Advertisers are set to take a more holistic approach to campaigns by pairing digital and traditional methods, according to marketing services company Salmat, whose 2017 mid-tier marketing index predicts a 'renaissance' for offline marketing channels over the coming year.
Salmat's survey of 250 mid-tier marketers revealed that letterbox drops (14.9 percent), print catalogues (12.4 percent) and magazine advertising (12.4 percent) topped the list of channels these marketers plan to invest in during 2017. According to Benjamin Hillman, head of marketing at Salmat, these results are not surprising given the popularity of letterbox drops and catalogues in Australia. “Catalogues reach around 21.8 million Australians every week, and 58 percent of readers do end up buying afterwards. Letterbox campaigns are now more cost-effective and relevant to consumers than ever, thanks to the invention of online platforms that allow for granular targeting based on target market location and demographics. However, the best results happen when letterbox is linked to digital and vice versa,” Hillman said. Hillman believes this is due to marketers wishing to embrace a more connected approach to advertising. "They’re reinforcing their traditional channels with insights from digital channels – for example when our clients publish catalogues, some of their catalogues publish online two weeks before in print, then based on insights from digital catalogues they shuffle their print designs. It’s about using that kind of insight targeting to tie traditional and digital together. "We see some of the best examples of our enterprise and mid tier clients getting the best returns when they integrate their digital and traditional channels," Hillman said. Almost 60 percent of mid-tier marketing companies said they were planning to increase marketing spend in 2017, which Hillman says is good news for printers. "If you combine that with the proportion of traditional channels, I think you could say this will be quite a good year for the traditional print industry," he said.