Is Print Dead?

Caid Christiansen• June, 17 2015

Across industries, marketers and other decision makers are asking a common question: “Is print dead?”

In the corner for the supposed incoming digital media revolution are sites like Newspaper Death Watch, an aptly-named site that chronicles the “decline of newspapers and the rebirth of journalism.” (In all fairness, many newspapers are reporting significant declines in print ad revenue.) Many charts also show that young people prefer digital, and that expenditures on books and other print reading materials are in fact quite small.

Batting for print’s survival are folks who say things like, “If you define your publication by the platform on which you publish, you pretty quickly risk irrelevance. I would rather think about it in terms of the audience, content and mission of the publication.” And, though print ad revenues are in decline, certain industries (e.g. fashion) and niches are thriving.

Both sides make good arguments. There’s no denying hard evidence that print ad revenue on the whole is about as low as it’s ever been. There’s also no denying that niche newspapers and fashion companies are bucking the trend and finding success with ink and paper.

You’ll notice, though, that most of the conversation revolves around newspapers, which are only one of many forms of print media. That brings us back to the classic, “it depends.”

It’s probably a bad idea to ditch all your online efforts and focus solely on print. However, depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, it may be an even worse idea to leave print out of the equation entirely. Direct mail, outdoor advertising, collateral, and even magazine ads–all forms of print media–have their place in some strategies, even if they aren’t right for all of them.

There’s a reason print is still a part of our offerings here at Christiansen McCain. Like all forms of traditional advertising, print will never go completely out of style. It may change a bit, but it won’t be replaced. Is measuring the ROI of a print ad an easy undertaking? Certainly not. But that doesn’t make print obsolete.

Ultimately, our answer is no: print is not dead. It still makes sense for some clients. As with everything, you should test it against your goals and determine how or if it fits into your strategy.

While you don’t want to go full-boat and move all your digital advertising into the New York Times, you shouldn’t underestimate the value of a well-designed brochure or postcard given the right context.