Two old school marketing tools are making a big comeback.

There are an unprecedented number of communication channels food marketers have access to today to reach their target audiences. For many B2B and consumer audiences, however, information overload has been reached and they are also experiencing a little tech burnout. This may explain why some modern marketers are returning to two communication channels that many have labeled as old school. Here’s what and why.

Print Catalogs   Yes, the good old print catalog. Around 2007, as paper became more expensive and consumers had almost universally adopted online shopping, marketers shifted their focus to digital channels. However, to cut through today’s digital clutter, marketers have begun returning to print catalogs and in 2013 there was an increase in print catalogs for the first time since  2008. A recent study revealed that over 55% of online shoppers actually browse through catalogs for inspiration and product details before shopping online. Over  30% of online shoppers refer to print catalogs while they are actually shopping online. Many retailers who continued to produce and distribute print catalogs during the recession were also some of the best known luxury brands, which served to elevate the status of print catalogs. Why have some marketers returned to print catalogs? Consumer feedback indicates that they are growing weary of all of the targeted digital advertising they receive and want to peruse catalogs at their leisure without being inundated by ads for every single product they review online.

Email  Like catalogs, email had been declared dead by some marketers who cite all of the advertising activity that shifted to social media channels as evidence. However, as social media has become an endless stream of information, some of it uncontrolled by brand owners,  marketers are revisiting the advantages email. Email can be targeted in its messages and its recipients. Email can be used for single, one time communication/messages as well as for ongoing communication such as newsletters and periodic reports. For food marketers, email can be used not only for product pushes, but for more general information on nutrition, health tips, recipes, cooking tips, and entertaining ideas. The best reason to re-consider email is that marketers have total control over the timing, frequency, and content of email messages.