Maintaining a Print Presence Can Deliver Significant Brand Value For Publishers

UPM

While the debate continues across the media industry as to whether print is in battle with digital, the reality is that paper continues to play a pivotal role in global advertising. Particularly in the luxury sector, print remains integral to the communications strategies of publishers and brands alike. According to combined research produced by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Altagamma in 2019, the global luxury industry is estimated to carry a value of US $1.5 trillion per year by 2025. Figures originally forecast by Zenith in 2016 estimate that luxury brands (both high-end and broad) will spend US $11.8bn globally on advertising in 2020.

These two figures represent a significant opportunity for the global media industry, and particularly for the print brands that still hold significant sway in the sector.

“We have a situation where, particularly in niche areas such as luxury market print products, publishers are very personally involved in what they are putting out,” says Thomas Waltasaari, Area Sales Director for UPM Communication Papers. “They see the value that print adds as something that enhances the products they advertise, in terms of quality and gravitas – and, of course, these publishers are really focused on specific types of paper. Some, like Monocle for example, have made paper a part of the user experience.”

Indeed if you scratch the surface of the Zenith data a little further, we find that the advertising of ‘high luxury’ items such as watches, jewellery, fashion and accessories remains overwhelmingly print-based. 73% of advertising spend in this area went to print in 2016, a proportion predicted to have dipped only slightly to 70% by 2018. It is no wonder then that publisher and brands alike, are approaching print with increasing gusto.

“In terms of the overall picture, it ebbs and flows, but what’s interesting is that we’re seeing a trend where businesses that go out of the industry often come back not much later, because they do see a value in print. We are now also seeing new businesses coming in who see the value of print to audiences, rather than as a cost to bear. Great examples of that are digital businesses such as Amazon and Facebook, which have ventured into print from a digital starting point.”

The trend towards print is not solely being driven by a desire to maximise revenue streams, but also by the changing nature of the luxury sector itself. For Millennial and Gen-Z audiences, luxury is increasingly as much about experiences as it is about owning physical products, and of course the touch and immediacy of a print magazine offers great synergy with this.

“There are a number of important factors. It’s partly down to the fact it is tactile, partly because it suggests ‘quality’, partly because the print experience is just that — an experience – and partly because it has a longer shelf life.”

“I can’t speak for the end user in this case but they go through a whole bunch of different ‘go to market strategies’ aimed at finding a way of becoming immersive — and I think from a high-end point in the luxury market, inclusion is about aspiration. It’s essentially about giving a 3D experience that you aren’t going to get on

your screen. It’s the feel of it, the weight of it. It’s about creating a moment that allows you to become part of the brand.”

There also remains a huge trust component when it comes to print advertising, as highlighted by recent research published by MarketingSherpa.

Print ads were the top advertising channel according to the survey, with four in five Americans (82%) saying that they trusted newspaper and magazine ads at the point of purchase decision.

Of course for publishers operating in a multiplatform environment, it is not a case of print or digital, but print and digital, and a variety of channels can result in a wider variety of revenue streams. And as Waltasaari explains, it is not only UPM’s publisher partners that see the value in print, but increasingly also brands who are directly seeking appropriate ways to meet their target audiences in the marketplace.

“From a UPM perspective it’s particularly important for us to support luxury brands in helping them to use print to reach their audiences. We are the only producer out there now that offers the full range of papers for print publications, so we can support the end user whatever direction they are heading. Whether it means that we need to be a more commodity-based company or one that goes all the way through to the luxury base – which we continue to support – we can do both or either of those things.”

IN THE LUXURY MARKET, PRINT REMAINS A VITAL COMPONENT ... BECAUSE IT'S TACTILE, IT SUGGESTS ‘QUALITY'

Download Luxury in Media: How Prestigious Brands Prepare For 2020

Link to http://bit.ly/2PQLn2X