Modern Advances in Traditional Advertising

Print is still the most effective medium to get your message across to buyers in the automotive aftermarket, said Bob Wagner of Pendell/Quebecor. “The power of print is unquestioned,” he said, “as it is the dominant advertising medium today.” Wagner pointed out that 57 percent of all advertising is print,which accounts for about $244 billion in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Latin America, and that this figure is twice the total for television and far greater than radio/outdoor and Internet advertising. The reason for print advertising’s dominance, according to Wagner, is that print is “on target and on strategy.” Wagner said that new printing technologies have greatly affected the medium and greatly enhanced its ability to combine database management with computer-to-plate printing advances to offer marketers enhanced customer-targeting opportunities.

Computer-to-plate technologies feature digital proofing — contract proofs vs. content proofs. Computer-to-plate technologies also feature quicker turn-arounds, less dependency on outside vendors for pre-flighting materials, better dot reproduction, less chance for mis-registration and the ability to reprint at lower costs. Wagner believes the print advertising industry will move to ‘standardized’ pdf files, rather than eskofat (or copydot) scanning for even more production ease.

Citing some of the biggest changes since Gutenberg, Wagner outlined that today’s printing presses offer lower print runs on Web presses than ever before, 48-page, four-color printing, closed-loop color systems, and brand new advances in spot UV coating. These advances all improve printing quality and efficiency. In the area of finishing, new processes available to marketers include selective binding and inkjetting in-line; huge polybagging opportunities to deliver additional marketing communications messages that ‘ride along’ with popular publications; label jet applications including “Post-It” notes; and custom tipping opportunities.

If “personalized printing” is called for, major technological advances make this highly sophisticated target marketing opportunity available with shell printing and personalized database management that matches demographic statistics with “ideal” customer profiles and long-run personalization in-line with four-color printing.

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