‘Analogue marketing’, anyone?

It’s hard to read about marketing nowadays without ‘digital marketing’, ‘e-marketing’ or some similar phrase cropping up. There are digital marketing conferences and awards, and at Marketing Ability we are delivering a course leading to the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s e-Marketing Award.

Quite right. We all know the facts and figures for the growth in internet usage and so on. There are many tools we can use to promote ourselves online, and any marketer would be a fool to ignore them.

But what about the other stuff? Have brochures had their day for example? Well, even though the likes of VW are introducing digital brochures (for their latest campervan and people carrier), I think paper brochures and other marketing materials are here to stay.

My parents certainly hope so. They don’t use the internet and will probably never join the ranks of silver surfers. But in semi-retirement they are enjoying life and enjoying spending money. My dad seems to buy at least one new golf club or gadget every week, depending on what the golfing press or the manufacturers’ brochures rave about. My mum on the other hand travels a lot, mostly to ’golden oldies’ music weekenders. The only way she knows about them is through the brochures she is very happy to receive.

As for me, the ’special offers’ inserts in my local newspapers certainly motivate me to pick up some bargains, much to the delight of Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda.

So I for one am not ready to ditch marketing that isn’t only visible through a PC or phone screen. Instead, I’ll keep thinking about how people want to receive information and try to develop marketing materials – online AND offline – that fit the bill.