Local and vernacular Print reach out to newly literate audiences in untapped areas of India; their dimensions and value cannot be discounted
BY SIMRAN SABHERWAL
(with inputs from Saloni Dutta and Anuradha Varanasi)
Every morning, ad guru Piyush Pandey makes several trips to his front door to check whether the newspaper has been delivered or not. He says there is Television and there are digital updates by the minute, but the charm of the morning newspaper cannot be compared with any other medium at all. This holds true for the majority of Indians. The Print medium is a favourite in our country. For long, it has been the conveyor of news and the chosen medium for advertisers to convey their brand story. With the advent of Television in the 1990’s and Digital in the new millennium, Print’s dominance has been waning. However, according to industry estimates, Print still retains the top spot when it comes to overall contribution in the ad-pie (albeit just marginally ahead of Television) in India. This is in total contrast to the West, where Print has been sounded the death knell and newspapers are shutting shop. So, will Print go down the same path in India as in other countries or is there still a strong case for Print advertising in India?
PRINT: HERE TO STAY
Firstly, if we were to just look at numbers, then according to Pitch Madison Media Advertising Outlook 2015, Print’s contribution to the overall ad-pie was 41.2% in 2014 (Television was next with a contribution of 38.2%). “According to the Pitch Madison Media Advertising Outlook 2015, Print is the largest stakeholder in the advertising market with a 41% stake, closely followed by TV at 38%. Print has the benefit of a very large number of advertisers, compared to TV. Print is also the first port of call and entry point for a new advertiser. Print is ideal for new product launches, announcements and for highly localized messages,” says Sam Balsara, Chairman and Managing Director of Madison World.
WHY PRINT STILL WORKS
While Print all over the world is on a decline, India is one of the few markets where it is growing well, because of substantial increase in new literate audiences coming into the market and existence of many large virgin markets, which do not as yet have a local Print edition. Print is also a habitual medium with many consumers feeling their day is not complete without their morning newspaper. Says Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO, South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network, and Chairman, Posterscope and psLive -Asia Pacific, “With Print, you get a very high emotional connect with the reader. It is a medium which you can refer to, re-read so you get a repeat value out of that.”
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Categories Betting on Print
• FMCG (personal care + Household + Impulse)
• Auto
• Education
• Real Estate and Home Improvement
• Clothing & Fashion Jewellery
• E-commerce
• Telecom/Internet DTH
• Retail
• BFSI
• HH Durables
It is this factor and the local nature of the medium that advertisers, particularly automobiles, telecom, BSFI, FMCG and e-commerce players, bank on when using the Print medium to convey their message effectively. Shashi Sinha, CEO of IPG Mediabrands India, believes that credibility and topicality help Print score over other mediums: “You can get coverage immediately. Digital takes time to build up because there is limited reach and TV also takes time because the expanse is low. So if you are looking at a launch, there’s nothing like Print. Credibility is high because even today, people believe in the power of Print.”
PRINT PLAYERS’ OPTIMISM
Print players, on their part, are optimistic about the medium. Anant Goenka, Wholetime Director & Head -New Media, The Indian Express Group, says that Print is growing and its ability to build brands and drive big response makes it a vital part of any media plan. What also builds up the relevance of Print is the growth of high-quality language Press as advertisers have realized that language Print can reach a quality/buying audience. Goenka says, “Print has a huge recall and brand-building ability. There’s a reason why every PE-funded start-up insists on spending big money on Print; it’s because it’s the ‘take-me-seriously-I’ve-arrived’ medium. Even if you look at it from a news perspective, the value of a press release is almost always far greater when carried in Print rather than any other medium.” The effectiveness of Print in bridging the gap between readers and advertisers also adds to the relevance of Print. According to Arunabh Das Sharma, Executive Director & President, BCCL, “Print provides dramatic reach and impact, which advertisers see and appreciate. Print provides almost immediate spikes in response to the ads. Also, given the multiplicity of languages and localization needs, there isn’t another medium today that’s as effective as Print. That’s why, in spite of so much fragmentation, Print continues to have the highest share of the advertiser’s wallet. Since it is localized, it allows for very little spillage for localized advertisers.”
WANTED: CREATIVITY IN PRINT ADS
TAKING ON THE DIGITAL GIANTS
While the debate on the onslaught of Digital on Print continues, Tarun Jha, Head of Marketing, Skoda Auto India, believes that traditional media in India will prevail. He says, “While India is a huge country and despite the fact that you have many users on Digital, there’s still a very large number of people who are still on traditional media. People who consume Digital also consume a lot of traditional media. So it will prevail.”
Reiterating this point, Ashish Bhasin says, “I don’t think Print and Digital are mutually exclusive. I think Print and Digital will co-exist, at least in India, and in many ways, those who are able to make them complementary will probably succeed the best.” Nitish Tipnis, Director - Marketing & Sales, Hover Automotive India, says that Print will reinvent itself to be relevant across platforms. “Print generically will go through a transition where it will not be the Print we see, but it could move into another vehicle which is more like a Print ad on a mobile phone. Or I could see a Print ad on a device like Kindle which is specifically used for someone who likes to touch and feel. I believe that the Print medium as we see it – newsprint – may go down, but the form factor will not change in terms of what you see in any Print ad.”
HOW LONG WILL PRINT BE RELEVANT?
But, for how long will Print continue to be relevant and stand up to the competition arising from competition? Colvyn J Harris, Executive Director Global Growth & Client Development, J. Walter Thompson says that Print will remain relevant but it will shrink: “It will continue to shrink because it is less effective. What you see in the metros will die fast. But what will stay in the long run is regional, local Print. That’s the only hope for Print - become local, regional and geographic. But on a national basis, it will not live forever. From a client perspective or a brand geography perspective, it will not last for long.” In the long term, it is anticipated that English Print will come under pressure, but regional Print will be very strong.
WHAT DOESN’T WORK IN ITS FAVOUR
One of the biggest drawbacks for Print, according to media planners, which makes advertisers wary of Print, is the big money that needs to be spent on the medium. Suresh Balakrishna, CEO, BPN says, “Print advertising needs to be a little careful as to how they price themselves because at the end of the day, it might not be right but it is still measured on the number of people you reach and cost per reach in Print is making it a little inaccessible, but if you were to do cost per response, I suspect Print would be equally effective.” Though Print is visual, the limited interactivity also proves to be a hurdle. According to Tushar Vyas, Chief Strategy Officer, Group M, South Asia, “One of the limitations is the story-telling ability which the audio-visual medium can provide. That is something inherently missing in Print, specially now with the emergence of Digital. Advertising can be taken to the next level in terms of driving engagement. These are the areas in which Print has a disadvantage.”
Feedback: simran.sabherwal@exchange4media.com
