Stuart Rising, Head of Graphic Arts at Canon UK & Ireland says…What was the last marketing campaign that made you actually stop and look at it with your full attention? Was it a pop-up advert while scrolling through social media? A TV commercial while watching your favourite show? Perhaps it was a physical asset – a well executed billboard campaign that stopped you in your tracks, or a well designed box that enticed you to pick up a product from the shelf.
Now think about the number of targeted adverts you receive daily, which, for many people, is a lot. Given this, it is easy to understand why it is becoming increasingly difficult for brands to capture attention and connect with consumers. However, this also presents an opportunity, allowing marketers to explore alternative channels and customer engagement tools that can be leveraged to target key audiences successfully. Take print for example, a core marketing channel often recognised for its ability to command attention.
This is just one of the topics explored in Canon’s latest Insight Report. “Exploring the Future of Print” delves into the views of four eminent futurists on the macro trends influencing consumers today and in the future, as well as the role of print in this equation. In our conversation with Benjamin Talin, Founder of MoreThanDigital, a leading business knowledge platform, he highlights how the increasing disconnection from the physical world will dramatically change consumers’ relationships with physical goods. “On one hand,” he says, “we interact with physical objects less; on the other, we interact more intensively [with them]”. For this reason, he sees print playing a key role in the future.
Think of the continuing popularity of photobooks and how they let us relive important life events and experiences in a tangible way that screens can't replicate. This is just one example – among many – of how print can 'monetise memories' and convey a sense of identity. Another example of this can be seen in the growing popularity of customised and personalised items which spans from notebooks to wallpapers.
Finding new paths to profit – print service provider to marketing services providerIf you’re wondering how to capitalise on this opportunity and put theory into practice as a print service provider (PSP), the answer, according to our futurists, lies in making use of your data. Using quality data, whether in a CRM system or otherwise, is central to the argument that the manufacturing industry – including print – overlooks the value inherent in its ‘middleman’ role. As Benjamin puts it, most of the time print providers see themselves as just an intermediary, but they are in a powerful position to act as a connector between a brand and their prospects. And this is more important than ever in a time when brands have to work harder to gain attention and prompt action.
For example, brands have a lot of data on their clients’ preferences, behaviours and interests, but often don’t know how to leverage it. By working with brands to understand what data they have – or how to improve their data collection – PSPs can advise their clients on tailored communications campaigns that can be nuanced to different types of audience or even individuals.
He adds, “One thing the printing industry underestimates is its access to attention and PSPs have the opportunity to offer attention as a service”. That’s why he argues print providers should be championing print’s advantages.
For this to be leveraged fully however, both PSPs and their customers need to understand that print should no longer be seen as a standalone medium; instead, it’s a powerful complementary channel to digital strategies, enhancing campaigns across multiple, tangible touchpoints that drive emotional engagement and reinforce brand identity.
Because amid a storm of digital messaging, a beautiful, timely piece of print encourages us to pause, appreciate and consider what we’ve received. By being proactive and explaining print’s USPs to both existing and prospective customers and suggesting additional ways that print adds value throughout the marketing mix, PSPs can increase their consultative value and support customers to enhance their campaigns. Whether that’s with a well designed POS display in a retail environment or full scale, immersive consumer experiences that bring the digital world to life. Or, on a smaller scale, by creating special unboxing moments or sending a well timed personalised direct mail that inspires buyers to take the next step in their buying journey.
There is no one size fits all solution, but by taking a step back, print professionals will see how they can adopt new business models tailored to their individual strengths. PSPs could, for example, combine print and digital technology in POS displays to collect data to allow brands to understand how long customers remain engaged with campaign assets and what products interest them. This could, in turn, create a new offering and a chance to make the case for and take advantage of ‘attention as a service’.
Alternatively, PSPs could implement new dynamic pricing strategies, which some businesses are already using for peak seasons or to deliver faster, albeit more expensive, delivery options.
Whatever the avenue, by adding consultative value to customers and revisiting their standard practices, such as pricing strategies, print providers can differentiate themselves from their competition by transitioning from a ‘print service provider’ to a ‘marketing services provider’.
Find out more about print’s power to command attention and how print professionals can capitalise on that and learn more about the wider market research findings.
Download a copy of the report here:
https://www.canon.co.uk/business/insights/articles/insight-report