I am sure we have all heard that print marketing is going the way of the dinosaur and that email and web marketing is the wave of the future. I recently had an experience that led me to believe that this couldn’t be further from the truth. The impact of print marketing and advertising has the ability to affect the viewer in a more real and tangible way than dancing babies or fancy flash programs ever could.

I, like many moms, receive a varied collection of parenting magazines each month. Each of these magazines has the usual articles mingled lightly among the boundless print ads. As I am sure is the case with many magazine readers, I have become somewhat immune to these ads, and, with few exceptions, my brain passes over them without a thought. But in a recent magazine one marketing insert made a lasting impact on me.

It was for a simple product, tissue. The full four page insert was similar to other magazine inserts at first (although the paper quality was outstanding). But when I opened it up, the ad showed a picture of a full size tissue box with a hole in the top and a sample of the tissue popping out. The sample, also printed, invited me to feel the softness of the product. I was able to pull out the piece and make use of the product immediately. I got to sample their product without even asking. Now, almost a week later, I remember the name of the product. I know what the packaging looks like. I know that the tissue is soft and has a touch of lotion. I know that this is a product I would buy when I need tissue.

This was an effective print ad. A real, tangible, memorable marketing piece that did exactly what print media does best. It drew me in with multiple senses, sight, touch, smell, and made the piece more real and more important to me.

Now, don’t get me wrong, email and web marketing are tremendously effective and creating a marketing piece with the kind of impact described above is a challenge. I am not a marketing expert by any means and I may have a greater appreciation for an ad like this because I know what it takes to create it. But I am reminded that with a creative approach the power of print goes unmatched as a marketing tool.