Australians love to own and use a mobile device. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), about 30% of the children in New South Wales own a phone. Besides interacting with friends, many also shop using it. Deloitte believes that by 2023 the mobile industry will account for 3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). It then begs the question, does offline marketing still work, and how can a digital agency in Sydney help?

Offline Marketing Still Shines

For new business owners, especially millennials, the concept of direct marketing may be less familiar. To define it, it is promoting a product or service directly to the consumers. Some of the most common strategies include:

• Face-to-face selling
• Telephone marketing
• Catalogues, brochures, and flyers
• Internet marketing (including social media)
• Billboards
• Television and radio

Many studies already showed that Internet marketing works and provides an excellent return on investment (ROI). What about the others?

It turns out they have not lost their charm. Take, for example, these details shared by Fundera. According to it, the open rate of direct mail is 90%, which is high. For comparison, Campaign Monitor said the average open rate for emails is less than 20%. About 70% of the surveyed consumers mentioned that they prefer direct mail since it feels more personal than online promotions, such as email.

This eMarketer chart also showed that advertisers are not forgoing these traditional marketing methods anytime soon. Although the spending on online marketing increases, they are still allotting for direct mail, voice, and telemarketing.

You also need to work with a digital agency in Sydney because billboards and brochures are not going away anytime soon:

• Many Australians do not use the Internet. According to ABS, over 2.5 million people do not have access to the Internet. Not all of them live in remote or rural areas. In 2016, over 185,000 households in Sydney said they didn’t have the Internet in any device.
  
• Many older adults do not go online. Only 60% of people over 65 years old are active Internet users. Meanwhile, about 90% of younger generations have broadband access. While you can market to the young, you cannot ignore the older ones either. Many baby boomers, after all, have a high net worth and disposable income.
  
• It is still easier to implement than online marketing, which can take months before you can see results.
  
• Business owners can see the effects of their marketing immediately as they interact with people.
  
• Many people prefer the authenticity and the ability to communicate directly with the business.

Ads are not the only things that work. Product packaging is another offline marketing tool that you can maximize to attract customers and raise brand awareness. An impressive packaging also elevates the customer’s perception of the product’s quality and value.

Businesses, especially e-commerce retailers, should consider investing in custom-made packaging that is well-designed and of high quality. In some industries, you can’t stay ahead if you don’t have impressive product packaging.

Makeup and skin-care brands, for example, typically use beautifully designed custom gift boxes as part of their marketing strategy. In the beauty industry, everything you sell should also look beautiful.

How to Use Offline Marketing Wisely

Just because offline marketing still has weight does not mean you should do all of them. Some, such as television and radio, are expensive for start-ups. The strategies all boil down to branding, which a digital agency in Sydney can help you with. These teams possess a deeper understanding of the Australian market.

It also helps to forget the idea that you should prefer one over the other. The best way to maximise offline marketing methods is to do them with digital advertising. This way, you can cover all the bases. Here are some of the ideas:

• Give away USBs as promotional materials. These drives may contain online or digital versions of your brochures.
• Generate QR codes, which will lead to specific websites or shopping carts.
• Add a link to your website or product page to your promotional materials.

In the end, you don’t need to favour one over the other. To create a win-win promotional strategy, you would need both offline and digital marketing.