Print, Why Can’t We Quit You?

Andy Rogers has it bad for print.

“Print is like a relationship, we keep going back to it for one reason only: the way it makes us feel,” Rogers writes on LinkedIn.

“Every relationship we have, we are in because of some emotional connection. When done well, your print media can evoke almost every emotion, which in turn increases your advertising effectiveness,” he continues.

Yeah, we get it, Andy. And so do all those people who prefer print for reading books, magazines and marketing materials.

As Rogers notes, a large part reason for this preference has to do with the sensory experience, that tangible nature of the engagement. And for a generation that saw music shift from vinyl to CD to digital, tangible is cool again.

The sensory experience is both emotional and neurological, as Rogers notes. There is brain science at work in our engagement and absorption in print, which digital hasn’t come close to replicating.

With the sensory experience comes a personal level of experience for Rogers that has enormous branding power.

“When you have printed materials, all with a consistent brand, this immediately establishes trust. You’ve, after all, taken time and effort into creating these quality materials, so the customer knows from the get go that you are serious about your business. You can then further establish this relationship by sending out personalized print, such as thank you cards,” he notes. “Building trust is essential for your business. It is one of those strong emotions that solidifies a relationship, and once compromised cannot be mended.”

There it is again: trust. It’s always been important to brands to build that trust with their readers…and it’s critical now in this climate of fake news and the erosion of that sacred relationship.

We can forgive Rogers for getting a little emotional over print; that’s exactly what print is good at.

So go on, love that print. Lean back and never let it go.