Is it still relevant to advertise in press ?

In our current digital era, the print media had to adapt and now offers a more innovative, dynamic and performing medium. Its objective is to outcompete the digital media’s boom in terms of advertising efficiency and preferences towards individuals. Nowadays, print relates to trustworthiness and shouldn’t envy the other digital and traditional medias.

Please find below the reasons why it is relevant to communicate in press. Adintime has developed its arguments on the basis of ACPM study, with a focus on the efficiency of advertising’s investments in press.

If you are already interested in advertising in print media, you can click below and find the magazine matching the most your target and get a quote for free within 24h.

Summary of the article: Is it still relevant to communicate in the press?

1. The press medium: evolving and dynamic
2. The press: precise, relevant targeting
3. The press: engaging and reliable
4. Press media: effective and creative

a) Constant renewal of titles

The media landscape in France is constantly evolving. In 25 years, the number of titles available has increased by 37%, reaching 4,120 in 2017.

This growth shows not only a diversification of supply, but also an increase in demand. According to the latest ACPM ONE NEXT data for the first half of 2023, 35.6% of the French population reads the Presse Quotidienne Régionale (PQR) every day on a variety of media, including print, web, mobile and tablet.

Daily readership has risen significantly, with an increase of 102,000 readers per day compared with the second half of 2022, and 908,000 readers per day compared with the first half of the same year.

This 5% growth in daily readership between the S-1 and the N-1 of 2022 is partly due to particularly dense news coverage, including the war in Ukraine, the presidential and legislative elections, soaring prices and the crisis in purchasing power. These events have reinforced the demand for reliable, useful information that is close to readers.

Source:ACPM ONE NEXT 2022-2023

As a result of these evolutions, some magazines have stood out from the others and are successful now.

Example:

Dr. Good, launched by Michel Cymes in December 2018, sold 113 000 copies on its first issue (Source: Média+), followed by a sales record for its 7th issue up to 216 000 copies, a 64% increase vs the 1st issue (Source: Mondadori Media Connect) !

>>> To find out about all our press events, click here.

b) Efficient mix between print and digital

Innovation in the press also means that pure players are turning digital into paper, and seeing this as a real opportunity for growth.

Examples include

1. Doctissimo - Health and well-being
2. Marmiton
3. Oh ! My mag
4. Le journal des Femmes.

In 2023, the press was one of the media that contributed to the overall stabilisation of the media market, especially during the first half of the year. Although the sector recorded a decline of 4.2% compared with the first half of 2022, it should be noted that this decrease is in line with the trends observed in other traditional media such as television and radio.

Source: ACPM / OJD 2017 vs 2016

a) 360° targeting

Just like the digital, the press has a strong targeting potential and covers more than 90% of the french population, including 99,7% of the Premium category (executives directors and managers, individuals 18+ being a member of a household with > 65K € [tax excluded] annual income). In addition, we can observe on the two graphics below that the press is the media which reaches the highest income targets.

Source: One Premium 2017

Source: One Premium 2017

Besides the wide range of possible targets that the print media offer, trade magazines are a very efficient way to reach a specific audience, in B2B or B2C, a preference from advertisers proven by the stable advertising revenues in 2018 vs 2017 decreasing by 0,2% (Source : IREP).

Source: ONE global 2017 V4 - One Premium 2017

b) Medium highly appreciated

The press indisputably remains the favorite media of the Premiums closely competing against Internet. For instance, print media is picked in priority in the fashion, beauty, finance and automotive sectors; it is the favorite medium for decorations with Internet and the second media for tourism. In terms of new products and services releases, press is also the Brand Addict’s* favorite media (*individual who attaches a lot of importance to brands for his purchases choices).

In the field of beauty and personal care, 37% of brand addicts get informed in press about new trends and products vs 23% for the overall population. Regarding the other sectors, rates are at 53% for tourism, 45% for food, 46% for technologies and 53% for health care.

a) Priority source of information

Information is rooted in 90% of French people’s daily life who check it at least once a day. Therefore, press is in the second position of the most used media for information, after Internet but before television.

