Magazine Industry Realizing  “The Print Effect”

It must be “good news for print” month. As the Internet gets uglier and digital ad scandals continue, news continues to come out about print’s effectiveness in moving the metrics that matter.

The positive vibe continues with “The Print Effect,” a new report by MNI’s Marisa Davis with a forward by Time Inc.’s Chief Content Officer Alan Murray.

Murray pulls no punches with his opening line — “Fact: Magazine advertising works.” Connection, focus, engagement, emotional involvement; these are the elements of print magazines that simply aren’t found with digital content.

“We’re just beginning to understand the neurological pros and cons of online and print advertising,” Davis writes. And some of the effects are pretty impressive.

For instance, did you know:

  • Readers are 70% more likely to remember a company name from a print ad than a digital ad.
  • Based on MRI experiments, paper stimulates more senses and is more “real” to the brain than digital media.
  • In a study that measured 1,400 campaigns using a variety of ad venues, magazine advertising resulted in the highest return on ad spending.

The entire report is worth a read (it’s not long, and tells a pretty compelling story.) This comes at a time when consumers have about had it with fake news and digital ads (ad blocking is off the charts.) It comes at a point in our culture where the urge to unplug and reconnect to real life has perhaps never been stronger. And it comes at a time when consumers are looking to fill the trust gap left by their digital content experience.

It comes at a time when readers are ready and welcoming of print and the value it brings. And so are your advertisers.