Newspapers go Print Plus to buck the trend

As per a Zenith Optimedia study published in June 2015, average time spent by global consumers in reading newspapers has gone down by 25% between 2010 and 2014. The ‘Media Consumption Forecasts’ report surveyed media consumption in 65 countries.

The survey found that at an average people spend 492 minutes a day consuming media in 2015. In the four-years from 2010 to 14, Internet consumption has grown by 11.8%. However, traditional media consumption has decreased from 402.2 to 375.8 minutes.

As per the study, newspaper reading time would go down by 4.7 percent a year till 2017.

India to tow the line?

Would the situation be same in India, considering digital here too is set on a rapid growth path? Or are there markets which still offer a growth opportunity to newspapers? While the experts do feel there is some strain on readership, they believe that heterogeneous nature of Indian market would always offer growth opportunities in one pocket or the other. Dhrubo Mukherjee, VP, The Telegraph states, “Readership growth is definitely under strain but I don't see it declining in the near term. Regional language readership is still growing robustly and English language growth though restrained is still there.”

The industry stalwarts are of the view that newspapers are at various stages of PLC in different parts of the world, and in India there is still vast growth opportunity. Uma Shankar, Vice President, Prabhat Khabar states, “India is yet to grow in both length and breadth. Our adex per GDP is very low. Hence India has bright future compared to matured and saturated countries.”

Another school of thought is that newspaper industry is not performing in a similar fashion across the country. While in some languages and areas, there still is growth potential, others are seeing a decline. Bhushan Khot, Head (Sales & Marketing-DNA )& Business Head(Zee 24 Taas), Zee Media Corp says, “India being very heterogeneous market in terms of diverse culture & languages, in some markets it is growing and in some markets it is degrowing.”

Would English readership be the first to slip?

While vernacular is the latest buzzword on the digital platform, most of the large websites – news or otherwise, are still largely viewed in English. There is a belief that it would lead to stagnant if not declining readership of English newspapers. Khot states that situation differs from market to market, “English publications in some markets are showing a bigger decline than regional but in certain markets English publications are also growing.”

Mukherjee, however, agrees that English newspapers are more affected. He says, “English language growth will certainly be more challenged than regional languages.”

Publications ready to hold the fort?

The newspaper industry is not in a mood to accept a decline in the numbers without putting in a major fight. While they believe that organic growth would continue due to growth in literacy and infrastructure improvements, publications are putting their best foot forward to ride the wave.

Shankar says, “At present the reach of Print media is very less due to illiteracy and poor infrastructure. There is huge potential in exploring various markets. Every print player is doing an excellent job by expanding their boundaries and also by taking various innovative steps.” 

Going 360% and being a part of the digital bandwagon themselves is the preferred option for those who don’t want to miss the bus. Khot  emphasises, “Every Major publication has its e-paper which caters to the consumer who is on the move and wants the news on as and when basis. As for DNA, We are also doing a number of events, activations & innovations for catering to both, our audiences and our clients apart from regular advertising to sustain the revenues.”
Experts acknowledge that most elusive reader today is the young brigade. Constantly on the move their media consumption is on the lines of quick snacking. Mukherjee elaborates, “The challenge in readership lies in the youth segment. Hence focus is now on delivering relevance to them. This segment is very dynamic with ever changing needs and preferences. Thus innovations and dynamic content is the way forward to sustain readership interest and attract revenues.”

Is there a fear of declining share in ad pie?

Now on to the most critical part – from the initial talks of all media coexisting in harmony, the talks are now shifting to digital dominant media consumption, and hence a larger share of media spends being directed towards it.  While two of our experts believe that digital has not really impacted other media, one feels that pinch is already being felt though in a very miniscule manner. However, none denies that the heat would be felt by other media in days to come.
Mukherjee opines, “Right now no other media has been substantially impacted by digital growth, but going forward it has the potential to affect every other media. As of now TV and Print see higher growth on ad rates while radio is still at a nascent stage and is expected to take off post phase III. Digital has a high ROI based approach and is seeing substantially higher ad investments compared to previous years.”
Khot goes one step further when he says, “All the traditional media has some impact due to Digital growth. There is growth in case of digital whereas other medium are stagnant or showing a sluggish growth.”
Shankar however believes that, as of now, there has been no negative impact of digital growth on the revenues of any other medium. He says, “Additional budgets are allocated to digital platforms. No medium is growing at the cost of others. In another word, no medium is competing with each but complimenting each other.”

Is Print Plus the right approach for print players?

Digital boom is here – and there is not going to be any burst this time around. Nimble on its feet, easy to evolve and happy to interact with the target audience, it is rewriting the rules of the media game. In such a scenario, how does Print plan to hold its own? Mukherjee succinctly sums up the right strategy for the print players. He says, “Given the nuances are different for each of these industries competing them on one's core strength and complementing them in strengthening the overall media plan would potentially be the strategy for print players. Most print players are adopting an integrated approach to selling using a 'print plus' approach. Sustainability and future readiness will depend on how well this strategy can be micro managed to suit individual client and reader needs.”

‘Print plus’ strategy really is the way forward for print players. As the digital gains further grounds ‘content snacking’ most of it on mobile platform would become the order of the day. Their legacy, literacy drives and Indian’s love for the print publications can be big propellers for newspapers as long as they accept convergence as an ally and not an enemy. Consumer connect, whatever be the platform, would be the key for newspapers in times to come.
 

Media
@adgully

News in the domain of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Business of Entertainment

More in Media