Are smartphones the end of print media?
Do you know what the capital of Burkina Faso is? No? But I bet you could pull out your smartphone and tell me. What about the song that is playing in the background of your office? Do you know who sings it? No? But there is an app for that.
In fact, I am pretty sure there isn’t a question that I could ask you that you probably wouldn’t be able to find an answer for in a matter of minutes. We are living in the information revolution, where anyone can find out almost anything. Thanks to WikiLeaks, even things you aren’t supposed to know!
Some will say that this started with search engines but I believe that the information revolution has only just begun with smartphones. If you want to know the answer to something, you no longer have to wait until you are at a computer, you can just pull out your smartphone, do a little search and find the answer. No more waiting around, or having long, never-ending debates about which football team won what in which year.
Okay, well duh you might be saying, bit slow on the uptake aren’t you Laura? True, smartphones have been around for a little while now, but let’s look at the recently released circulation figures.
On the whole, magazines and newspapers are dropping quite rapidly. I know if I want my daily fashion fix I don’t need to pick up the latest fashion magazine, I can jump onto aesos.com (which has a really great sale at the moment) on my iPhone instead.
Newspapers in particular are no longer the most current and up-to-date source of information, and while they still have their place in the media marketplace, they are being overtaken by the power of the online word.
So what does that mean for media planners? Should we be shifting our budgets away from traditional print media and into online? As digital continues to expand and provide more opportunities, should we be recommending to our clients that our spending mirrors this?
Or is there another way? Successful media planning often isn’t about focusing on one medium to drive a campaign but using different media vehicles to create an integrated marketing plan. It is also about recognising the place that different media has.
Personally, I believe that while magazines and newspaper are declining, they still offer something that no other medium can. Newspapers still generate the idea of relaxing on a lazy Sunday morning casually reading the paper over breakfast. Magazines still provide a tactile picture of a world, whether that be photography, fashion, celebrities or food. And creative just looks better! It is pretty hard to ignore a glossy double page spread in a magazine, and pretty easy to forget an MREC sitting in the corner.
Magazines and newspapers may not be as smart as your smartphone, but they can still offer you something that your phone can’t.
Also, the capital of Burkina Faso is Ouagadougou.
Laura Stewart
Foundation