Top 10 Reasons Print Should Remain a Vital Part of Your Marketer's Mix

Considering that my company publishes a national magazine for college-bound teenagers, you might think the title of this article paints me as self-serving.

Maybe you think I am trying to preserve print because it’s our company’s core product. But even though our printed magazine brings in the lion’s share of our revenue, it’s not why I’m trying to convince you that print is still tremendously relevant.

Actually, our company is much more than print. We are a Web site, an online community, an e-mail marketer, an online newsletter. We have a social media presence, we instant message with our readers, and oh, we print a magazine, too.

But here’s something that may surprise you.

Besides delivering great content to our readers, branding opportunities and leads for our advertisers, our magazine is also an amazing traffic generator. In fact, our magazine is the number-one driver of traffic to our Web site. It’s like buying keywords, only better!

The magazine also drives traffic for our advertisers. Third-party research shows that 60 percent of our readers visit an advertiser’s Web site after viewing their ad in Next Step!

I am going to pitch this list to David Letterman for his show. But just in case he doesn’t pick it up, I’ll share with you my “Top 10 Reasons Print Should Remain a Vital Part of your Marketing Mix.”

10. Print provides differentiation. How many of the millions of Web sites out there have a print magazine to drive traffic to it? The vast minority, I assure you. Print vehicles provide a unique strategy to drive traffic to your online marketing.

9. Print offers incredible branding. Nothing makes a brand more recognized than a beautiful ad in a glossy magazine. A well-designed ad is an engaging experience for readers. And by the way, according to a recent MRI/Next Step poll, 55 percent of teens say they pay a lot of attention to print ads.

8. Print makes introductions. Print is a great party host because of the talent it has introducing readers to your brand. An effective print ad stands in the crossroads between readers and advertisers. And your keyword purchases become more effective if customers have already been introduced to your brand.

7. Print readers are focused. It’s hard to engage in other media when you’re reading a magazine. In the world of multitasking—where people are texting, e-mailing and listening to their iPod while watching TV—it’s hard to get noticed. But it’s hard to do anything else when you’re reading a magazine! In fact, according a survey done by Ball State University, magazines are the exclusive or primary medium 85 percent of the time they are used by consumers.

6. Print travels. A magazine is your companion wherever you go: your favorite chair, your bed, an airplane—even your bathroom. A laptop on the porcelain throne just does not offer the same experience.

5. Print sways trendsetters. “Influentials” (those who sway other consumers) are themselves influenced by print. Check out this influence ranking, from the MRI Survey of the American Consumer:

1.   Magazines: 61 percent
2.   In-store: 58 percent
3.   TV: 55 percent
4.   Newspaper: 53 percent
5.   Radio: 44 percent
6.   Free samples: 39 percent
7.   E-mail: 26 percent

4. Print drives users to other platforms. According to the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, 47.2 percent of shoppers are most likely to start an online search after viewing a magazine ad. Our own research shows that more than 75 percent of nextSTEPmag.com users type in the URL directly—which they likely got from reading the magazine.

3. Readers are receptive to print. Fact: People remember effective print ads. In fact, magazine ads have the second highest receptivity of any media, second only to TV. But try to “TiVo” a magazine ad!

2. You can pass along print, and it has longevity. Magazines get shared and passed on in households and among friends. And they stick around. Check out your own coffee table. Any magazines there that have been hanging around a few years? Have you ever tried to share a Web site in a dentist office?

1. Print is a lead-generation tool! Used correctly, print drives leads to your prospect funnel. Good print vehicles have a mechanism to deliver targeted leads to their advertisers. (Yep, we have one too.) So at the very least, consider print a unique, effective lead generation tool!

So there you have it, the top 10 reasons why print should remain in your marketers’ media mix! The world is changing fast, and you have to keep up. Your ability to combine the new with the proven will determine your success.

By David Mammano -- David Mammano is the founder and CEO Next Step Publishing Inc..

Post Comment / Discuss This Blog - Info/Rules

Great List

Submitted by Vince on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 17:06.

