To Print or not to Print
A lot of news out there that print advertising can be improved upon, that it isn’t dead, that all it needs is creative or a message or a brand.
I fall on one side of this argument and that is that Print Advertising is dead (okay, on life-support which it is hard to see a recovery from anytime soon – maybe a better description would be a Coma).
We all agree that the internet has done considerable damage (or impact) to print advertising. Why should I wait for my daily or monthlies of magazines or newspapers when I can find out what was written 24 hours or 30 days in advance?
Okay, I’ll give you the argument that you need a magazine on the beach or possibly on a plane (if you can’t afford or connect to their WiFi) or even the subway. But, what percentage of the market is that – 2%, maybe 3%?
Even if the creative were outstanding and the brand was incredible and the ad said “If you can read this, you get a free car in the next hour”, the market penetration would still be minimal at best – even with email, text, twitter, and phone. The individual still has to “get to the location” of the free car so the damage would not be that great (don’t get me wrong, you would still have a riot at the location – but that’s the point, the brand would be built because of the riots, not because of the free car giveaway).
Print advertising will never be the same, because the market will never be the same. The market is the internet and mobile, not paper and rags. Sadly, we continue to see magazines and papers try and stay alive by believing that the people want this. They don’t.
In closing, it is going to be the countries that have never invested in magazine/print (like China, Eastern Asia, Africa, South America), where many lessons are going to be taught on how to gain the biggest bang for the buck – again, specifically in mobile.
Good luck.
