WILL PRINT SURVIVE?

by Jim Derochea - Marketing Communications, Solutions, Multi Channel Guru

In the spirit of the great, Mark Twain, who once lamented, "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated," so too are reports of Print being dead! Print has been evolving and will continue to do so, as the pieces of the marketing/communication pie continuously shift and new channel technologies continue to appear.

We are in an exciting era, given the explosion of communication technology, the likes that man has never witnessed, that seems to change the game nearly every day. Whether it's new G4 mobile technology & endless stream of apps, Automated Marketing Tools, Cloud Computing or exciting cutting edge game changers like Pranav Mistry's "Sixth Sense" that could render desktop computing obsolete as we know it, the landscape is perpetually changing. Print still plays a large part of the mix and will continue to do so, quite likely in different and possibly unique ways, compared to the past.

Traditional print will remain prominent in packaging, signage, business cards, etc., but many other areas such as marketing, advertising, direct mail, etc., will continue to evolve. For example, direct marketing mailings have evolved from mass mailings, to a hybrid of targeted communications via print and electronic delivery, reducing the print volume while reducing costs & increasing marketing impact. Though reduced, print is still part of today's mix.

Another example of how print is evolving, is the use of relevant printed communication to drive an electronic interaction, i.e. drive a consumer to a relevant website or email destination, that begins a 2-way dialogue and can be measured for future relevancy. And further, the same tact can be used to "tickle" additional information. Rather than mail a printed, multi-page brochure that is getting more expensive to mail, a marketer may instead print and mail a piece that includes the most impactful highlights or benefits, with a focus on driving the consumer to a particular website should they want/need the detailed information. This communication cycle might also include the option for the consumer to order or print out the material, should they want a printed version, but either way, it reduces the volume & overall yearly costs for the actual brochure, while still getting the access to that information into the consumer's hands. Again, a different way print is being leveraged in today's electronic communication revolution.

It is impossible to predict what evolved role(s) Print will have in the world, 5 or 10 years from now, due to the continued emergence of exciting new communication channels. So, it is not a question of whether Print will survive, but a question of how Print will evolve within the marketing mix.

I will finish this blog article just as I started, with a very relevant quote from Mark Twain, which happens to be on the subject of Print, "The printer's art, which is the noblest and most puissant of all arts, and destined in the ages to come to promote the others and preserve them."
~ Mark Twain