Hey David, this top ten list is fantastic. I think you bring up some very compelling reasons to use print media as part of the marketing plan. I don't think traditional print will ever go away, but I still beleive it will decline as more people start to spend more of their time on the internet. That being said, I think it will be a lot cheaper to advertise in print media as readership decreases, and anything free is always worth it. You can post this to our site http://www.toptentopten.com/ and link back to your site. We are trying to create a directory for top ten lists where people can find your site. The coolest feature is you can let other people vote on the rankings of your list.

Top 10 reasons to ABANDON print?

Submitted by Philip Downer on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 17:50.

Interested to see if you'll now offer the top 10 reasons a company or marketer shouldn't even consider making print advertising part of their strategy.

What a downer

Submitted by Rex Hammock on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 07:30.

@Philip Downer - I'm guessing your comment and name are jokes, no? If not, I can point you to about 50 articles, blog posts, tweets a day that assume print died six months ago.

Top Ten Reasons

Submitted by Lars on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 12:34.

Way to go, David! Finally, someone speaking up for the much-maligned print media. I sometimes feel like a lone voice within my company, or at least a part of the minority, when I argue for maintaining a focus on print. Everyone seems to be chasing after digital - our company has put a bigger incentive on digital sales than print - which takes the focus off print, and then the print business erodes. We need more media company owners to recognize the value of print. Your message should be posted in the board rooms of every ABM company across the nation.

You're kidding, right?

Submitted by Jim Panousis on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 13:55.

Print pages are down significantly in both b2b and b2c. And yet print continues to be the single largest contributor of revenue for media companies that offer print as part of their mix. I suppose that print does this posthumously, if you believe Rex. Let's see, six months ago, huh? About the same time Rex's and most other people's stock portfolios took a 'slight' turn south. All I can say is that Mr. Mammano stated his 'bias' up front. The same cannot be said for Rex.

Print is not dead

Submitted by Jamie Bradley @sophwell on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 17:46.

When everyone starts showing up at Walmart and the Piggly Wiggly with their own containers to pack up and take home the stuff they bought, then I will get on the "print is dead" bandwagon. Communication avenues have expanded (I found out about this online post from @kodakidigprint on twitter), and this has created serious issues for many printers who have been caught with big payments on underutilized equipment. As with any technology shift, the innovators will survive - even thrive. Each communication avenue has it's strengths and limitations. Printers and print media outlets have to step up and show how their products solve unique business problems for their customers. They can't sit back and think the world will always be like it always was.

Print is not dead,but it's dying

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 13:33.

Printers are going to remain in business for some time to come, and magazines will still be printed maybe 5 years from now. But since I have been in this business over 30 years,I believe I have a pretty fair perspective. You have to look at reality. It's going away, at least for magazines. Its unfortunate but just part of evolving technology and the way of the world.

Print gets *more* important,not less

Submitted by Nancy Scott on Mon, 06/01/2009 - 05:37.

This is a great list, David .. one we need to post on the wall and refer to as we obsess over the death of direct mail. Every marketing channel has its strengths, so print should remain a healthy part of the mix. The key is to pinpoint where print continues to work well (fundraising, for example) and get better at it. p.s. Before long, we may be saying that e-mail marketing, too, is dead. A lot of us are already SICK of it.

Print in the Mix

Submitted by Joanne Vinyard on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 10:00.

David--Well done and well said. Print delivers results, content, and sales, and we have research from many credible resources to back that claim on the printinthemix.com website. The key is finding the right mix of media for your audience.

I'm PRINTING this out to refer back to.

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 15:30.

Enough said!

Print is Still Viable

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 06/05/2009 - 03:47.

David, thank you for discussing this issue. I agree that print is still viable. Although print mags and newspapers are being shelved, (including the titles I had worked on until a couple months ago) I do believe there is a place for print in the mix. Many of the reasons you cited are valid - I would add that I doubt many people would want to read an entire magazine's worth of content digitally. For those who feel that print is dead, get back to me when computers become a standard fixture in the bathroom.

Print as part of the mix

Submitted by Robin Farewell on Tue, 06/09/2009 - 07:08.

Print has a place as part of a multichannel approach. It all depends on your goals and your target audience media consumption habits.