Print media - what are we talking about, please?

Every six months, the AG für Werbemedienforschung (WEMF) reports on its meticulously compiled reach figures for newspapers and magazines. So far, so good. As is well known, the published figures unfortunately point in a negative direction for many publishers - and not just since this year. In the editorial offices of the same publishers, the loss of readership is then commented on or their own demise predicted with a touch of almost cannibalistic meticulousness.

Just to be clear: We are talking here about the use of news and entertainment content that is distributed via paper. Paper as a carrier medium, used in the right environment, still has something unique, almost intimate about it. Every reader who takes his or her favorite newspaper out of the mailbox on Sunday, for example, and takes a look at the background to the week's events in a relaxed and quiet environment, knows this and would not want to do without it. But in the fast-moving global competition for attention, paper is falling behind. Even young people cannot be lured away from their devices by paper - unless it is not used as packaging for a fast lunch to be devoured in a hurry.

Nevertheless, on an average weekday (including Sunday), these same "paper newspapers" are regularly used by over 80 percent of the population over the age of 14. A contradiction? At first glance at most. There are not only historical reasons and traditions why Mr. and Mrs. Swiss are still prepared to pay for newspaper content - and this completely voluntarily, without government pressure. Perhaps it also has to do with trust and voluntariness.

Trust: A recent study by the renowned Publicom Institute has attested to the very high credibility of the print media, especially the regional ones. No wonder; what other medium delves so deeply into the finely branched local and regional events? And of course the local population is interested in which local and regional political, sporting or economic figures have something to say here. And woe betide the journalist who does not research properly, does not quote correctly or discredits someone through no fault of their own. The source is quickly identified, as they are known by name. Journalists are sitting in a glass house, because their work is subject to the quality standards of a media brand.

Voluntariness: The reader of print content is prepared to pay a price for the product whose content convinces them the most - be it at the newsstand or by subscription. The important thing here is that HE decides, and HE feels no compulsion to do so. And if he is not convinced by the offer, he quickly switches to a competitor's title. Does this voluntary nature also have something to do with interest and trust in the media brand and its content? Nobody puts a stop sticker on the advertisements in their daily newspaper. Nobody zaps to the next page, and adblockers for print are not an issue.

Publishing houses at an advanced stage of digital transformation

Why doesn't the publishing industry speak more confidently about the achievements of recent years? The media industry is particularly challenged by digitalization and the "content for free" mindset. A lot has therefore been done and invested in recent years. The above-mentioned WEMF study "Total Audience", for example, documents that the digital transformation is well advanced at many newspaper brands and that successes can indeed be recorded here. "Total Audience" not only surveys the use of newspaper content on paper, but also examines the question of how high the total user base (print and digital) is for the individual media brands and how high the ratio is between paper readers and digital readers. For the Tages-Anzeiger media brand, for example, the average daily user base is 621,000 people. 203,000 of these are reached exclusively digitally, 373,000 exclusively via print and 45,000 via both print and digital (dual users). When comparing print-only and digital-only readers, the digital transformation rate is 54%! However, this consideration assumes that the goal here is to reach 100 percent. And this - formulating a complete conversion of all print readers to digital readers as a strategic goal - would probably be a novelty and also too short-sighted. Reaching readers of both the print and digital editions will continue to be the motto in the future. Blick already has more digital-only readers than print-only readers, with a transformation rate of 167 percent. Want some more examples of digital transformation?

NZZ: 61 %

BAZ: 48 %

Le Temps: 41 %

FC/Federal: 28 %

Advertising needs a relaxed and credible effective environment

Social media or diffuse news sites enjoy a degree of freedom compared to traditional media that is becoming increasingly absurd. The fact that advertising in the digital space is no longer dependent on THE medium, but is independent and seeks its own target audience, has meant that commercial advertising has largely given up on suitable media content in recent years. "Click is king" is the motto. And programmatic targeting is replacing common sense.

Now that the print media in particular are increasingly having to stretch themselves to the limit in order to present the performance of their content as a suitable advertising environment with costly research and surveys, alternative news sites and media even enjoy an almost naïve goodwill from the advertising industry in the context of fake news.

And even more bizarre - content in such environments is rewarded with advertising! This is because the seductively worded headline is quickly clicked on and suggests an attractive advertising environment to the customer, as it is clicked . . .

But who knows, perhaps the experimentation phase of the global communications industry with the belief that advertising success has something to do with click rates will soon give way to some sober lessons learned from the "experimentation" of recent years.

An increasing number of exponents of the advertising industry, such as the Chief Brand Officer of Deutsche Telekom, Hans-Christian Schwingen, are daring to emerge from the fog of digital credulity with their experiences in this regard. At the German Media Congress at the beginning of the year, Schwingen said the following, among other things: "Too much money is simply being invested in digital." He continued: "Facebook is completely overrated. Almost 85 percent of users drop out after three seconds or less; a spot that is watched all the way through is less than 3 percent."

Perhaps we need more experts like Schwingen, who can draw on their experience, to separate the wheat from the chaff in the digital communication environment and thus reignite a modern debate on the impact of advertising and traditional communication. It would be desirable. And it can be assumed that the print media brands would not have the worst cards to play.

The author: Othmar Fischlin is Head of the Media Institute of the Swiss Media Association.

Image: Fotolia

This article first appeared in the Werbewoche industry report "Media Trends II" from November 3