Holding On To Traditional Media In An Exceedingly Digital World
Call me old-fashioned, but I love my printed broadsheet newspaper in one hand and a cup of steaming ginger tea in the other every morning as opposed to swiping away news on an app. I like the feel of a business card in my hand instead of a LinkedIn request. In a world of increased casual relationships and detachment, I look for familiarity and something to hold on to. If I attest to this as a millennial, imagine how the earlier generations perceive that which is tangible, especially newspapers and magazines.
That’s why there is something unnerving about communicating through technology. We are all humans and crave for human interaction. Communication needs to be emotional, engaging and must appeal to the audience’s sensitivities. Technology should make these human interactions faster and seamless, not replace them.
Print media has been around for a long time and has continued to thrive despite experts sounding the death knell. News pages have shrunk, and publications are downsizing to move online. However, it is neither becoming obsolete, nor is it going to die. It is merely evolving to cope with the digital life. Generally, if you get an article in horizontal, it is more valued than if you are mentioned on the website. This point of prestige is the driving force behind the relevance and niche of print media.
Does this mean betting big on digital is wrong? No. What is really required is a well-thought-out marketing strategy rather than moving with the crowd, and ensuring that all the eggs aren’t in one basket.
Traditional print media still plays a vital role in today’s exceedingly high-tech, digital world. In fact, in India, print media continues to increase its circulation, especially vernaculars. The audience is more involved in the reading experience and does not find newspaper/magazine ads disruptive unlike the ones on YouTube or Facebook.
Print media also has a higher shelf life and better credibility. Worldwide, people also tend to distrust news and ads on social media. Point in case is Whatsapp using front page newspaper ads to communicate that it respects and protects user privacy when it was stuck in its very own miscommunication crisis. In fact, the findings of a study commissioned by ad regulator Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), and conducted by market research firm Nielsen confirms this. It was found that advertising seen on traditional media enjoyed the highest trust from the audience: newspapers (86%) closely followed by TV (83%) and radio (83%).
Radio has proved to be a game changer and is stealthily being integrated into the digital world. Audio and music are a huge part of the way people are communicating. The last year has also shown us that radio is an essential medium to stay informed. Going by a study commissioned by the Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI) listeners grew by 20% across the country during Covid 19 lockdown. Further, radio witnessed a listenership of 51 million people, which is nearly as much as television's reach of 56 million and social media's reach of 57 million.
All of these should be taken into consideration while deciding the media mix. The most successful marketeers choose an ideal mix of both the traditional and the new worlds. While the larger spend is on digital media, print and radio are still in the running for a large piece of the advertising pie.
