The design style of an ad is not what I am referring to here as having changed. I am talking about how ads are becoming more social, web based and interactive.
I could go into stealth marketing, how online ads have changed, or having ads on social networks, however I would rather focus on how print ads have changed. Print ads are now incorporating Facebook, Twitter, QR Codes, and hashtags. It is a great way to lead people back to your social sites or start a conversation through traditional advertising!
It is also a fun and easy way to track how many people see your print ads and if they are trending. For example, if you include a certain hashtag in an ad and that is the only place you use it you can see how many people respond to it. Be careful and make sure that the hashtag is relevant to your brand and the message you are trying to convey or it will not make any sense or be useful.
QR codes are a fantastic way to lead people to a certain landing page from a print ad. The sky is the limit with different ways you can utilize QR codes. You could have a special promotion going or offer a discount code to also track how successful a specific ad was.
Through the use of QR codes, hashtags and special codes you can track the success rate of a special print ad. Before all you had to go off of was facts and figures the publication told you, but now you can take analytics into your own hands.
img source: presentationmagazine.com