Industry figures are calling on printers to be positive about print’s outlook and embrace new opportunities instead of talking it down.
Two Sides Australia executive director Kellie Northwood says she is hearing too much negativity about the industry’s direction and a lack of confidence in the medium’s value, when print is still a powerful product the industry is failing to promote.
“Fears concerning print’s value, relevance and future prospects carry no weight with me,” she says.
“As an industry we must stop focusing on each other and start focusing on print as an effective, cost-efficient and powerful media channel.
“If we as an industry believe our industry has no merit then how can we expect our customers to invest valuable marketing budgets in print?”
[Related: More news on the future of print]
Northwood points to research by Roy Morgan, Neilsen, and GfK among others as evidence that print provides the greatest return on investment, is the strongest performer in effectiveness and influence surveys, and the most trusted, credible and reliable media channel.
“Print media continues to be the dominant media channel among those who are asked for advice on a range of product and service categories,” Roy Morgan Research reported.
Emma’s new engagement metric also found an average of 95 per cent of readers said they use magazines to find information about the things that interest them or to learn something new; 87 per cent saw products in their magazines that interested them or that they wanted to buy; and more than 7 out of 10 say that they are inspired to do something after reading.
Northwood says the industry needs to pull together and have proactive rather than defensive conversations with clients and the public.
“We have to think about how we are going to stand together as an industry to promote ourselves – if print is so effective, why aren’t we telling people?,” she says.
“Print is fun, tactile and enjoyable but we are not communicating and defending ourselves against our real competitors – other mediums.”
PIAA chief executive Bill Healey says even Australia Post research shows print is a powerful medium, with its consumer survey finding 42 per cent of customers preferred to receive bills and statements by mail as opposed to 31 per cent by email, 25 per cent both mail and email, and two per cent neither.
“Print still has enormous cut through and there is mounting evidence of the failure of emails for direct marketing because people are just not reading the emails,” he says.
“The challenge is not the facts, it is educating the public about them and showing print still has a role to play.”
Healey says Two Sides and the PIAA are soon launching the Value of Print and Paper campaign that aims to challenge misconceptions about the relevance of print in the current landscape.
He says print will have a different role in the future but will still be important as a part of a diverse communication mix, and printers must adapt to that reality and embrace new opportunities.
“We are trying to make printers aware of what is possible but they need to have a new mindset that printing is no longer just about putting ink on paper, but about relationships with clients to fulfil their diverse communication needs,” he says.
“There is a segment of the industry that is too pessimistic to understand and that doom and gloom is part of the problem.
“Some will not be able to change or be unwilling and they may go down but there are plenty of ways the industry can thrive.”
Healey singles out Bob Armstrong’s 2014 annual report which won him a Benny Award for its 16 embedded videos readers can view using augmented reality powered by a mobile or tablet app.
[Related: More Two Sides news]
Northwood says printers should use print’s power to start reclaiming some of the marketing dollars the industry may have lost in recent years.
“Stick to your guns, declare proudly that print is still king, gather the research, collate the case studies and take them out to every sales call, every cross-media event, tag them to your websites, brochures and other marketing initiatives,” she says.
Other industry heavyweights have come out in support of print, even as media buyers note advertisers switching their dollars to digital and the government slashing print budgets.
Group M media agency boss John Steedman said in March that he is actively encouraging his clients to take a fresh look at newspapers and magazines, arguing that print remains a strong avenue for advertising, while News Corp co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch called on the industry to stop talking down print, saying it is a good business.
See the August edition of the ProPrint magazine for more of Kellie Northwood's call to arms on print's future.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter