With the advent of the internet and the fact that many newspapers and other print publications are either going out of business or are severely hurting financially, I ask you the following question: Is print marketing dead? Discuss
With the economy the way it is right now it makes leasing these expensive printers very difficult. Companies tend to go back to what they know best which is print advertising. The question is do they know how to run a successful print campaign that is traceable on the web? What are some good ways to track a print advertising campaign?
I think it's dead, or it has a very very low conversion rate. because when people are reading a magazine or newspaper are not going to remember to go to the website. It will only work if you have a phone number next to it. Because everyone has a cell phone on them so it will be easy for them to call.
I don't think print marketing will ever die, but it is in decline. Print marketing, is and needs to change with the times. Many newspapers and magazines will cease to exist, but some will stay, and grow even stronger. The print establishments that stick around will no doubt have a strong online presence also.
Exactly right! We have been a publisher of financial information since 1980, at which point we were sending out over 1000 printouts per week at an average subscription rate of $10 per issue. In 1996, we started to see a decline in our printed publication circulation, due to the advent of the www, and the huge amounts of free content available on the internet. Since then, we started converting to web based publication and internet delivery systems (email, ftp, secure http, etc.) We had to drop our subscription rates drastically, but made up for it with a much larger subscriber base. Now, hardcopy print marketing is approximately 2% of our base. And in 2008, 10% of our revenue is subscription based (both printed and electronic), so we have had to move to other ways to provide content. In this market, you have to be incredibly nimble to survive - you need to be able to change your marketing direction in as little time as a month instead of a year. A lot of companies haven't been able to adapt, and I have no doubt that a lot more will fail in the near future as well...
I do a lot of work in the real estate industry and have actually done some print advertising campaigns. I wouldn't say that print advertising is dead but I think companies are starting to realize that they need to have a balance between the two. The fact that you can track your campaign results with exact precision is why I recommend online over print advertising.
It seems to me like print is dead. It is way more expensive for the most part compared to internet/seo marketing and also not as targeted.
i'll give an example... my dad recently told me that the Arizona Republic (largest paper here in AZ) wanted $800 for a 3 day weekend run for a job posting in the classifieds. This is compared to Craigslist $25 a month ad, which in turn resulted in more leads than AZ Republic, which were also more qualified.
The classified section of the newspaper is all but replaced. A combination of craigslist, ebay, cars.com, monster and the list could go on and on, have replaced the need for newspaper classified for thosewith internet. But it is also important to understand not everyone has an internet connection, of uses one with regular frequency. I think there will be, for a long time to come, a core group of people that demand their information in print media.
Print marketing is definitely not dead and probably will never die...I'd actually be less surprised to see the current iterations of web marketing die before print goes away. Now when it comes to newspapers and certain publications, that is a different story. Many media companies are dinosaurs and far behind the times when it comes to merging the print and digital worlds...that's a whole different conversation. As an Advertising Director myself, I believe that you have to be able to seperate the 2 mediums in your mind and understand the benefits of both types of media. Web advertising is fast, relatively cheap, and easy to track. However, print is invasive and forces the custoemr to interact act with your ad physically. Most people have a love affair with nice printing whether it's a a full-color book, their favorite magazine, or a poster...whereas it's much easier to ignore digital ads/articles/whatever. We use both web ads and print direct mail pieces to generate new revenue and leads - I recommend that others look for value in both as well. Great thread topic, this question is raised all of the time!
Yes pretty much. Certainly the yellow pages is. Wildly overpriced to be listed next to your competitor. Nobody uses it anymore. Most magazine ads people are conditioned to ignore them. The click thru potential of internet marketing seems to have a significant advantage.
I definitely wouldn't say print advertising is dead, but it isn't what it used to be. There are places online and in print that it is a waste of money to advertise in. With the economy doing what it is doing, it is more important than ever to be smart with your advertising dollars. There are good and bad print advertising options, just like there are good and bad online advertising options. Both can pay off for you and both can be a waste of money.
I would agree indie print marketing is dead. There are so many people online reading stuff for free that indie print has died. I used to run a print magazine. I tried to convert to online, that did not work either unless I wanted to make the amount to feed a cat. Therefore I have switched niches.