When someone says “marketing”, what springs to mind? Expensive campaigns? Flashy online tactics? Complicated funnels? Marketing is an inherent part of business but in our digital world, we’re oversaturated with pop-ups, emails, and aggressive messaging that often isn’t as effective as brands would like.
At its core, marketing is about having a memorable conversation with someone. It’s like walking away from an interaction and thinking “that person was pretty cool, we should meet up again.” And the best way to leave that impression is to go back to basics—to strip away showmanship and make a real connection with audiences.
Enter the humble sticker.
More than 90% of word-of-mouth branding takes place offline, meaning that marketing outside of a computer or phone screen can hugely benefit brands. So, if you’re looking for a powerful way to get your name known, sticker marketing is your ticket. Here’s why sticker marketing still impacts consumers and a few examples to pique your sticker senses.
Why Would a Brand Use Sticker Marketing?
For decades, stickers have helped build companies, establish brands, spread news, represent communities, and even get politicians elected. And for good reason.
People love stickers. We put them on our clothes, our tech, our vehicles, notebooks, and water bottles. We use them to tell others something about ourselves—what we enjoy and what our values are. Stickers are a fun and quick way to reflect our individual styles and the brands we like.
For businesses, stickers are inexpensive to make and distribute (especially compared to online marketing techniques), and can quickly gain momentum among the public. They can also be customized according to the campaign; for example, stickers can have a limited edition design to make them more sought-after or can have unique QR codes for in-store discounts.
Stickers have a timeless cool about them too: they’re eye-catching, versatile, and aren’t deceptive. Unlike some marketing tricks that aren’t completely transparent about their intentions, a sticker is a simple, condensed representation of your brand that people can freely choose to put on themselves or their stuff. Plus, whereas leaflets tend to be thrown away, stickers are a longer-lasting form of marketing.
Why Would Individuals Use Sticker Marketing?
The mighty sticker isn’t just reserved for companies’ marketing strategies; individuals can also use stickers as a way to reward, as an extension of their personality, or as an exciting addition to their belongings. It can also be an incredible calling card for freelancers, especially those involved in the design business. What better way to attract more clients than to slap down a sticker with a super sweet design to showcase your abilities?
Teachers can hand out stickers to celebrate students’ achievements, small business owners can create stickers with their contact information, and musicians can distribute stickers showcasing their album artwork.
Stickers are also affordable for individuals who may be working with a smaller budget than businesses. Not to mention, individuals who may have a more localized target in their immediate location, can place stickers in cafes, libraries, and other hotspots to more seamlessly integrate into people’s daily lives.
What a Sticker Marketing Campaign Might Look Like
The world of sticker marketing is vast. Younger audiences generally place their stickers on their water bottles, laptops, or car windows. If you’re aiming for this age group, make sure you have an eye-catching logo, slogan, and design that will make people want to proudly display the sticker.
Another route is to use stickers as a seal for any boxes or envelopes that your company sends. Doing so shows that you’re the “maker” of the product, and can be a nice aesthetic addition to your packaging. For smaller businesses that can’t splash out on engraving or direct printing onto shipping/packaging materials, stickers are great to make products stand out. Likewise, companies can include stickers as an add-on for purchases. For example, if someone buys a book, they get a free sticker with a bookworm on it for decoration.
Alternatively, you can include important information on stickers, like your address, email, phone number, promotion dates, and opening times. And when it comes to material, you can opt for an easily-peelable sticker, or vinyl or chrome stickers that can withstand harsh weather conditions.
Don’t think that an offline sticker marketing strategy can’t be connected to your online presence either. In our new, hybrid world most marketing strategies can straddle the line between in-person impressions and online sales. Stickers that have QR codes on them can link to a desired landing page or form fill page. And so long as that sticker remains stuck somewhere, it serves as both a physical and virtual gateway to your brand’s story.
Design Advice For Your Sticker Marketing Initiative
Stickers are a literal blank canvas for your creative instincts to flow (and stick). Custom shapes and die cut cards are striking designs that work best for brands looking to make a statement. Matte-feel stickers or decals are pleasing to touch and appeal to people’s senses beyond just the visual.
If your brand calls for something more classic, don’t be tempted to go overboard with the design. Stickers are small and too many effects or too much content will make it hard to produce and to read. Instead, concentrate on the basics and what you want to accomplish with the sticker. Some of the most impactful stickers are a clean metallic/foil material and utilize levels of opacity for a straightforward, chic look.
However you design your sticker, keep in mind that people aren’t going to use a sticker that doesn’t have some kind of impact on themselves. You, therefore, need to conduct market research before you design and ensure that you really understand the people you’re hoping to make the sticker splash with.
Sticker marketing has stuck around for so long precisely because of its ability to give brands a fixed spot in people’s lives and minds. With stickers, not only does your brand maximize its exposure, you can give audiences a small token of fun—which will do wonders for customer loyalty.
So, are you ready to start your sticker journey? Check out our custom sticker services to enhance your company’s marketing and business goals.
