Part Two
IN last week’s column, we answered the letter of Pia C., who asked for guidelines about the relationship between millennials and print. Is it true that many of this generation no longer read books or publications and seek only news from digital sources?
In our reply, we shared an article by Nicholas Brown in Marketing Profs Today “What Marketers Need to Know about Millennials and Print” that had some surprising insights.
Brown said, “The more our lives are influenced by digital media, the more we are drawn to print as a retreat from online space. This unexpected tendency is especially noticeable to a demographic you’d least expect to trend this way: Millennials and their younger siblings [what’s being called Generation Z].”
He went on to say “statistically, millennials consider print media as more trustworthy and authoritative, and report a stronger connection to messages delivered on paper.
“Even if millennials are the most digital-savvy generation, surprisingly, more than half ignore digital advertising, and instead pay the greatest attention to direct mail and print advertising”, Quad Graphics, a global provider of print and marketing services reported.
How strong is the relationship between young people and print? If we consider data from researchers at TRU, a division of TNS Research Global, it appears to be strong indeed.
He goes on to cite research from TRU, a division of TNS Research Global. A survey of 600 young adults aged 16 to 26 in 2011, which touched on various corners of the print industry, from magazines to advertising to direct mail, revealed an overwhelming preference among respondents for print in several categories, despite their fluency in social media and mobile media.
People surveyed by TRU acknowledged digital as an easier and greener option, but still preferred getting news and information in print by large margins: They favored print over tablets for books (78 percent), magazines (71 percent) and newspapers (52 percent).
Why these surprising results? Brown lists down some reasons.
- The Stranger Danger Experience. “Millennials grew up with a novel form of ‘stranger danger’ mentality unknown to previous generations,” Brown said. Cyber scams, Trojan horse viruses, malware, hackers and shady e-mail links are “online threats that have been around since the early days of the Web, looking to do harm physically, financially, or emotionally.”
As a result, “young people regard online recordkeeping as less official and less secure: 77 percent of TRU’s survey subjects said digital documents are less trustworthy since they” can be altered without your knowledge.” Not surprisingly, 90 percent prefer hard copies of important documents printed, just in case.
- Deceit is part of the Web experience. Today, most web sites include banner ads exalting incredible claims and clickable content designed to trigger the basest instincts to monetize advertising. Across all demographics, people avoid clicking on banner ads, with more than 54 percent of people saying they view them as untrustworthy, according to Banner Shack.
Brown added that “it almost foolishly grew by 41 percent in 2015. Clearly, ad blocking is becoming a revenue concern for popular online destinations, and some innovators with a loyal readership are now choosing print to support their endeavors.”
- It offers a much-needed break from sitting in front of your laptop all day. “The volume of online content millennials and teens consume daily exacts a physical toll over time,” Brown said. “Apart from the taxing effect screen text has on the eyes, it also affects comprehension of the message.”
Research by Ohio State University finds that students who read essays on a computer screen found the text harder to understand, less interesting and less persuasive than students who read the same essay on paper.
- People have a multisensory connection with paper that is unique with printed matter. People prefer the touch, look and even smell of books, newspapers and other printed matter, which makes the paper you choose all the more important. This is especially important to consider if you are marketing fashion or lifestyle products.
It’s what tech writer and author of The Art of Immersion Frank Rose calls the “emotional void” of digital. “If we’re talking direct mail, having an object in your physical space makes your message hard to ignore, too,” Brown added.
Brown believes that “print marketing done right can be an inexpensive way to connect with younger consumers. A well-planned print campaign can run cheaper than PPC, and can be tracked just as easily and efficiently like online ads.
“Furthermore, unlike digital wads, printed media actually exists, which means your recipient can hold on to it for future consideration. In this sense, a printed ad serves as a lasting reminder of your brand longer after first touch, unlike digital ads, which consumers can exit from and forget in seconds.”
In marketing, both mainstream and digital media should complement each other in every communications plan. Both have their strengths and downsides, and it is up to the marketing person to be able to work on something that would bring out the so-called best of both worlds to reach out to their customers. And this includes continuous research and having an open mind.
Brown, in fact, said “the popularity of print with younger generations means print will play an important role in years to come. Print is far from dead. In fact, it may even breathe new life to your branding and help your company make that connection with millennials.”
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the UK-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the local chairman.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.
1 comment
Hey Millie!
Interesting article, I completely agree that younger folks try to avoid online advertisements. Not very strange when most advertising sites are scams and filled with bad content. I work with online advertisement graphics and most of the time the people that come to me for my work ask for another scam graphic pretty much.
This hit home pretty hard “People surveyed by TRU acknowledged digital as an easier and greener option, but still preferred getting news and information in print by large margins: They favored print over tablets for books, magazines and newspapers.”
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Great article Millie, send me an email if you would like to talk further.
Regards
Catalyst