Print Advertising Still Works in our Digital Age
March 21, 2014
Tips on what to do and what not to do when creating a print ad
With digital media constantly consuming us through social media, email
advertisements, mobile phone apps, Internet ads, re-marketing campaigns
and so much more it could be easy to cut print advertising from your
marketing budget because you’re told it is ineffective. After all,
everyone is always on his or her mobile devices, right?
Actually you might be surprised once you start researching it. A number
of studies show people react differently to print media than they do to
digital media. In the 2008 study published by the Journal of Research in
Reading, shows that reading ads online isn’t as effective or rewarding
as their printed counterpart.
Multimedia features of ads and physical manipulation of ads tend to
distract the reader from the focus of what they are reading and could
leave little room for imagination to come into play. The result is that
readers do not fully absorb digital media in the way they absorb print
media information.
Print advertising is fully controlled by the reader. He or she decides
how long to stay on each page and when to move away. So to fully
maximize your users experience here are a few things you should do and a
few things you should not do when working on a print ad.
DO
- Make sure you are very clear about what you are selling. Use words or images to ensure you don’t leave people in the dark.
- Use simple, clear contact information, which is easy to remember.
- Make sure your logo is in the path of the reader’s eye, a reader’s eye moves in a Z pattern across the page.
- Work with someone with design experience when designing your ad. Not only is skill necessary to make the ad look right, but your ad must compete with the other ads favorably in the publication.
- Prepare your ad ahead of time, if you can, so you can put it away for a few days and then revisit the ad with a new perspective. This will allow you time for any revisions if needed.
- Confuse the reader and assume your design is funny or clever, ask for second opinions to see if other people understand.
- Clutter your ad with multiple images, text, font styles and an abundance of information.
- Forget to have a clear call to action so the reader knows what to do next.
- Allow your contact information to be obscured in anyway by a design element. An amazing design is useless if the readers do not know how you get your product or service.
- Ask your ad to do too much.
Sometimes, the simplest promotional products make the biggest impact! We really enjoyed working with Notre Dame Prep to create these custom red pens for The Amazing Shake competition. Featuring both the school's logo and The Amazing Shake logo with a sleek silver imprint, they're a simple way to showcase both brands. The Amazing Shake is a competition that helps students build important life skills, including communication, professionalism, and confidence. Branded pens are a practical way to commemorate an event like this. They're something attendees can take home, use again and again, and remember the experience long after it's over. Looking for a useful way to promote your next event? Let Behind Your Design help you create something memorable! Click HERE to get started!
Old friends, favorite traditions and an awesome Homecoming weekend
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A great staff appreciation gift should be thoughtful, useful and connected to the organization. For the Crim Fitness Foundation , custom reverse umbrellas combined function with standout branding. These 46-inch umbrellas feature full-color sublimation on both sides of the canopy, giving the Crim brand plenty of room to make an impact. Branded Inside and Out The outside features the Crim Fitness Foundation logo and brand colors. Open the umbrella, and custom artwork of runners making their way through Flint is revealed inside. Using colors from the Crim brand, the artwork celebrates the organization’s connection to running, movement and the Flint community. Full sublimation on both sides of the canopy allows branded umbrellas to go beyond a logo. Colors, patterns, illustrations and original artwork can become part of the design.
Custom jerseys are a fun way to take spirit wear beyond the standard T-shirt or sweatshirt. With fully customizable designs, they can be created around your school, team, organization or event and made to feel completely unique. At Behind Your Design, we can customize jerseys with your colors, logos, graphics, names, numbers and more. Full-color dye sublimation gives you plenty of freedom to create bold designs across the entire jersey while keeping the finished piece comfortable and wearable. We’ve created several custom jersey styles for our clients, including football and baseball jerseys for Michigan State University Fall Fest. Each offered a different look while giving MSU a memorable piece of custom spirit wear that still felt true to their brand.
We had a fantastic time at the 2026 Michigan State University Vendor Fair ! It was a great day of connecting with so many wonderful people including current customers, new faces and plenty of potential future clients from departments and organizations across campus. One of the biggest hits at our booth was our T-shirt bags , which definitely got people talking. We also had lots of interest in the fully sublimated, two-sided umbrella we created for the CRIM Fitness Foundation. It was a great example of how a promotional product can go beyond simply adding a logo and become something truly custom and memorable.