Novelist Umberto Eco, writing in the World Press Review, said that “The appearance of new means of information does not destory earlier ones; it frees them from one kind of constraint or another.” Eco notes, for example, that painting and drawing did not die with the invention of photography and cinema.
From the perspective of a direct/indirect marketer, are print media worth saving? Take a position and back it up with research, facts and figures.
Communication has been increasingly distributed through more digital methods throughout the past several years. Companies seeking more technologically advanced techniques for message delivery oftentimes rely more heavily on the uses of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Accordingly, many of the direct marketing efforts by companies today have followed suit with this trend toward interactive media.
And even to that, the question posed is: but how many people actually have access to the Internet? Access to the Internet is somewhere between 8 to 10 percent worldwide. So where do the rest of the 90(ish) percent go? They turn to newspapers, the TV or radio—“The bottom-line is if the print media continues to adapt to the changing media habits of people and corner its target readers well, it will survive. And it ought to do that for its good (Rasool, 2009).”
I feel strongly—even more so from the studies throughout this course— in the necessity for companies to actively assess their direct marketing campaign’s print media efforts in order to ensure the most efficient use of company time, money and resources— and realize that there is substantial reasoning to maintain the use of print media in any [direct] marketing campaign. At the very least, even as a majority of business is being done via digital communications, it is typically the print media upon which its popularity, awareness and interaction relies. “Web sites are quite passive—they need to have customers’ attention drawn to them… (Jones, 2006 p. 154)” Oftentimes it is the print media that influences the inflow of traffic to the Web.
“Contrary to popular opinion that print media are “on the way out.” Many major catalogers are adding new catalog titles as well as adding pages to existing titles. Hot production topics include personalized mailings, one-to-one and variable data pieces and other forms of targeting (WVU, 2009).”
In fact: “…many consumer and business-to-business direct and interactive marketers still consider magazine and newspaper advertising essential as a primary source of leads, sales, members, or subscribers.” Print media has become “a cost-effective means of soliciting new customers” and can be used to reach customer groups that cannot be targeted or reached by other means. “Print media may expand a marketer’s reach.” Most businesses realize this method of communication to be an “excellent source of incremental business, or a means to support and amplify their efforts” in other arenas. (Jones, 2006 p. 154)
The following are noted advantages of utilizing print media. These advantages also in turn act as rationale for the importance, relevance and reasoning for the use of print media in direct marketing efforts:
1. Specific Target Audience: the advantage of catering to specific target audience opens up countless opportunities to enhance sales figures
2. Loyal Readerships: In the media industry, print media readership is mostly longstanding and loyal.
3. Special Ad Positioning: the advertiser can request special ad positioning. This will bring greater visibility to the brand and is commercially more effective as potential buyers would notice it.
4. Credibility: The key factor is credibility that print media continues to reign. It adds improved quality branding that adds great value to your range of products.
5. Long Life Span: Compared to more digital media, print media especially magazines enjoy the longest life span. There are some magazines that are treasured across decades like valuable references.
6. High Reach Prospective: Tangible, reliable and portable, print media get passed from family to friends to customers to colleagues and so on—the amount of viewers is essentially limitless.
7. Glossy Ads: (with the exception of newspaper) this feature allows for more notice-ability. These are usually trend setting and eye catching. The thing is that everybody loves to look again and again at more attractive, unique ads.
(addCMS, n.d.)
“Consistent advertising ensures a cumulative effect. The more familiar buyers are with a brand, the more likely they would buy it. That is why print media advertising will never be out of fashion (addCMS, n.d.).”
References:
addCMS (n.d.). Benefits of Advertising Through Print Media: Advantages of print media advertising. Retrieved on May 3, 2009 from website: http://contentmanagementsoftwares.net/Benefits_of_advertising_through_print_media.htm
Jones, Susan (2006). Creative Strategy in Direct & Interactive Marketing (3rd Ed.). Chicago, IL: Racom Communications.
P.I. Reed School of Journalism, WVU (2009, March 16). Online & Offline Production. Retrieved from IMC 693E Lesson 8 on May 3, 2009 at https://ecampus.wvu.edu/webct/urw/lc5116001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
Rasool, Arshad (2009) Is Print Media Dying? Retrieved on May 3, 2009 from website: http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles_various/print-media.asp
