Ernest Hemingway helped to make the phrase “For
Whom The Bell Tolls” commonplace when he used the quotation for the title of
his 1940-published book about the Spanish Civil War.
In this, one of Hemingway’s best known and most
celebrated works, he questions 'for whom the bells tolls' and comments
that 'no
man is an island' to demonstrate and describe his feelings of
solidarity with the allied groups fighting the fascists.
In some ways, I feel the same question
needs to be asked of print media companies as we watch the continuing decline
in demand and question the viability of print.
There is no doubt that print as a medium is under unprecedented pressure
from digital channels and customers who are demanding more whilst seeking to
pay less.
Whilst we band together and bemoan the
rapidly changing media landscape and its impact on print, is there anything
being done that is going to halt the carnage?
Has the time come for the printing industry to simply “put the cue in
the rack” and accept that as an industry we are in a downward spiral that is
quickly turning into a race to the bottom?
Of course not!
As I have stated in earlier articles, I
firmly believe that print remains a formidable and effective communication
medium and will continue to be so – but only if as an industry we are prepared
to adapt and integrate print effectively with other mediums. What is required is innovation, creativity,
agility and the ability to inspire.
Marketing is now an omni-channel industry
as is media in general. No single medium
on its own will deliver the reach or cut through that the amalgam of
synergistic channels can achieve. Can
you remember the last time that piece of communication issued that was
contained purely within one medium? For
example, anything printed goes out with a URL to direct the recipient to a
website – only print rarely gets credited with the lead.
It is so pleasing when I do see print media
communications that are delivering great results – albeit they seem to be few
and far between these days – despite significant technological enhancements
expanding what we can do with print. Too
often I see print ads that aren’t that great. In fact, many of them are awful –
devoid of original thought or creative flair and failing to stand out.
I was lucky to enough attend ADMA’s Annual
Forum this year and sat in on a presentation by Guga Ketzer creative guru and partner
from the renowned advertising agency Loducca based out of Brazil. In Ketzer’s presentation he provided numerous
examples of how his agency had leveraged print as part of some of the most
innovative and effective campaigns I have seen in years.
Campaigns worth a look include:
·
Peugeot 207 Quikslilver – a print ad of
the Peugeot 207 designed for the surfer market printed on surfboard wax and
inserted into the market leading surf magazine.
The surfer could tear out the ad and scrunch it up to make a ball of
surfboard wax. The results 100% percent
of the Peugeot 207 Quiksilver series cars were sold and Peugeot had to double
production of the series to meet the demand. http://ow.ly/f56kP
·
Nextel Talking Ad – Targeting CEOs,
CFOs, and VPs who are normally inundated with marketing material. The challenge
was to get senior Brazil executives to try a new service offered by Nextel –
Push to Talk radio on their mobiles. The
solution involved inserting a Nextel chip on the front of the most popular
business magazine in Brazil delivered to a select subscriber list. At the push of a button the executive could
directly connect to a Nextel representative.
The first talking interactive ad – delivered in print form, by mail. Over 72% pushed the button and stayed
connected for an average of 3 minutes with 25% subscribing to the service. http://ow.ly/f56g4
·
MTV Edible Paper – The objective being
to attract marketing and media executives to an event about
sustainability. Not only a potentially
dry subject but also tackling the almost impossible task of attracting the
attention of industry executives who are regularly bombarded by marketing
communications and event invitations. To
connect with marketing and media executives the most read advertising
publication in Brazil was chosen and a mailing list of the targeted audience
compiled. The ad was created and
produced on edible paper and produced in the most ecologically and
environmentally friendly manner possible.
A competition was created for people to create recipes for the edible
paper and a major digital and social media campaign was launched to complement
the print ad. Putting aside the
thousands of website hits, the recipes submitted and the media coverage across
all channels - the campaign delivered 100% attendance. http://ow.ly/f57hR
There are many more including the CCR
breathalyzer campaign that saw 17,000 breathalyzer bags inserted into a major
motoring magazine sent to subscribers to lift awareness about the dangers of
drinking and driving. I could go on –
but you get the gist.
A big thanks to ADMA for bringing Guga out
to share his insight and enthusiasm.
Whilst there are definitely some
interesting applications of print being explored in Asia Pacific – I still
think we can push the envelope (if you will pardon the pun) to lift the power
and penetration of print as a communication medium.
Print works for specific offers, to certain
target markets and especially when combined with other mediums that make print
interactive. In an interview with AdAge
in April this year Ketzer said:
"Ideas are
bigger than mediums," he said. "But at the same time I consider it
possible to create different and innovative things in so called traditional
mediums." http://adage.com/article/agency-news/creatives-guga-ketzer/227172/
While print companies may no longer be the
powerhouse players of the media landscape they once were, there are strong
indicators that print as a medium can still deliver great results.
In a perverse way, the constant push by
banks, utilities and telcos to deliver statements on-line reducing mail volumes
of transactional mail is creating more cut through for marketing mail. Less mail coming into the letterbox creates
more opportunity for your direct mail to stand out from the pack. Don’t believe me? When was the last time you tested direct
mail?
Apply a few lessons in innovation along the
style shown by Loducca to demonstrate just how agile and engaging print can be.
So does the bell toll for print? Only if we’re not prepared to heed the signals
and get innovative about how we use print, who we target and what other mediums
we used to complement print.
Want to learn more about how to leverage
print? Drop me an email at gp@pearlbusinesssolutions.com.au or follow me on Twitter @GP6 .
By the way, if you want a copy of “For Whom
The Bell Tolls” by Earnest Hemingway you can still buy it – it’s actually
cheaper as a paperback than the Kindle version on Amazon ;-)
And the final word from an Adobe mailer....
