print advertising vs digital advertising.

You know, there has always been great controversy over print advertising, whether it will fall off the cliff next month, or if its in it for the gold…… or maybe im just making that up in my head. I don’t know.  What I do know tho is that many companies are decresing the revenue of print efforts and investing that money into digital advertising instead. Take The New York Times Co. for example. 

 "The New York Times Co. said Wednesday that the decline in print advertising revenue has gotten smaller since late January.

In the fourth quarter, print advertising revenue dropped 7 percent over the previous year. The company said the print advertising decline was in the low single digits in February.

Digital advertising revenue grew in the mid-single digits, though it's still not enough to offset declines in print. Digital advertising made up just 15 percent of total revenue in the fourth quarter."

This doesn’t surprise me at all:

Major Benefits of Digital Advertising

1. The biggest benefit of digital advertising in particular for web advertising is that it is quantifiable. The biggest drawback to broadcast and print advertising is that it is impossible to get an accurate number of the viewers or readers that might see an ad. With tools like Google Analytics it is possible to see exactly how many people have visited a website or clicked on a banner ad. This means you can actually see how effective advertising.
2. The cost. Digital advertising is simply the most cost effective form of advertising ever created. For the price of a traditional newspaper want ad, an advertiser can reach millions of potential customers all over the world. Start up companies and small businesses can effectively compete with large corporations.
3. Flexibility. Digital advertising can be quickly changed to deal with changing circumstances. Unlike print or broadcast ads which can take months to prepare and can’t be changed quickly. Digital ads can be revised almost instantly. This means it is possible to create a campaign and have it up and running in a few days.
4. Versatility. In today’s world an effective digital ad placed online can reach people through several different mediums. Viewers can see it on the internet, through social networks or even through their cell phones. If the ad goes viral millions can potentially see it.
5. The capability is there for ads to go viral. This means that your viewers can actually become part of the advertising process by spreading or posting ads that they like. This can greatly extend the reach of advertising without greatly increasing its cost.
6. Trust. The newer digital advertising mediums are generally more liked and trusted than traditional media. In many parts of the world average people view traditional publishing and broadcasting organizations as propaganda outlets for government or big business. The same people often trust digital outlets because they have more control over them.
7. Growth potential is unlimited. Most traditional media is plagued by falling viewing figures and sales. At the same time digital media is growing quickly. This means those who want to reach more people need to sue digital media.
8. Focused. Digital media is much easier to focus on a particular group. This means an advertiser can reach only the readers or viewers that they actually want. They don’t have to pay large amounts of money for ads that will only reach a few customers. For example a company selling a new knitting needle could advertise on websites for knitters and reach those most likely to buy the product.
9. Better grade of customers. The people that use digital media are usually better educated, more affluent and younger. They are more likely to be the kind of customers that advertisers actually want to

Yeah… that basically sums it all up, actually, I don’t know if "sums" was a good word, because that was actually rather lengthy if I do say so myself. In fact I can guarantee that you probably didn’t read the whole excerpt above to its entirety. Am I right? ….. If you did read it all, then sorry for offending you, Bravo!

http://www.statesman.com/business/technology/nytimes-co-gives-improved-outlook-on-print-ads-1292100.html?cxtype=rss_ece_frontpage