Digital treatment can complement print ads

I’ve been managing my consultancy for four years now, and not once did a client require any print advertisement. Online and social media ads have always been the preference.

I don’t blame them. Except for a couple of publications, I myself rarely pick up any magazines. As a millennial, I subscribe to news services and read them on my phone, and mostly in the comfort of my bed.

Though there have been many talks about print media ceasing to exist in just a few years, I don’t think that will be the case. I believe print will still exist, maybe in the form of special editions, or quarterly publications, but it won’t disappear entirely. Banners on the roads, gigantic print ads on the sides of the buildings and those on escalators of mall will continue to be there.

It’s a fact that online activities, whether it’s reading news or shopping is on the rise, and it will keep growing leaps and bounds in our region. Shopping through Instagram is one example. Not only does it provide a convenient option for shoppers, it also saves entrepreneurs huge set up fees. Many of them no longer need to have a physical store anymore.

But with the rise of e-commerce and mobile consumption, how can retailers and print advertisers move forward?

One way is to combine brick-and-mortar with online shopping. Japan and China are pioneers in this field. It’s not strange to find small outlets in metro stations that are not more than a big screen, where a customer can view a virtual shelf stacked with products stamped with quick response codes (QR codes).

All one needs to do is take a photo of the QR code and proceed to check out. This is ideal for convenience stores and magazine newsstands. Though we are yet to see these forms of virtual stores become a norm in the UAE and broader region, it’s just a matter of time before it happens.

CamPay, a UAE tech startup is the first in the country to provide such a solution to advertisers. They deliver services for setting up virtual stores to advertisers and brands, who would like to get the most out of their print advertisements.

CamPay works with retailers to embed QR codes of their products to the ads so that a customer would be able to purchase the product straight away, without having to make the trip to the store.

The concept of CamPay and virtual stores is of great interest. I work a lot with retailers in the UAE who would love to attract Emirati start-ups whether they are in fashion, beauty, or food sectors to rent spaces in their properties, and hopefully attract with them the footfall that such businesses bring. But I understand why startups wouldn’t want to take a physical store space. It’s expensive, and a lot of their customers purchase their products online.

But what if retailers whether malls, or community spaces utilise their walls, pillars and digital screens to create virtual pop-up stores that appeal to such businesses?

Malls and retailers could use companies like CamPay to provide solutions for unique businesses. For instance, a big digital screen at the mall’s entrance can be leased to ticket sales companies where they could advertise events and customers can use QR codes displayed to purchase tickets instantly.

These digital screens can also support start-up businesses in the UAE by giving them leasing options for nominal fees, so that the local brands can gain a wider exposure.

For retailers and print advertisers to survive in the long run, they will have to bridge the gap between the offline and online world. Virtual stores, and QR embedded campaigns can be the start.