The Advantages & Disadvantages of Leaflet Advertising For Your Business
Do traditional marketing tools like leaflets still have value for businesses today? That's a question on every modern marketer's mind. You might think leaflet distribution is outdated but major brands are relying on leaflets more than ever.
Businesses across the UK have utilised leaflets for over 50 years to effectively advertise products and services. Even with contemporary options like TV and internet, leaflets remain one of the most direct mediums for promotion.
While some really big companies are going back to basics with good old-fashioned leaflet advertising, a lot of marketers these days still don't even give them a second thought.
We're here to tell you why leaflets are a great marketing tool and the advantages and disadvantages of leaflets in this increasingly fragmented world.
What Are Leaflets?
Leaflets or flyers as they are commonly called, are single printed sheets containing advertising messages, promotions or information about products, services, or events.
They're a way for businesses, organisations, or individuals to grab attention of their target audience and share the important information.
Whether it's a sale at an e-commerce store, an upcoming music concert, or a new restaurant opening in town, leaflets are a quick and effective way to spread the word to a lot of people at once.
Advantages of leaflets
Leaflet distribution may seem old-school, but there are numerous benefits of leaflets that still make them a valuable marketing tool today.
1. People Trust In Print
We have all seen a digital ad crop up on our computers, phones and tablets as we browse the internet. The media is highly accessible but how does it compare to a tangible printed item posted through your letterbox? A study found that 42% of people found print advertising trustworthy, whereas only 18% trusted internet websites.
Digital competition is also a struggle for a lot of advertisers with consumers being fed thousands of ads every day across millions of websites. Compare that to just one letterbox, printed leaflet advertising can be seen as more trusted as it cuts through the digital clutter and can be presented on a far more personal level.
2. Granular geo-demographic targeting
Gone are the days of casting a wide net and hoping for the best. Leaflets offer granular geo-targeting, by which brands can meticulously tailor their distribution areas and volumes to focus on specific local postcodes and neighbourhoods.
By leveraging demographic data, understanding consumer behaviours, and pinpointing interests, leaflets can be strategically delivered to those most likely to engage. This level of targeting approach is a challenge online.
However, with Leafletdrop's smart leaflet targeting tool, geo-demographic targeting is made easy. You can connect up to 30 million households across the UK and refine your reach like never before.
3. Cost and attention efficient
One of the many benefits of leaflets is the cost-efficiency. On average, a pay per click search advertisement will cost a business £3.25 per click. An A5 doubled-sided leaflet on the other hand, printed on high quality 170gsm paper and hand delivered to a target home will cost a fraction of this at just under 10p.
But here's where it gets even better: With printed media, you also benefit from economies of scale. For example, the above price was based on 20,000 leaflets, up this to 50,000 leaflets and the price goes down to 8.5p an item. Check out our handy leaflet advertising pricing calculator here.
A leaflet fact: Leaflets are 2x as attention efficient as digital ads and they achieve this remarkable feat, at half the cost of digital ads (Source : JICMAIL)
4. High engagement levels
Banner blindness causes online ads to fade into the background. Social platforms have turned into pay-to-play battlegrounds and our inboxes are overflowing with messages.
But leaflets catch eyes and create meaningful connections with their physical paper presence right at your doorstep.
Here are some key statistics that throw light on the efficiency of leaflets:
• 45% of consumers regularly keep flyers in their drawer or another place in their home.
• 38% of pamphlets people keep for at least a few days.
• 13% of leaflets people keep for over a week
• Flyers with a discount code are 50% more likely to be kept for at least a week.
• 79% of consumers keep, pass on to a friend or glance at the contents of flyers they receive.
*Source: DMA
5. Highly measurable advertising tactic
Most modern marketers view digital channels as the only measurable advertising medium. However, targeted leaflet campaigns can provide just as insightful performance tracking as digital marketing.
The key is strategically combining print and digital. Tactics like adding trackable promo codes to leaflets, driving recipients to specialised landing pages, integrating wider website analytics, and in-store discount redemptions connected to print distributions offer clear leaflet campaign metrics.
6. More Creative Freedom
Leaflets, Social Media ads & digital advertisements all have the potential to be visually appealing but with most digital formats, you can be limited to word count restrictions, pixel image sizes and much more.
A Leaflet is only truly limited by your own imagination. With ample amounts of sizes, and pages to choose from, leaflets are like a mini-informational pack that allows you to sell your business with true creative freedom. Leaflets allow you to bring your brand essence to life in any way you see fit, without having to fit to a template. Check out this article on ways to build the best brand image.
7. Omnichannel marketing approach
Leaflets truly stand out in marketing efforts, offering a versatility that's hard to match.
For example, a local restaurant could promote a new menu addition on social media and create promotional flyers to distribute around town. Customers that received the leaflet could then be driven to like the restaurant’s Facebook page via a call-to-action for more info or specials.
When you integrate leaflets into your multi-channel marketing strategy in this way, you can create a seamless experience for your audience across different platforms and touchpoints. This kind of approach boosts your visibility and makes a bigger impact.
Disadvantages To Leaflet Advertising
Leaflets Can Be Easily Overlooked
As with any media, leaflet advertising can also have its downsides. With so much creative freedom, it is important to get your design right and to ensure your leaflet grabs the attention of the reader. Failing to do this can result in your leaflets ending up in the recycling bin and wasting your budget. We have a handy article on how to avoid your leaflets going in the bin here.
Multiple suppliers
Digital ads are usually very simple to set up and manage and it is usually all done through one supplier. Leaflet advertising can sometimes rely on multiple suppliers like designers, data experts for targeting, printers and distributors meaning more work for you and your marketing team.
You can however, utilise Leafletdrop, an all in one leaflet advertising booking tool. Leafletdrop lets you target your households, book high quality print and reliable Royal Mail distribution, all online and in minutes. One supplier for all your leaflet advertising needs, Leafletdrop leaves all the supplier handling work to us giving you more time to focus on your business.
A media mix is the best approach
All media types have their advantages and disadvantages and one approach does not fit all. Our advice is to include multiple digital and printed media in your marketing mix to not only test their effectiveness but to also ensure you re maximising your reach.
We have launched a handy fact sheet on how leaflet advertising can help your business in a digital world, download it for free below.
The Letterbox: AKA the acquisition portal | Download for Free here
How to Use Leaflets to Your Advantage
Now that you know about the pros and cons of leaflets, a key question to ask yourself is how can you use leaflets to your advantage?
As you can see from the lists of benefits and disadvantages of flyers, the number one factor for generating business from leaflets is having an engaging design that compels the reader.
With Leafletdrop’s design online tool, you can create eye-catching leaflet designs with just a few clicks. Our online design tool puts agency-level design at your fingertips.
Additionally, if you need any help with leaflet design services, our experienced team of leaflet designers are on hand to create professional and visually pleasing designs that stay on-brand and make a significant impact in the shortest possible time.
Whether you are looking for more information or are ready to launch your first leaflet distribution campaign, simply reach out to us and get started on your advertising journey.
