Survival of the fittest: can print ads battle it out?

In comparison to other media forms, there is a special element that print advertisements hold that enable it to excel in contemporary practice. Flicking through a magazine or newspaper becomes a physical experience, one that becomes something that the consumer feels comfortable with. Through this physical interaction with paper the consumer somewhat forms a relationship which then results in consumer loyalty and extended readership. Many people still read magazines and enjoy this form of engagement, even though the content can probably also be found online.

Magazines and newspapers cater to a specific audience, thus this form of advertising is still effective in carrying out promotional objectives. An advantage that print ads in magazines and newspapers have is that it reaches readers in a relaxed frame of mind- therefore they are most likely to look at ads carefully and actually take in what is meant to be absorbed. People are most likely to engage in this form of media when they have time, whether it be sitting at home, waiting for an appointment, having coffee or sitting at the hairdressers. In saying this, print ads possibly gain the most attention this way compared to on the internet. More often than not, ads on the internet get disregarded and ignored, as most of the time they become annoying to the browser and often seen as interference or clutter.

There is also the choice of special ad positioning, adding to this notion of appropriate targeting. The life span for magazines and newspapers are also longer as they are able to found and viewed over and over again with its high reach perspective. Most excitingly, print media advertisements produce glossy ads. The use of creative design and graphics is a very effective method that can attract the viewer's attention and at the same time gives the viewer a visual idea of the product it is trying to sell, stimulating and imitating the viewer's senses.

This idea that traditional forms of advertising remains just as popular as online advertising is supported by a study carried out in Britain, revealing that traditional print adverts are more trusted than online. It suggested that 59% of consumers pay the greatest attention to print advertising in magazines and 56% giving more attention to adverts in newspapers compared with any type of online advertising. “The strength of the newspaper and magazine industry is apparent with media consumers enjoying them and valuing their content”.

Deloitte report claims traditional media 'more popular than online: http://www.printweek.com/printbuying/news/871694/Deloitte-report-claims-traditional-media-more-popular-online/