Does The Death Of Print Signal The Death Of PR?
And another one bites the dust.. with LOOK, NME and Glamour gone in a matter of months, many are wondering whether print, and in turn PR, may be hurtling towards its expiry date. Traditionally speaking, print is PR's bread and butter - it's what we found ourselves on and it's what keeps our clients happy. But the fact of the matter is, print publications are dropping like flies, and while it's a touch premature to suggest that it's done with entirely, what it does suggest is a new wave of press that PR teams are scrambling to get on board with. While the future of print media faces uncertainty, and our magnum opus is slowly obliterating, we have to ask; are our days numbered?
Out with The Old, In With The New
While traditional PR relies on the promise of print media, we're seeing a new wave of agencies (us included!) that manage their clients reputations from behind a computer screen. And the digital era doesn't only affect the publications we target - more and more we're seeing agencies that do their showrooms, marketing and reporting through an entirely digital medium.
Print is great, but its results are near impossible to measure. Digital press on the other hand benefits from tools such as Google Analytics that allows us to analyse the effectiveness of every piece of coverage that brands get, meaning that PR Agencies are able to provide more accurate reports to their clients and continue to reach out to publications that have been proven to work. It also allows us to please our clients in a shorter amount of time - with printed lead times being painfully long, online coverage allows for 'quick wins' that get brands noticed quick. Take a look at our results through our PR case studies.
THE PROBLEM WITH PRINT
Print media comes with many perks, but like most things it also presents problems. With print, potential customers have many hurdles to jump over before actually making it to your website. They may see your product in a magazine and make a note of it for later but as we all know life gets in the way and they inevitably forget. Print also has an expiry date, and your coverage only lasts for as long as the issue is in stock.
Digital press, on the other hand, is great for brands as it plays on customers' impulses - you see something you like, you click on the link and hey presto it's in your hands a few days later. Even if digital coverage doesn't immediately lead to sales, it's proven to have an impressive impact on website traffic, with features in Emerald Street or The Pool shown to have increased website visits by around 400%. Plus digital coverage will last as long as the internet does, and by the look of things that's not going anywhere any time soon.
Click-through coverage puts brands at the fingertips of the internet's savviest shoppers. Sales make happy brands, and happy brands make happy PR agencies.
Swallow The Pride
The decrease of print publications has more of an impact on pride than it does purchase. There's a certain prestige that comes with seeing your product in Vogue or any established publication that you just don't get from online press, and some brands have difficulty in separating pride from impact. The reality is that even though it’s a great feeling, it doesn’t necessarily lead to successful PR. So while print dying doesn't necessarily hinder PR agencies, it does make their onboarding process a touch more difficult, as they can't promise print coverage in the same way that they used to.
Looking Forward
So what now? In 2018 brands need a much more 360-degree approach to PR – having your brand featured in a magazine isn't enough. PR is so much more than products on a page, so it's high time for brands to open themselves up to maximising social media, influencers and digital marketing.
While the death of print might have bruised the egos of brands pining for that feature in Vogue, we can rest assured that PR agencies still have a place in today's landscape and that press coverage is still highly influential. Press coverage builds awareness and boost your credibility - you can have a look at what it has done for a few of our brands here.
