Choosing the Right Approach to Reach Your Target Audience
Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and for marketers, that means more ways and avenues to reach and influence target audiences. On top of that, it’s never been easier to measure a digital campaign’s effectiveness, optimize and monitor improvements in real time.
But with ever-increasing online channels and organizations turning to the digital marketplace to sell their products and services, advertising clutter becomes that much more of an obstacle. At some point, consumers and other decision makers begin to ignore the variety of digital ads and messages hitting them from every angle. How do you break through?
The answer to that question is different for every entity, but an important lesson is that influencing consumers offline via channels such as direct mail – where the clutter has perhaps decreased in some ways – hasn’t lost its touch and gone fully extinct.
That doesn’t mean abandoning the digital space for print, or vice versa – there’s value in leveraging both media depending on your goals, target audience and message. For example, direct mail is a great tactic for getting in front of people who are typically difficult to reach, such as a physician who rarely checks email.
No matter if you opt for a digital, print or integrated strategy, the most important aspect of any marketing campaign remains making your message impactful, interesting and targeted.
We all know when marketing online nowadays, you only have a couple of seconds to capture your target’s attention and interest. But, this is also true with direct mail, as when it comes to getting in front of that busy physician, you’ll often need to pass through his or her gatekeeper before your marketing piece even reaches him or her.
And even if you decide on a print approach, that doesn’t mean your final deliverable has to be old-fashioned. In the digital age, several opportunities exist to modernize your direct mail piece and transform it into an interesting and interactive tool to influence your all-important target.
For example, one way that marketers have achieved crossover between digital and print is creating a direct mail piece that incorporates video (often referred to as a “video brochure”). This deliverable combines print and digital elements, embedding an LCD display into a softcover or hardcover brochure – giving your audience the opportunity to watch a quick video or sizzle reel within a printed piece. It provides an interactive experience that stands above a typical paper brochure or letter while still delivering a timeless, personal touch.
Additionally, once an afterthought, the QR code has emerged as a highly effective marketing tool within direct mail pieces with the rise of remote work and configurability with smartphones.
Your piece might include a quick elevator pitch (and video!) of your product, service or capabilities, accompanied by a QR code that links to your website or landing page with more information. The QR code also enables you to integrate digital metrics into your campaign, measuring the amount of visits to your website via the scanning of the QR code.
As mentioned in our recent blog about strategy leading creative, before deciding on the media you’ll leverage, let your ultimate goal, target audience and key message drive your tactics and deliverables. It’s the only way to maximize your chances at success and return on investment. Let’s get started together.
