Sonoo Singh
From matrimonial ads to beauty campaigns and local stories about a man biting a dog - I consumed it all. Print stood out for me. And when I first arrived in the UK more than two decades ago - one of the few countries where there’s a choice of established print media distributed for free (almost entirely dependent on ad revenue and commuter traffic), I understood better about the power and the authority of brands enhanced by print. Fast forward only a few years later, and the majority of print media titles continue to be under pressure, with surging newsprint costs adding to the longer term trend of declining subscriptions and advertising costs. So what of the future?
I understand that when asked ‘is print dead?’ - the argument cannot be binary. That feels increasingly like yesterday’s debate. However, let’s also not forget that in an environment where economic stress is forcing brand owners to scrutinise and optimise every channel, tactic, and campaign - print, as we know it, will continue to flounder in tough times. A recent Reuters survey says that more newspapers will stop daily print production this year due to rising print costs, weakening of distribution networks and diminishing ad revenue. We may also see a further spate of titles switching to an online-only model. Are there any reasons to be cheerful then?
There is evidence that digital clutter might be driving brands to consider print. Last month, General Electric took over The New York Times’ print advertising for a day, amounting to 22 full-page colour ads as well as five partial pages. Omnicom-owned ad agency TBWA paid for its ‘Last Ad from the Last Big Ad Agency on Madison Avenue’ full-page ad in The Times, advertising their move to a different location in Manhattan. In India, advertisers have been aggressively using QR codes in print as the new call to action. In the UK, brands that have been experimenting with print’s unique ability to create awareness, hold attention and drive commercial actions are achieving stand-out. For example - last year, Confused.com released comic-strip-style print ads titled ‘the Confused.comics’. Created by Accenture Song, the ‘comics’ offered a light-hearted commentary against the increasingly confusing times in the UK.
Six years ago, when the last print edition of women’s glossy Glamour was printed in the UK, it was also the time when counterculture print titles were seeing a rise in popularity, catering to a niche new audience and attracting brands that wanted to engage with them. My obsession with fashion brand ME+EM is enhanced further with its print catalogue. With that in mind, the next few years will be defined by how we can transform print into something more relevant and useful to a new audience.
CREATIVE SALON is a platform that champions excellence in commercial creativity and supports the people and the companies who make it. Its ambition is to help secure a strong future for the advertising and marketing industries by doing whatever they can to nurture the next generation of diverse talent.
To know what the other 7 experts have to say about print's future, simply download the booklet Print Media Predictions 2023.
