Digital Agency Turns to Print to Build Brand

faraday-cover-issue-one-e1474386456581This U.K. digital agency is launching a print magazine aimed at the tech sector in a move to engage a wider audience. 

File this under ‘Music to our Ears.’

Harrison Williams, the founder of the London-based digital agency CHC Digital, had this to say about the launch of his company’s print quarterly magazine:

“It may sound paradoxical for a digital agency to opt for an old-school paper-based product; but even in today’s increasingly virtual world, there is still a demand for quality real-world products which people can take the time to digest, savour and learn from.”

No, Mr. Williams, it’s not paradoxical at all. Brand publishing is quickly earning its keep as a powerful way to engage your audience, no matter the niche. From huge consumer brands like P&G (who says print is “critical” to their brand growth), to tightly targeted niche publications like WOTH, branded print is thriving in the digital world. In fact, brands that aren’t publishing in print will soon look out of date. (Watch for our own print quarterly launching next month, btw.)

As for CHC Digital, the agency is launching Faraday Tech News, London’s first free paper aimed at the technical crowd, reports this article from Net Imperative.

“We love digital – but we also love tactile, tangible things that are well-designed and beautifully crafted,” Williams continues. “The two are not mutually exclusive; indeed, we plan on making Faraday a place where technology can seamlessly transition from digital to the real, physical world.

“The challenge is that online everything changes so fast, it’s difficult to step out of the information flow and take a moment to think about what’s new and really process why it matters and what it means.”

The Faraday title was chosen for its obvious connection to science and technology, Williams explains, adding, “he was a deeply moral man who tried to understand the effect that the science he was creating had on the world around him.”

It seems like a perfect fit. It’s this ability to capture and curate a moment in time that is one of print’s superpowers, and brands are getting very savvy to the fact that their customers crave this kind of slow, lean-back experience in long form.

As to the wisdom of publishing a free magazine, others are finding that ‘print’ plus ‘free’ equals advertising nirvana, so the investment seems likely to pay off.

If you hang out with tech crowd in London, look for the first issue to be circulating right about now. Grab one for us if you can…we’d love to get a look at it.