of smell, or using foil stamping to make logos stand out.

A drawback is that paper can become waste and require disposal. However, Japan is a leading country in paper recycling, with a recycling rate exceeding 60%. By properly sorting and recycling paper, it can be transformed from mere waste into an important “resource.”

Intensifying Competition Among Digital Advertisements

Now, it would be untrue to say that our company doesn’t use digital advertising. In fact, we use it quite extensively. Since the majority of our business starts with inquiries from our website, it’s crucial for potential clients to reach our various websites. To achieve this, we ensure that our ads appear when certain keywords are searched. As you know, this incurs a cost per click.

Moreover, nowadays, many companies use digital advertising, leading to intensified competition and an upward trend in cost-per-click. Depending on the industry and keywords, the cost-per-click can reach several hundred yen, often making it more expensive than producing and sending flyers or direct mail. This is clearly a disadvantage.

Furthermore, many users find advertisements annoying. According to a 2020 survey by the Internet Advertising Bureau, about 70% of users feel this way. People are unlikely to deliberately engage with something they find annoying.

Cross-media Strategy (Paper × Digital)

The most effective marketing strategy is to combine digital and print advertisements. This method, known as cross-media strategy, involves, for example, combining magazine ads with web banner ads, where scanning a QR code in the magazine directs you to a special website. Other examples include launching campaigns that integrate direct mail (DM) with social media ads, using coupons in the DM to encourage store visits.

It is important to unify the concept of both digital and print media. By doing so, you can create a consistent brand image for users. While I’ll skip specific examples, many advertisements actually employ this approach.

We can assist you with that strategy at our company

Our company excels in creating print advertisements. We specialize in original sticky notes, calendars, paper clips, paper cut-out seals, pop-ups, and more. With nearly 70 years of accumulated knowledge, skills, and expertise in the printing and processing industry, we are well-equipped to meet your needs.

At the same time, our company has been involved in building and managing various websites for over 20 years, and we possess extensive know-how in IT operations. We can write and publish articles featuring our customers on our website. For example, we can create articles about the paper products our customers sell and their development stories, allowing us to reach potential customers. Additionally, we can disseminate information through various social media channels, so we can support your cross-media marketing efforts to some extent.