The Power of Printed Advertising: Why Consumers Trust and Pay Attention to Prospectus

At the heart of the Oui Pub experiment, printed advertising remains the channel that attracts the most attention from consumers. Considered less intrusive than an online advertisement, it is also one of the best ways to make consumers aware of your offer.

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At the start of the 2023 school year, one of the main concerns of retailers is the evolution of the local media mix. Between the continuation of the Oui Pub experiment, which celebrates its one year anniversary in September, and the cessation of the distribution of the prospectus by E. Leclerc, printed advertising has bad press, and more and more players are leaning on its digitization…

A choice which is not without risk, as the results of the Barometer 2023 The French and advertising & Welcome of the Oui Pub experimentproduced for the second consecutive time by Toluna / Harris Interactive, which surveyed 1,236 representative French people, including 244 inhabitants in the Oui Pub experimental areas, on behalf of Pub-auditcentral purchasing and geomarketing consultancy for local merchants.

Thus, the results of the 2023 edition confirm those of the previous year: the prospectus is one of the most popular advertising channels for the French. In fact, it receives 48% favorable opinions, close to the other “historic” channels: DOOH (47%), the press and OOH (45%) and TV (43%). This is better than digital channels such as display (32%), social ads (30%) or SMS (23%).

Media 100% advertising, the prospectus is even the only one to attract the attention of a majority of respondents (53%), ahead of TV (47%), OOH (42%), the press (41%), DOOH and radio (40%). The score of the best digital channel, social ads, does not exceed 32%. Finally, in a context of inflation, it is the only one to be considered useful by a majority of respondents, whether it is distributed in mailboxes (60%) or in stores (57%).

60% of French people consider themselves influenced by advertising flyers

This 2023 edition adds new fields to the study, which focuses in particular on the trust placed in these different advertising channels, their perceived intrusiveness or their ability to encourage consumers to favor a brand or a brand.

The prospectus is a reassurance lever for 60% of respondents. It allows brands and retailers to benefit from an effect similar to the famous “seen on TV”, a channel which in turn arouses the confidence of 57% of respondents. Overall, legacy channels are trusted by a majority of respondents, while new digital channels struggle to gain trust by more than a third. Only 29%, for example, trust SMS advertising, which is often used for phishing operations.

In addition, SMS, and even more advertising integrated into mobile applications are formats considered among the most intrusive by respectively 78 and 79% of respondents. More generally, three-quarters consider online advertising, very often targeted through the use of browsing data, as intrusive. They are only 48% to make a similar observation about letterbox advertising.

Moreover, when consumers are asked through which channels they prefer to receive offers from brands, the point of sale and the letterbox come out on top (61 and 60% respectively), ahead of the brand’s website ( 56%) or its application (52%), e-mail (46%) and applications dedicated to prospectuses (44%). At the bottom of the table, we find social networks (30%), SMS (28%) or finally WhatsApp (23%).

Finally, the letterbox flyer is the best way to encourage a consumer to favor one brand or trade name over another according to the Barometer: 57% of respondents say they are “sensitive” to this channel, compared to 51% for these same formats distributed in stores, 43% for TV advertising, 41% for the catalog or flyer distributed online, or finally 31% for applications dedicated to flyers.

Only 34% of French people concerned by the experiment know that they are eligible for Oui Pub

In view of these figures, we understand the fears of certain brands to see the printed advertising sector weakened, whether because of the Oui Pub experiment, or as a result of the decision of certain brands to stop the distribution of their prospectus. at national scale. During the restitution of the figures of this Barometer 2023, Aurore Nicolas, commercial director of the BAZARLAND brand, reminded us that a poorly carried out distribution operation could lead a store to lose 30% of its turnover. This shows the interest of this media to publicize its offer and generate traffic in stores!

“Without a prospectus, it is more difficult for consumers to compare the offers of the brands, and that, Michel-Edouard Leclerc knows it. He already has the best price image! However, the other brands will have to continue to activate this channel “to recruit new customers. We are doing this Barometer to better understand the role of the prospectus, but also to defend an entire sector, which goes beyond local brands and also includes professionals in the wood, paper and distribution sectors”, commented Arnaud Dubin, Associate Sales and Marketing Director of Pub-audit.

In the Yes Pub experimental areas, 51% of respondents believe they are less aware of promotions and discountset 48% say they have reduced the number of stores they buy from since the end of the distribution of the prospectus. However, it is surprising to see only 26% of the inhabitants of the experimental areas affix the famous Oui Pub sticker to their mailbox… But only 34% of the respondents concerned know that they live in an area of experimentation!

And overall, 64% of respondents fear that they will no longer be able to compare offers between different brands without a prospectus and are looking for alternatives to defend their purchasing power. However, to replace a channel as effective and easy to use as the prospectus, you need 7 digital channels! Channels which, as we have seen, are far from meeting the support of consumers…

“Online, we do not choose the moment when we are exposed to advertising, unlike the prospectus, whose offers will be studied, in particular for food purchases, with 70% of those polled who say they appreciate the catalogs and prospectuses emanating from this sector (of which 39% appreciate them very much). This does not detract from the interest of digital, in particular its flexibility. Moreover, the use of digital tools in our geomarketing approach allows us to better target the sending of printed matter, by rationalizing their targeting, their volume according to the stores, while gaining in efficiency”, comments Arnaud Dubin.

To attend the complete restitution of this second edition of the study and discover the reactions of the Bazarland and Irrijardin brands to these results, Click here !

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