Make print advertising measurable

In today's world, when almost everything can be digitally captured and measured, data is becoming increasingly important and more and more decisions are based on data-driven analyses and insights. Measuring the success of advertising measures plays an important role, especially in marketing, so that companies can specifically evaluate the reach and effectiveness of their advertising. Digital forms of advertising, which are distributed via social media, websites or online ads, can be evaluated based on clicks, impressions or opening rates. However, these key performance indicators are much more difficult to determine in the print sector. This represents a major challenge for many companies, which raises the question of whether the use of print advertising is even worthwhile at all.

What is print advertising?

The term print advertising includes all advertising messages in printed form — also known as optical advertising media. These include flyers, brochures, newspapers and posters, which can be produced in various sizes and formats. Printed ads in newspapers or magazines are also part of this type of advertising and can include meaningful texts and images as well as coupons or information material to arouse the interest of potential customers. Personalized invitations to trade fairs or events, as well as direct mail or mailings, are also particularly effective. Personalized addressing of these materials ensures that recipients are addressed specifically and thus motivated to make further contact.

Using tools to make print advertising measurable

Since the success of print advertising is often difficult to measure, marketers often rely on tools or connections between print and digital advertising. This helps to generate key figures and use the data not only to read the success, but also to make decisions for future marketing. This means that a cross-media marketing mix can be used without blindly flying in print measures such as flyers or brochures.

1. Use of QR codes

QR codes are one of the most popular tools for connecting print advertising with the digital world. By scanning with a smartphone, users are able to link directly to a website or an individual landing page.
QR codes can thus help companies measure the exact number of views of these pages and encourage interested parties to contact the company directly by linking to contact forms or newsletter registrations.

2. Promotional codes and coupons

Another effective way to measure the success of a print campaign or campaign and to generate key figures is to use promotional codes and coupons. By using an offer or voucher code, which is provided when placing an order, for example, customers and their orders can be precisely traced and assigned. Printed coupons are ideal not only for online orders, but also for brick-and-mortar stores, such as supermarkets, grocery stores or drugstores. Your redemption can be recorded directly and therefore evaluated later. It is possible to determine exactly how often the coupons and promotional codes were used, which provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of the campaign.

3. Response cards

In some print media, such as customer magazines, magazines or advertising newspapers, you can also find response cards. These are used to give recipients the opportunity to express their opinion in a newspaper survey, to complete a subscription or even an article order via a response card. Since the card can simply be removed from the magazine and returned by post, it is particularly suitable for target groups who are less online savvy. The response cards therefore offer an easy way to receive direct feedback. At the same time, they make it easy to track the success of the campaign by documenting both the response and the response from the target group.

4. Exclusive landing page

Last but not least, a landing page created specifically for print campaigns also offers an ideal opportunity to collect data and measure advertising success. With a memorable and unique URL, which is only advertised in print ads, the traffic on this subpage can be precisely tracked. Since there are no links from other sources, all traffic comes exclusively from printed advertising material. This enables accurate data collection to determine the effectiveness and success of the campaign.
In addition, contact forms can also be integrated here to enable exchange between interested parties and companies and to attract potential new customers.

Benefits of print advertising

Despite increasing digitization, print measures still offer numerous advantages for companies and can be used particularly effectively in combination with online advertising. Printed advertising in quality media such as newspapers and magazines is often perceived by the target group as particularly credible and of high quality. This results in her attracting more attention and leaving a more lasting impression. Another advantage of printed forms of advertising is the increased reading comfort and durability of the materials. Printed media (such as brochures) are haptic and are still very popular with many people. In addition, brochures or flyers sometimes also serve as a practical reminder. Thanks to the long-term presence in consumers' everyday lives, they can access the content again and again and contact the company at the right time.

If you would like to use more print measures and would like to find out about a cross-media marketing mix for your sales partner marketing, you are always welcome to contact to us. We are pleased to be able to assist you with this.