Physical touchpoints are still a powerful way to close the gap between customer and company, even in an almost completely digital world.
In fact, most consumers prefer to interact with something physical over digital when asked about it. This means there is still a market for traditional advertising and showcasing of products and services. But what are the advantages? From more powerful information retention to reducing ad fatigue, here are some of the best.
Emotional Connection to Branding
Branding is supposed to help bridge the gap between the company and the consumer. But who says it has to be corporate-spoken sanitisation? The best branding strategies connect with the audience, such as Coca-Cola’s Christmas slate.
Have you ever thought of any other brand over the Holidays? Of course, physical media through essential brand printing is still one of the most powerful methods, as tactile experiences are proven to be much stronger at forming bonds.
Physical Touchpoints Help Retain Information
We are bombarded with so much data these days that it can be hard to keep track, literally! Neurological studies have found that we forget 90% of what we take in over the course of a week, especially from passive media. But physical media helps us retain much of that info:
- Reading and scanning images from physical media makes a lasting imprint in the mind.
- The brain is more effective at recalling printed media than fast-moving digital ads.
- Customers can keep and read physical media, such as flyers, for a longer period.
Higher Brand Credibility and Trust
Some of the best online-only brands are excellent at what they do and find different and effective ways to form bonds with their customers.
However, there is still power in physical interaction, whether that’s flyers or pop-up stores. People engage more with something tangible, and investing in methods of engagement conveys brand credibility. As such, it is likely that customers will trust a brand more than if it simply engaged with social media ads only.
A Multisensory Branding Experience
As you know, we have more than a couple of senses! Digital ads through screens typically only engage one, vision, and sometimes two, hearing. This means that an ad campaign is only appealing to two-fifths of what is available.
Studies have shown that the brain works at its best when both hemispheres are engaged through multisensory experience. In short, physical interactions that also engage touch, smell and even taste, form much stronger impressions.
Physical Touchpoints Offer Lower Competition
Digital advertising has taken over the market as the most used by modern companies. Today, 73% of businesses all over the world invest more in digital than physical. As such, there is a massive gap in the ad market, meaning your business can capitalize on lower competition.
Less digital noise and electronic clutter
Pretty much everyone is bombarded with digital ads and eClutter through their phones and computer screens, and physical media provides a small reprieve from crowded social media.
Immediate interaction and less risk
Customers can feel much more appreciative of a product when interacting with something like a physical replica over images and videos on a screen, immediately reducing purchase risk.
A differentiated brand identity
Physical stores can be curated to tell a story and connect in ways images and videos cannot. As such, a brand can stand out with hands-on experiences hard to replicate with digital marketing.
Physical touchpoints offer lower competition because they provide something tangible that a customer can interact with. Because of this, a sensory experience that engages the brain will usually win over digital-only branding, cutting the noise and forming a deeper brand attachment.
Integration with Digital Services
Digital marketing is a powerful tool that every branding campaign should use. However, physical media and branding shouldn't be pushed aside in favour of it, and here’s why.
These two branding paradigms work amazingly well together to form a cohesive and much more interactive experience. For example, you can integrate digital ads with physical branding using systems such as QR codes, where customers interact with both methods through targeted strategies.
Higher Perceived Authority
Traditional media, such as print, are typically perceived as more authentic and genuine by a large segment of the population. Younger customers, such as Gen-Z, are likely to engage mostly with digital branding but still appreciate and engage with physical media.
Because of this, a brand can appeal to a wider audience and retain authenticity and authority. This can be as simple as higher-quality packaging combined with in-store displays that promote products.
Reduced Ad Fatigue with Physical Touchpoints
We are constantly bombarded with ads, and it is getting worse all the time. It is believed we see between 4,000 and 5,000 ads per day on average, and even your smart devices, such as fridges, are beginning to display them. As such, people are fatigued by the digital invasion:
- Digital ads are being blocked and skipped more often, but physical media is kept.
- Physical ads are interacted with at leisure, and therefore reduce the sensory overload.
- Banner blindness from too many digital ads can be overcome using physical media.
Enhanced Personalisation and Impact
Globalized digital marketing is often uniform, so it can be sent out via social media platforms to the masses with a sanitized appeal. However, it is much easier to tailor physical media to local regions such as countries, cities and even local communities where the branding will have the most appeal.
This can be a powerful tool when marketing for specific cultures, religions and traditions, helping to forge a powerful bond between the customers and the products.
The most effective modern strategy isn’t really a matter of choosing physical over digital, but rather integrating them effectively into a cohesive and balanced modern marketing strategy.
Forming an emotional connection is just one of the advantages of physical touchpoints that wins out over digital marketing. With a physical campaign, you can also cut through a lot of the digital noise that people experience and even tailor a strategy towards a specific region and culture.
