Back when I worked for Procter & Gamble, they always said that there were two budget items where the utmost level of effectiveness had never been reached.  One was training, the other was advertising.  What they meant by this was they had never, in either category, reached the point where another dollar of spending produced diminishing returns.  So, at least in those days, they always allocated all they dared allocate to these subjects.

Of course, our subject here is advertising (but you might want to remember the comment about training).  And I can hear it already, you are saying, but "Procter & Gamble is retail!"  You would be correct, of course, but I have argued for a long time that all advertising is retail, because all advertising is designed to appeal to humans. Yes, those humans may have different criteria when they are buying a new car or a new shampoo instead of a new paper machine, but at some level, the basic instincts of human beings kick in, no matter the product or service.

As a digitally native publisher, I will have to admit we are often frustrated by budget allocations.  People receive such positive feedback from one-on-one human interaction, or in other cases, seeing their logo on a printed page that they lose sight of how few existing and potential customers they are actually reaching at conferences and in print magazines.  The reach of online advertising in a week, if applied effectively, matches the reach of a year of conferences and a pile of printed magazines.

Advertising buyers like the feel of the tangible, the feel they receive in walking around a room full of other people, the look of an ad in a print magazine.  And let's face it, in our industry, they feel a bit guilty when they allocate a portion of their budget to digital advertising, as if they were betraying the industry.

The industry gave up on mass-produced print long ago, in case you haven't noticed. Today's industry is healthy in sectors where cellulose is used for its physical properties--packaging and tissue.  The shakeout in the grades where it is used for its intangible properties continues as it has since about 1995.

As for other places where you allocate your advertising dollars--collateral materials--how much does it cost to place a brochure in a prospect's hands?  If you accurately account for all the costs, you'll find that the cost is staggering.

So, a modest suggestion.  Allocate 10% to 15% of your marketing and advertising budget to digital.  Try it out, get your feet wet, so to speak.  It may take you a year or two to get comfortable with the process and the possibilities, for there are indeed many possibilities.

Try banner and button ads.  Try ads placed in unusual places (we have 'em).  Try out Pulp & Paper Radio International--the most effective way to make an unknown name a "household word."  Experiment, ask questions, make suggestions.

We have been in the digital advertising business in the pulp and paper industry for over ten years.  Some of our advertising clients have been with us almost from the beginning.  To be honest, a few have said it is not for them.  However, it is something you should try if you have not done so already.  We are convinced the day is coming when it will be almost the only way to reach many of your clients and prospects. Today it is easily the most economical and the fastest.

Your clients and prospects already go where the timely content is.  When I look at the existing trade magazines in our industry, on the day I receive them the news is at least six weeks old.  What image does that leave with your clients and prospects?  Do you not think they have already read or heard those stories?

So, think about your budget allocation and take the steps you know you need to take.  Take your marketing and advertising budget seriously and the allocation of it even more so.

Jim Thompson is CEO of Paperitalo Publications.