Source: One Premium 2017

However, Internet includes the press on social media, websites and apps.

b) Media n°1 of reliability

As shown in the diagram below, the trust towards Internet’s information is quite low with rates between 30% and 55%, except for the news coming from newspaper’s websites which reach 68% of trust rate, with the same observation in France, Germany and UK.

Source: JIN France Opinion Way - 1000 interviews du 9 au 13 janvier 2017 - Cawi - Baromètre de confiance Digitale

The press is the 2nd most important medium in terms of the number of advertisers:

Then, in terms of information’s credibility, newspapers (2nd position +7pts) keep improving as well as the radio (on 1st position +4pts) and the television (3rd position +7pts) while Internet keeps losing approval (-1pt) (Source: Baromètre Crédibilité des Médias 2018 - Kantar Sofres - Kantar Media - La Croix).

Thanks to this credibility, advertisements in press benefit from readers trust and high action rates.

Source: Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Survey, Q1 2015.

Consequently, 75% of readers declare seeing each advertisement of the print media which is 2,5 times higher than digital medias.

a) Essential driver in the buying decision

Why is the press a valuable media for advertising?

According to the American study MPA USA October 2015, the following causes had been displayed to demonstrate the efficiency of reading paper documents and the awareness of print advertisements: 

Better understanding and memorization

Prefered by the majority of readers (even Millenials) – 57% of French people exclusively read the paper press (Source: ONE Market 2017)

1. More interest and less forgetfulness
2. A slower reading
3. Stimulates emotions and desire

Moreover, advertisements in press are better perceived than on websites or TV, thanks to the content’s coherence with the announcements and the quality of the products and services offered.

Source: MPA USA Simmons Research Multi Media Engagement Study - spring 2016

Therefore, its strengths mix reliability, relevance and awareness which generates a call to action to 43% of readers according to Adlike / Haris Interactive France.

It may also be noted that Millenials generation pay a lot of attention to advertisements in magazines and newspapers.

Source: Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Survey, Q1 2015.

The decision making is a significant factor of the consumer’s purchase process, beyond the product and service’s awareness. Consequently, the press remains the best media to trigger the decision making, before TV commercials (Source: USA Marketing Sherpa - Customer Satisfaction Research Study - Oct 2016 - 2400 interviews).

b) KPI’s booster

It has been shown that KPI’s in print media are more efficient than Internet and TV concerning brand awareness, brand favorability and purchase intent.

Source: MPA USA Millward Brown Digital 2007 - 2015 Data Exposed vs Control Campagnes Print + Digital incluant les journaux

Therefore, the post-advertising campaign results indicate that including the press in a media plan perfects the return on investments. Indeed, from 2004 to 2015, the ROI average of magazines was 3,94$ for 1$ invested, much higher than display advertisements (2,63$) and TV commercials (2,55$).  

Source: Magnetic - the power of context IPA Data Bank cases studies 2012 - 2016

c) Multimedia strategy : combining press and other mediums

A multimedia strategy combines several media in the same time in a common advertising campaign with one message. Print media is a good way to strengthen the exposure and the credibility of your message in order to trigger a decision-making.

Source: MPA USA Millward Brown Digital 2007 - 2015 Data Exposed vs Control Campagnes Print + Digital

Some other examples such as the codistribution gives the opportunity to generate a better memorization and a friendly image to your brand, especially for food & beverage products.

Source: 20 Minutes

d) Examples of creative magazine’s advertisements

Fake front page on the 20 Minutes newspaper for promoting the Rock n Roll movie.

An augmented reality print ad activated with the app SnapPress.

One more time, the 20 Minutes newspaper changes its adversiting space to offer a “tearing” effect for the advertiser: Monopoly.

Written by Yann Roger