Is digital publication the only future?

A rallying call for print and falling stock price for Facebook hints that the digital only future has not yet arrived.

Despite advocates regularly predicting the demise of print in an all digital world, with a few centuries of experience print has established some well entrenched business models.  Readers understand the concept of buying a publication and value the content. Publishers control the process including the quality of the final product and marketing issues such as 'cover appeal'. Digital meanwhile dabbles with a number of business models delivered through a medium where there is an expectation that content is free. Just as confusing is the  platform on which content will be read. Is it on a desk top computer, a smart phone or tablet? And even which way round will it be read - vertical or landscape. Some publishers have merely set up the publication for print and brought it to the screen using page turning software. Others have made greater use of the digital medium such as incorporating video, but still produce using software tools designed primarily for print. Few yet have abandoned the set constraints of a magazine size and layout and designed only as a digital publication.

So where does all this leave the marketing manager with regard to advertising and which media, format and platform to use? Talking to an advertisement manager of a technical publication earlier this week there was news of larger companies actually booking larger campaigns in the printed media. At the same time print industry journal PrintWeek reports that Barry Hibbert boss of mega print firm Polestar,  issued a rallying call to customers to invest in "the golden nugget of printing". Interestingly Polestar back this up with sales growth, investment in new print plant and success in securing long term print contracts.

Meanwhile over at Facebook falling stock values, about 40% off the IPO valuation, and a claim teenagers are getting tired of the social network, the hope is now focussing more on mobile. Unlike print which can command both a cover price and an advertising income stream, social media needs the advertising revenue. Although the prospect of reaching very carefully targeted individuals is appealing, real sales leads from Facebook, especially in the b-2-b markets are not something you hear about.

Although the company web site remains the first place to go, our research suggests that when customers type a search term into  Google it is more commonly for the brand that they already know than actually searching for a generic product to discover vendors. Business buyers it seems already have favourite destination sites, using search is just a quick way of getting there.