Rethinking Print as Part of the Content Strategy: Fortune, APA Proving Print is Not Dead

I just took three flights to get to Slovenia. 

On each flight and in all the waiting areas, I saw people holding, reading and engaging in print magazines.  

Then, I spent the day listening to the state of content marketing in Europe at POMP Forum 2010 conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia.  Here's what I learned from the Julia Hutchison and Patrick Fuller from the APA (the association of branded editorial content in the UK).

• The average time a reader spends with a custom print magazine is 25 minutes.
• Custom print magazines get an average 44% response rate.
• On average, custom print magazines see an 8% increase in sales (as opposed to those who don't receive the magazine).
• 18-24 year-old men and women who receive custom magazines from a corporation are the most engaged of any age group (yes, really!).

Surprising, huh?

Then, I see this Fortune interview where they are investing heavily in the print magazine...including higher quality paper and significant design/font changes.

What does this tell me? When we develop a content marketing strategy, we need to look at all possible tactics to get the best return for our investment. While digital is hot, print may still be a key component to your strategy. It might be worth revisiting.

Comments

[Dave Manzer]

Good point, Joe. In a world where everybody runs to the latest marketing fad, sometimes it pays to be a contrarian.

[NaniPrints]

It's nice to see this post. Thanks! While the print + web mix is definitely changing, the custom magazine is a very interesting use of digital and print on demand.

I continue to promote the idea that inn any comprehensive brand, there's a place for print. See my blog posts about this at http://tinyurl.com/ycxkgtl and http://tinyurl.com/ycqgt78.

It's going to be interesting to see how print recovers as the economy does. It will be a good measure of how much of its decline is a true paradigm shift and how much has been a factor of the economy, including marketing and advertising, having been in the toilet over the past 2 years! ~Nani

[Sarah Z. Cordell]

Yay! After reading about the beating that consumer mags took in 2009, I'm very happy to see some good news relating to print publications.