As Mobile Marketing expands its reach, we might expect it to outdate more traditional marketing methods, particularly print advertising, whose static nature makes it inherently less dynamic than interactive SMS and MMS advertising. However, new case studies in mobile advertising are beginning to suggest not a digital overthrow of traditional print, but a partnership with it. While it may seem counterintuitive to assume that the emergence of mobile marketing could strengthen the effectiveness of print advertising, that seems to be exactly what can happen when magazines, newspapers, and circulars find ways of incorporating a mobile element into their print ads. The rise of SMS marketing in particular has enabled companies to find creative new ways of energizing print by coordinating campaigns that capitalize on the effectiveness of many different marketing media all at once.
Mobile Commerce Daily has two recent articles that illustrate a coordination of print and mobile marketing, including one that highlights Best Buy’s recent incorporation of mobile calls-to-action in their weekly circular that enabled users to find store locations, make purchases, and even scan a designated part of the circular with a smartphone to obtain more product info. Another article discusses how W Magazine’s April issue included image recognition-enabled ads that allowed smartphone users to directly engage the magazine and its advertisers.
These examples highlight a creative merging of print and mobile that makes advertisements far more interactive as a means of generating greater consumer engagement with products. The print ad becomes more interactive and dynamic because of the mobile component, while the mobile campaign takes advantage of the print market’s targeted reach.
Could examples of print-mobile hybrid ads offer ideas for newspapers as well? The reshaping of print in the digital age can be good news to newspaper publishers who are looking to increase advertising revenue and readership. While print newspapers were at one time the primary source for national and world news, the rampant growth of web-based media—which has made free, updated online news content ubiquitous—has encroached heavily on print media’s already-shrinking domain. With circulation and advertising revenue in continuous decline for many of our nation’s newspapers, the advent of mobile marketing could provide just the opportunity for newspapers and periodical circulations to increase both their readership and their advertising revenue.
SMS marketing offers a reciprocal rather than a one-way approach to reach consumers. Instead of a static print advertisement in a local paper directing the consumer to a business, an SMS advertisement is interactive, requesting the consumer to text a keyword in order to instantly receive something. In this way, the newspaper is not so much a mere venue for a company’s ad, but rather a vehicle for creating an interactive platform between advertisers and interested customers. Newspapers and circulars reach a lot more people than billboards or signs, and are more likely to be picked up by people who are specifically looking for local information.
Newspapers can use mobile marketing for themselves as well, as a means of attracting younger readers (who use mobile devices the most), and creating client loyalty by utilizing a daily mobile campaign tied to a contest, poll, or giveaway. Something that engages and interacts with readers is likely to bring them back.
Why choose among marketing types when you can coordinate several together and maximize the effectiveness of each? Think of ways to integrate mobile and print for mutual and maximal advantage. Considering the fact that in the U.S alone, billions of text messages are sent each month and that advertisers enjoy a 95% open/read rate on mobile ads, coalescing your company’s existing print advertisements with a targeted SMS campaign set up in TextBoard will increase your visibility, market reach, and, ultimately, your ROI.
