Print marketing provides a level of tangibility, permanence and visual impact that digital channels simply can't match. Studies have repeatedly shown that print marketing materials–such as brochures, fliers, and direct mailers–have a 70% higher recall rate than digital media.
While print is crucial for building brand awareness, measuring its impact can be extremely difficult given its tangible nature.
So, how can marketers accurately measure the impact of print marketing on brand awareness?
Keep reading to learn how to measure the power of print, including:
- How to measure print marketing’s impact on brand awareness.
- How to measure the creative quality of print marketing.
- Print Marketing and Multi-Channel Attribution: A Holistic View
How to Measure Print Marketing’s Impact on Brand Awareness
To measure print marketing’s impact on brand awareness, marketers need to first establish a baseline for measuring growth. Two easy ways to establish this baseline are:
- Brand recognition surveys that directly ask target audiences about their familiarity with a brand or product(s). Marketers should conduct brand recognition surveys prior to the deployment of a print campaign, then conduct the exact same brand recognition survey after a predetermined amount of time. Ask questions like "Have you heard of our brand?" or "Can you name any products or services we offer?"
- Branded search volume is an excellent indicator of brand awareness growth. Simply set up a custom report in Google Analytics to show the increase in branded search volume before and after the launch of a print marketing campaign.
- Feedback forms on your website will help gauge the impact of print marketing efforts on your overall brand awareness. Ask visitors how they heard about your business or products / services, and then analyze historical data against the results that come in after a print marketing campaign has been deployed.
When establishing a baseline, it’s important to also establish a consistent time period for measuring success. Print is tangible, after all. Brochures, direct mailers and other marketing collateral can be held onto by the recipient for weeks or months before they decide to take action.
Marketers should determine if performance will be measured after weeks, months or quarters. The time period will vary depending on the nature of your business and the average time it takes to sell a product or close a deal.
How to Measure the Creative Quality of Print Marketing
Creative quality refers to the visual and design elements of print marketing, such as layout, typography, imagery and messaging. The creative quality of print materials can directly impact how target audiences perceive and remember a brand.
Similar to A/B testing with email marketing, it’s easy to measure the creative quality of print thanks to a digital printing technique called variable data printing.
With variable data printing, nearly every creative aspect of a printed piece can be changed from one printed piece to the next, including layout, messaging, images and colors. This allows marketers to assess the effectiveness of different creative elements and optimize future campaigns based on which creative variants resonated best with target audiences.
Here are three ways to evaluate the creative quality of print:
- A/B testing compares the performance of two versions of print marketing materials. The two versions will need to differ in a single creative element, such as the headline, image, layout or call-to-action (CTA). The performance of each version can then be compared to identify the more effective version.
- Multivariate testing is a more complex and comprehensive approach that involves testing multiple creative elements simultaneously. Instead of A/B testing two versions, several variations of a print asset are created. The performance of each variant can then be analyzed to identify the optimal mix of creative elements. It’s important to note that multivariate testing generally requires a larger sample size in order to obtain statistically significant results.
- Time series analysis measures the effectiveness of a print piece before and after the introduction of new creative elements, allowing marketers to isolate the impact of those changes.
Print Marketing and Multi-Channel Attribution: A Holistic View
Multi-channel attribution is the process of assigning credit for conversions or sales to various marketing channels based on their role in the customer journey.
Multi-channel attribution is essential to understanding the customer journey and helps marketers understand how print marketing works together with other channels to drive brand awareness.
There are several multi-channel attribution models that can be used to measure print marketing's impact on brand awareness. Here are five common models:
- First-touch attribution credits the first marketing channel that a customer interacted with.
- Last-touch attribution credits the last marketing channel a customer interacted with before converting.
- Linear attribution assigns equal credit to all marketing channels involved in the customer journey.
- Time-decay attribution gives more credit to marketing channels closer to the time of conversion.
- Position-based (U-shaped) attribution assigns more credit to the first and last channels, with the remaining credit distributed equally among the other channels.
High-Impact and High-ROI Print Marketing with Jet Mail
Looking to boost brand awareness with the power of print? You've come to the right place!
At Jet Mail, we're all about creating meaningful connections with your customers through fast, personalized and data-driven print marketing campaigns.
And we’re more than just a print shop. We're a partner in your marketing fulfillment journey.
From print to direct mail to fulfillment, we've got you covered. We understand the value of building strong relationships and offer customized marketing fulfillment solutions for B2B, B2C and e-commerce businesses that build brands and generate more revenue.
Ready to get started? Contact us today to speak with our team of marketing fulfillment experts.
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