But it is another part of Spotify’s musical celebration that has caught the eye of Andrew Gall, Executive Creative Director at Copacino Fujikado, the award-winning Seattle-based integrated marketing agency. Gall says that Spotify’s ability to complement the campaign with its interactive, out-of-home experiences and special billboard moments in cities around the world has elevated the experience to new heights.

Originally, the Spotify team believed that these musical experiences needed to be short and sweet. But digging into the data, they found Spotify fans wanted the interactions to go to a deeper level. They wanted to engage, which expanded the scope of what the campaign was to be. “While the core experience of Spotify Wrapped is digital and social, the personalized out-of-home ads continue to be both beautiful and memorable, year after year,” Gall says. “In today’s world, the strongest print executions aren’t standalone pieces; they’re catalysts for deeper engagement.”

In a time when digital seems to be the be-all and end-all of all things marketing and promotions, Gall says print is the constant that shall never wane—especially in a world where there is so much noise. “Positioning print is a way to break through digital fatigue. It is a way to show how print drives consumers into the digital ecosystem through QR codes, AR or even gamification. If you can demonstrate how print, when well-integrated, matters, you can drive higher engagement, brand recall and conversion rates. And of course, the actual concept on the page needs to be killer.”

That last part is something Gall can attest to. A 20-plus year veteran of the advertising world, he continues to have a soft spot for print. And, just like the tangibility of a real book, he believes print will continue to have valid standing in the marketing landscape. In fact, Gall still acts under the premise that people will read what interests them, and sometimes, an ad still matters. “The difference today is the noise in both our on- and offline worlds. That makes well-crafted work even more important if you want to stand out.”

The strategy never changes. Standing out means being strategic, being beautifully relevant and disruptive in the right context to reach your target audience. When done correctly, effectively and impactfully, print can offer a level of impact that cannot be replicated. “The best print providers will evolve from being vendors to strategic partners,” Gall says. “They help brands integrate print into a larger marketing mix. As ever, as a creative, I’m inspired by how the print landscape in particular, and the advertising landscape in general, has evolved. It just gives me more and more tools for which I can bring my ideas to life.”

Gall and the Copacino Fujikado team continue to be leaders in blasting through the noise. As the only Northwest agency to be recognized four times in the past 10 years by Ad Age as a “Small Agency of the Year,” the 25-plus year old firm continues to make its mark. Clients include everyone from the Visit Seattle, Premera Blue Cross, Symetra Life Insurance Company, MultiCare, CityUniversity, and others. With each, the team uses a strategic complement of strategies to tell their stories, including print.

“Print campaigns can incorporate unique URLs, QR codes, or personalized promo codes to measure direct engagement and conversion,” Gall says. “It’s not necessarily a 1:1 ratio, but that doesn’t mean print can’t be a robust part of any media plan if it makes logical sense for both the creative and the intended audience.”

Teeing off with print

The printers that Bill Gillespie knows and speaks to never argue about print’s relevance. Logging nearly 50 years in the business on the sales and marketing side, he has seen first-hand how printers consider print a given as far as value and a critical component to any marketing campaign’s success.

He recommends thinking of print as a golf bag. Each club solves a different part of the shot strategy. “When you look at it like that, print is one, if not several of those clubs,” says Gillespie, who after spending years as an executive for National Color Graphics and Brown Industries, runs Bill Gillespie Consulting.

Over the years, Gillespie has worked closely with flagship brands like Apple, Microsoft, Coca Cola, American Express, Nike, MGM, Home Depot and Berkshire Hathaway. If his experience, which includes writing more than $100 million in business, proves anything, it is that print and digital marketing are best served when they work in tandem.

“I can tell you anecdotally that my clients and friends tell me that their multichannel campaigns outperform print-only campaigns,” Gillespie says. “There are so many tools that exist today that are able to touch clients in very personal ways. Print can touch exactly the right person at exactly the right time with exactly the right message. The critical part is having good data. The more marketers know about their audience, the more personal the message can be. Print isn’t an obstacle; it’s powerful. In my opinion, it’s the data companies that have work to do.”

If you want advice from a seasoned print advocate, Gillespie says to practice what you preach. Look at your client data. Craft messages on your own behalf. Use billing enclosures, direct mail, email blasts and social media to make your case. Demonstrate what you promote. And share numbers.

“If there are any trends that I see creeping up down the line, it is that selling hasn’t changed as much as we act like it has,” he says. “Tools have changed, but selling hasn’t. Reps can improve numbers and margins by focusing on the problems print solves for clients, not specs and bids. Talking to clients about objectives leads to service design. Clients will help reps invent best answers.”

In a world of tangible, memorable and trust-building experiences, digital is best when it is complemented by print interactions. As brands seek to cut through the noise and create deeper connections with their audiences, print is a strategic advantage whose tactile engagements can be impactful—particularly driven by creativity, craftsmanship and credibility.