Key Takeaways
“Tortoise” vs. “Hare” in Marketing: Fast, high-spend digital marketing (the hare) doesn’t always win against slow, steady, consistent print advertising (the tortoise). The best strategy depends on context and market conditions.
Digital Marketing Pitfalls: In saturated markets, high spend on digital ads can result in diminishing returns, with competitors driving up costs and little to no increase in leads.
Patience is Powerful: Consistency and repeated exposure through scheduled print ads proved essential. Research suggests prospects need 6-8 exposures to a brand before they notice it.
Hybrid Wins: The most robust marketing combines both approaches—a functional website to support digital traffic and print ads to build trust and drive engagement offline and online.
Adaptability Matters: Success often comes from knowing when to “sprint” (pivot quickly, try new things) and when to “pace” (commit to a long-term, steady plan).
Have you ever felt like you’ve woken up during a race and realized you’re running on the wrong track? This is the story of a client stuck in the conventional sprint of Google Ads — running hard, spending thousands each month, and only breaking even.
Digital Overload and Diminishing Returns
After SL Siding went live with their new website, the assumption was simple: digital ads = quick leads = sales. Spending $3,000–$4,000 a month for digital ads should get customers knocking on their website door. Easy, right?
If only! The ads were running. The money was flowing. But the Lancaster County construction market was saturated — a pack of advertisers competing for the same clicks and vying for attention. Despite SL’s ongoing ad investment, leads were only trickling in, and the return barely covered their costs.
Turning to Print in a Digital Age
So, what do you do when running faster doesn’t get you anywhere quicker?
You slow down and change course.
We recommended that SL pull out of the digital fray and adapt a tried-and-true approach — print advertising in The Fishwrapper. With everyone else swimming in the digital-only space, SL found an opportunity going against the tide.
Print advertising, with a modern website as the anchor, meant something different. It was tangible, consistent, and reliable. And unlike fleeting digital ads that disappear in a scroll, Fishwrappper ads stayed on customers’ desks, on their coffee tables, and in their hands.
Sticking to the Plan: Patience and Consistency
Our strategy called for patience, consistency, and a little faith.
- Advertise every two weeks, not just once or twice.
- Run a quarter-page, full-color ad.
- Refresh the messaging monthly to stay relevant but familiar.
Sometimes in marketing, patience is the most underrated virtue. Waiting months, seeing minimal change, wondering if you’re chasing shadows or striking gold. But the research is clear—a prospect needs to see your brand message 6-8 times before trusting you enough to buy from you.
Results: When Print Outpaces Digital
“We are getting a lot of leads, more than we can handle. Could we put the ads on hold for about two months?”
— Sam Lapp, SL Siding
And so SL stuck with print advertising, and before long, remarkable things happened: the leads started flooding in. Quotes piled up. SL had too many inquiries to handle. The Fishwrapper ads turned into a reliable engine.
And because SL couldn’t keep up with increased demand, they even asked us—“Can we pause the ads?”
Blending Tortoise and Hare
Marketing is rarely about holding the gas pedal to the floor and hoping for speed. Sometimes, a steady, deliberate pace wins the race. Other times, you have to be nimble — willing to change course when one form of advertising isn’t working. It’s the paradox of the tortoise and the hare in real life.
Digital sprinting might get you out of the gate fast, but it can leave you exhausted and stuck in traffic. Printing consistent messages builds trust and presence that multiplies over time.
The Synergetic Nature of Marketing
And the synergy comes when you combine both. A beautiful, functional website sits ready to convert the traffic from print. A digital presence complements the physical ad. Together, they deliver more than either could alone.
Marketing is a dance between patience and pivot. Know when to sprint, and know when to pace. Sometimes you must slow your roll to build real momentum. Sometimes you must shift gears entirely to avoid losing ground.
Marketing is complex, and it rarely fits into neat, packaged solutions. But if there’s one constant, it’s this: The race isn’t won by the fastest runner alone — but by the one who understands when to be the tortoise and when to be the hare.
Ready to rethink your marketing strategy? Whether you need a steady, consistent presence or want to seize the right moment to make a bold move, LMP is here to help. Our team understands the value of both patience and agility—and how to blend digital and print for results that truly move the needle. Let’s talk about a marketing package that fits your goals, your market, and your pace. Contact us today and let’s find the right strategy to help you win your race!
