PrintForecast Perspective Archives

The Boston Globe recently had an article about the changing media mix, and how traditional media are being nudged out by electronic media. The story was based on research by a company called Outsell, Inc., and a presentation that summarizes their media mix outlook. The study highlights are available at no charge from their website after filling out a short form. Once you get past their results showing significant increases in non-print media, you find data about how print and other media compare in achieving two important marketing objectives.

Respondents were asked to rank media by how effective they were for “lead generation effectiveness” and “branding effectiveness.” Print fared very well:

• Print trade magazines ranked #1 in branding effectiveness.
• Direct mail ranked #2 in lead generation effectiveness and #3 in branding effectiveness.
• The highest ranked new media? E-mail marketing, ranked 4th in branding and lead generation.

Sure, the study is not optimistic about print's growth in comparative volume, but it does show that print will remain an important part of the media mix. The effectiveness of print in these two areas that should be constantly hammered home by anyone whose job it is to promote print. Make sure sales people and all those who need to have high-level discussions with clients about their promotional plans have a copy of this presentation. There are things that print continues to do better than electronic media. In today's media intense environment, media diversity is more important than ever. Are we standing up for ourselves when and where it counts? Do we even know how to use new media to promote ourselves to the e-media savvy? Are we going to let them shove us in the corner by calling us "legacy media" or "offline media"? Is anyone listening?


Boston Globe article: "Virtual Ads Pose Real Threat to Traditional Media"