I was on holiday on the other side of the world and having a drink in a local bar. The waiter asked where we came from and it’s always easier to say ‘Windsor’ – we’re close to it and most people know who the Queen is and where she lives. I was surprised to hear our young Sri Lankan waiter say that he had visited Windsor the year before when staying in a tiny Berkshire village.
But then something really amazing happened. He opened his wallet and showed me the tickets he kept to remind him of his trip.
I was overwhelmed, as one of the tickets was one that we had designed for Merlin Entertainments – a minimum charge job, designed in our office in Windsor, sent to the US for a huge print run and presented back to me in a bar in Sri Lanka. It was a ticket that was for whether you wanted to see a fish, a waxwork or some famous building blocks; kept as a souvenir of a fabulous day at Madame Tussuads.
He was keeping one of the smallest design jobs we did as something to show people what he did on his holiday. An e-ticket wouldn’t have evoked the same emotional attachment.
Digital marketing has revolutionised how frequently, accurately and cost-effectively marketers are able to communicate with prospects, customers, stakeholders and suppliers. No one can argue with the range of options it has opened up – how easy it is to test creative, how quickly you can turn on or off any offer. Our clients love it and we really love the dynamism of creating digital campaigns.
But does it provide the longevity in emotional connection your print can?
So in a week when we’re printing over 1 million vouchers for a client, and recent reports indicate that the popularity of ebooks is stagnant as people want to hold real books http://nyti.ms/1KuGItp, let’s hear it for the print!
