Here’s another indication of the effect digital advertising is having on traditional media advertising spend.
Things were looking less bad throughout most of 2010 for magazines compared to the horrible declines of 2009, but at the end of last year and continuing through this year it’s been mostly downhill, again.
In an article from the Wall Street Journal they attribute this decline in 152 major monthly magazines to the bad economy.
But they also make this point. “Of course, the effects of economic turmoil on advertising are being felt throughout the media industry. But as was the case in 2008 and 2009, the print sector has borne the brunt of spending cuts because of a perception that the effectiveness of print advertising is particularly hard to measure, ad buyers say.”
Based on what we’re seeing from our clients, I have to agree with this last statement. It’s not just the economy that is effecting print media spending but it’s also the value of digital advertising that is taking its toll on traditional advertising.
We really won’t know the total effect until the economy improves and we see where the money is spent then. I don’t think there is any doubt that as the dollars come back they will shift more to digital and away from traditional. Print isn’t going away but it’s not coming back to the good old days, ever again.
That’s why smart brands are already building the online tools to help their independent retailers to take advantage of digital marketing. It’s simply cheaper, better and faster and then what we had in the good old days.