“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” Peter Drucker
Today’s consumers are using mobile devices to do just about everything that was once only possible with a computer. They have their mobile device on at all times and close by, making mobile marketing available as a new dimension to print advertising and powering campaigns that are engaging beyond what’s on paper.
The most successful marketing strategies combine all available digital and print formats into marketing initiatives that drive brand awareness, cultivate ongoing communication, while building customer loyalty.
Why you must integrate mobile and print
Traditionally, print ads have been utilized as a method to raise brand awareness and create demand for a product, which is difficult to measure reliably. These advertisements were meant to catch the consumer’s eye and stay ingrained in their memory to recall at a later date with the hope that a purchase would be the result.
Mobile is interactive, personal, and delivers a seamless engagement point between a brand and a consumer. A critical value of adding mobile marketing to print ads is the ability to transfer the brand experience right to the consumer’s hands.
Businesses can take print advertising to a new level and move beyond the one-dimensional characteristics of the past to bring an element of interactivity to consumers. Organizations can include powerful calls-to-action in their print ads, that drive people to their mobile devices. This integrated approach will power traditional print ads to lead to mobile engagement, providing a greater means for measuring the response to the advertisement.
Using QR codes and SMS to engage consumers
When integrating mobile marketing campaigns into print ads, it is important to remember that consumers who see ads must be compelled to decide quickly if they are to engage with your campaign. It is critical to provide users with a compelling call-to-action and real value when presenting a QR code or SMS keyword to short-code campaign as well as a clear understanding of expectation when they are engaged.
Research shows that mobile users are more likely to engage with marketing campaigns that offer discounts, coupons, entry into a loyalty program or contest. QR codes and SMS offer a simple way for users to go from print campaigns directly to these offers delivered to their smart phones or tablet devices.
Don’t wait to integrate!
Mobile provides marketers with the ability to accurately measure the quality of the engagement, providing more insights and transparency into the overall success of the marketing efforts. Within a couple of years, it’s expected that virtually every person on the planet will own at least one mobile device.
To stay relevant to consumers, businesses must focus on answering the following question: How can I use my print advertisement campaigns to engage consumers on their mobile devices?