To demonstrate the value of paper and print to advertisers, an industry report has been produced as part of a $1 million campaign.
The report, The Value of Paper and Print, shows that despite the ever-increasing popularity of digital media, paper as a communications device is still the most effective channel when it comes to engaging with customers.
The report includes data and research findings from Australia and around the world about print’s efficacy, role in the path to purchase, branding, ROI and sustainability
Kellie Northwood, executive director of Two Sides Australia Limited (TSA), a website dedicated to showing the value of print and paper and which is funding the campaign, is heading up the initiative. Internationally it’s a $20m campaign – Two Sides operates in 10 other countries including the US and UK.
“Research continues to show regardless of whether print material is delivered in books, magazines, catalogues, leaflets, newspapers or even direct mail, information transference and recall are more effective on paper than on screen,” says Northwood.
The findings include the fact that twenty per cent of people remember an article better when reading on paper and paper still reigns as the most effective communications channel for brands.
Although younger consumer groups of today may have never known a world without the internet, mobiles and email, there could be a wave of change as younger readers are more “inspired” by newspapers and magazines than older demographics.
Ad agency JWT reported in its ‘100 Things to Watch in 2014’ a prediction that techno-paranoia will grow as consumers challenge what info they share and opt-out from data collection.
And there’s a growing movement in public places which encourages people to put away their smartphones. A bar in Brazil has introduced the ‘offline beers glass’ which only stands upright if you rest it on your smartphone and a restaurant in LA is offering discounts to diners who check their phones in before dinner. Antisocial behaviour is applying social pressures.