Advertising has a long and fascinating history. Widely used to promote manufacturing and services from the mid-19th century onwards, the power of advertising wasn’t truly recognised until the 1950s when the modern version that we know today really took off.
Fast forward a couple of generations to today’s digitally driven environment, and it’s easy to dismiss old school print advertising as dead and buried – but it isn’t. Did you know that people are 70% more likely to remember a brand advertised in print as opposed to online?
There’s a huge demand for printed media, and large scale poster advertising remains one of the best and most effective ways to attract customers. Here are 9 reasons why you should consider this medium in your next advertising campaign.
1. Affordability
One of the main benefits of poster advertising is quite simply that it is comparatively cheap. They don’t cost much to design, print and install, are quick to produce and can stay around for a long time. Spreading your message to a wide audience in this way is far more cost effective than, say, radio, TV or digital advertising.
2. Visibility
Whatever product or service you are promoting, marketing professionals and print experts know full well that “a perfectly placed poster will stop people in their tracks” (YouLovePrint). Thanks to their size and visual impact, there’s no doubt that a cleverly conceived poster with a compelling visual and pictorial message can be hugely effective in raising your company’s visibility.
3. Credibility
Interestingly, statistics have shown that traditional print media including newspapers, magazines and poster advertising are highly trusted sources, much more so than online advertising and social media. Posters, in particular, have always appeared in public places which seems to make them more visible and trustworthy than other forms of advertising.
4. Recall
Compared to viewing advertisements on a digital screen, printed advertising is more comfortable for the human eye. There seems to be something about printed information that our brains find more enjoyable to and therefore easier to process. Recent research carried out in the USA has shown that people are far more likely to recall an advert they saw in print, and especially if there are written messages that require more attention.
5. Flexibility
Posters can convey any message you like in any interpretation you like. The creative possibilities are endless. From striking fonts to eye-catching graphic design and clever written content, the versatility to put an effective marketing message together on a grand scale is simply vast. Good posters are vibrant and memorable – here are just some of the old favourites that have stood the test of time.
6. Emotional Response
Posters are a powerful medium in the way that they influence customers’ subconscious responses. A well thought out advertising poster. They have the ability to arouse empathy, an emotional response that connects your product or brand directly with the hearts and minds of your target customers, using emotive visual imagery that never fails to work. Here’s a good example:
Source: Opinion Sharing
7. Local Impact
A well positioned poster in a local town, busy street, shopping centre, public escalator or conveniences can work wonders for a captive audience. Place the right campaign message in front of the target audience and get seen! Take full advantage of the unique ability of advertising posters to reach large audiences in high footfall and car traffic areas.
8. Call to Action
Poster campaigns may have a long history behind them but, crucially, they also have a future. Use the space to create a rapid, direct call to action for your customers, telling them exactly what you would like them to do: Book now. Call today. Use this discount code. Enter this competition. Use a poster campaign to boost customer response.
9. Drive Online
There’s a great debate between traditional and online advertising, but it doesn’t have to be either or. Before people ‘posted’ on Facebook, they used actual posters! Why not use one medium to promote the other? Use classic poster advertising to raise the profile of your twitter handle or campaign hashtag, promote QR codes, encourage social media followers or make your poster go viral.