Last March, the SWISS MEDIA Publishers Association (VSM) launched the new season of its "Print acts" campaign. More than any other media genre, print continues to impress with its special contact quality. Eleven facts demonstrate the strength of print in the campaign.
The current campaign is aimed at the relevant stakeholders in the media and advertising industry and is intended to convey the benefits of print advertising in a pictorial and quickly comprehensible way. The VSM is thus continuing the "Print acts" campaign in collaboration with the
KLAR.Agency agency with new elements. The start took place in the last March with a special newspaper, additionally inserts and digital means of publicity are used. The
subjects are available for free use online.
"Print is credible"
In terms of content, the campaign focuses on eleven arguments, each of which is backed up with facts and figures from studies and surveys. The first is: "Print is credible". 30.4 percent of Swiss people consider advertising in newspapers, magazines and brochure inserts to be credible. Websites and search engines with 6.8 percent and social networks and community platforms with 3.3 percent do not come close to this value.
Argument number 2 is aimed at the reach of the medium: "Print reaches (almost) everyone". 85.6 percent of the Swiss population regularly read printed publications; for web presences in the other traditional media, this figure is only 62 percent. "Print is remembered" refers to the fact that 80 percent of newspaper readers who remember an advertisement still know which brand was advertised. By contrast, electronic media achieve significantly lower recall values (Internet: 63 percent / TV: 52 percent / radio: 51 percent).
Print creates advertising
The other arguments from the campaign are: "People pick up print again and again" (six times per issue), "Print informs" and "Print attracts a lot of attention" – because almost 90 percent of the population uses press products every day. And a very central argument "print pays off." This can be proven with figures: The thousand-contact price (CPM) for print is 16.88 Swiss francs.
With online, on the other hand, you have to pay more than double that – namely 35 Swiss francs. And "print creates advertising that is wanted," because advertising in print media is perceived as the least annoying.
Print makes it into every household!
But print advertising not only conveys information, it also emotionalizes very strongly. Compared to moving image touchpoints (index = 100), ads generate more emotionality, especially among the target group between 18 and 39, in terms of entertainment (index = 107) and brand loyalty (index = 130).
The argument "print gets in everywhere" emphasizes that newspapers, magazines, and brochure inserts also bring advertising into those Swiss households that have a "stop advertising" sticker on their mailbox – this is the case for 43.6 percent. Lastly, it is pointed out that print brands are also among the most popular media online: "Print is top even without paper".
Media need a stable financial basis
Also last March, the Association of Austrian Newspapers (VÖZ) published the now fifth series of its genre marketing campaign "You are what you read”. It was developed by the Jung von
Matt/DONAU agency and launched back in 2020. Unlike "Print acts," the newly developed subjects do not present figures and data, but instead highlight the contribution made by subscribers who are willing to pay for quality journalism.
This is intended to illustrate that media need a stable financial basis to ensure independent and critical journalism. At the same time, the claim "You are what you read" is also a reference to the importance of paying attention to the source of a news story.
The numbers speak for themselves
All these figures and data show that the performance values of print are still outstanding – especially when compared to the electronic competitors in the advertising market. It is also remarkable that, in view of the sharp rise in production costs, the image of print and its esteem among advertisers have hardly been affected.
Let's wait and see what experiences those companies that have moved away from print will have. Perhaps sooner or later they will realize that print is an indispensable part of the media mix.
Yours,
Knud Wassermann,
Editor-in-Chief of "Graphische Revue”