Page 20 - Print21 Magazine March April 2021
P. 20
Business
Report revea
communications gap
Printers need to get on the front foot and provide their clients with ideas, innovation, support
and guidance, with few marketing departments receiving it, according to the latest Insight report from Canon.
Despite serving an industry that is concerned with communication, print businesses have never
had a great reputation for their own communication skills, and this is borne out in the latest Insight report from Canon.
The research revealed that fewer than 20 per cent of print businesses are fulfilling the needs of their customers. At a time when brands are under
more pressure than ever to achieve
due to static or declining marketing budgets, 80 per cent said they would welcome more creative input from their suppliers, representing a clear opportunity for print.
The report says marketing managers are under pressure to provide instant justification for their spend, with companies wanting to prove the return on investment (ROI) of their campaigns with measurement. While digital marketing provides the figures they increasingly crave with
its click-throughs, likes, and shares, print in contrast lacks the metrics that marketing increasingly needs. Anyone who has tried to sell print advertising or marketing will have come up against the ROI argument, usually within the first five minutes of a conversation.
In contrast, print is considered slow and expensive and it is not
as targeted as digital can be. “The real Achilles’ heel is measurability,” says the report. “An ROI is virtually impossible to measure.”
So brands are drifting to digital, 20 Print21 MARCH/APRIL 2021
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investing 46 per cent of their budget in online marketing. Almost all – some 95 per cent – said that they had increased their digital presence in the two years leading up to the call from the researchers in spring last year.
This comes despite the fact that they are aware of the limitations in using digital-only campaigns. They know that consumers are suffering from digital fatigue, that bulk email fails to deliver, that digital engagement is low, and that consumers are sceptical of brands on social media.
“Most providers of print services
today are missing opportunities
to give marketing decision makers more of what they want.” — Canon Insight Report
Almost all survey participants – 97 per cent – said they used print alongside other marketing modes and almost
half – 47 per cent – frequently run integrated campaigns involving print. With 33 per cent of today’s marketing budget devoted to print, it’s seen as the bedrock of brand campaigns.
The Canon report says marketing departments want to use print. Overall, 33 per cent of budgets are spent on print, and 30 per cent of marketing heads say print remains as important as a channel as digital.
The report says that marketing teams are using print at conferences
and events – on pause in Covid
of course – to reach certain demographics, and that they deem quality print to be a match for luxury goods. It confirms that print can deliver an emotional impact that digital cannot by using the feel of substrates and through additional finishing processes.
However, while the response to print gives hope, there is a problem, according to the report. Canon has uncovered a chasm between what printers are delivering compared to what marketing departments say they need, in terms of innovative ideas, support and guidance on
how to use print, how to use it in combination with digital, and
how to deliver a greater impact with print. Few printers are offering what is needed, according to the report.
Three-quarters of marketers say they want their print suppliers to be more consultative, but that only 20 per cent of them act in this way. One- third of marketers say they would benefit from support and guidance they are not currently receiving. Canon’s report says the solution
is for printers to focus on this
rather than be too concerned about price, as few marketers choose the cheapest printers. “Most providers
of print services today are missing opportunities to give marketing decision makers more of what they want,” the report concludes. 21
