June-July 2006 Lawlor Focus
- Extra! Extra! Integration is the Key
- In the News: TV Losing Market Share with Today's Youth
- Expert Perspective: Building Brand Identity Online
- Did You Know?
Extra! Extra! Integration is the Key
In the mid-90s, even before the Internet was widely accessible, predictions about the demise of printed literature, from library books to college brochures, were common. And today, with more than 6.5 billion Net users worldwide, electronic media clearly is having an effect on traditional media sources: magazine subscriptions are down, television viewing is declining and, not surprisingly, traditional newspaper readers are fewer and fewer. However, the newspaper industry has begun to rally in an effort to not go the way of the dinosaur. For them, adaptation seems to be the key to long-term survival in this digital era.
For several years, pop culture-oriented USA Today has featured significant online components, and even familiar but more traditional brands, including The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, give subscribers online access to feature stories, op-ed pieces and basic wire stories. Now, even these two stalwarts of the industry recently announced they also intend to shrink their physical size or drop certain familiar features, such as stock tables, from the print edition. "A lot of this has already been going on across a wide swath of newspapers," said Ken Doctor, lead analyst with research and advisory firm Outsell, who predicted that newspapers will become primarily online products over the next decade. "What's significant is that the national papers that command the greatest attention and greatest profit are now biting the bullet and saying, 'We need to follow this trend.' "
The ongoing shifts of transitioning print content to online "is the tip of the iceberg," said Stephen Carlson, associate media director at StarLink Worldwide, whose clients include the American Medical Association and Caterpillar, Inc. He suggests that TV listings, entertainment listings, sports statistics and weather reports are likely suspects for elimination from print as well. "These are the areas where people are getting conditioned to go online [for the information]," Carlson said.
Does this mean traditional newspapers, brochures or other printed publications will one day cease to exist? Not entirely, says James Murphy, chief marketing and communications officer for Accenture, a major advertiser in both The Wall Street Journal and on WSJ.com. He suggests that with more readers tracking the headlines and breaking news online, newspapers will probably morph into a slightly different product, one that starts looking more like magazines. "You're going to see more insight, color and features [to attract readers]," he predicts.
Advertising dollars may ultimately be the reason behind newspapers' shift from print to online, but the lesson learned is valuable to all industries: Reaching today's audiences requires an integrated approach in which traditional print materials are used differently. While not replaced altogether, print media should be used in concert with a myriad of Internet media, from web sites to RSS feeds to podcasts. Digital media and print publications complement one another and when coordinated to work together, they deliver information to today’s audiences in ways that are more useful and relevant than ever before. By recognizing the changing demands of the marketplace and using a variety of media to meet their marketing strategies, organizations will keep those audiences coming back for more.
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Integrated marketing is not a new concept in higher education. But, as newspapers and other print media have discovered, integrating marketing media is a slightly different but equally important practice at work: Not only should an organization's brand messages appear throughout all aspects of the marketing efforts, from advertising to public relations to direct marketing, but successful communication plans also will employ a variety of media to deliver information to consumers in the ways they want to receive it.
No one—including the consumer—is ready to give up tactile, printed materials altogether. But, as some of the best-selling yet most traditional newspaper organizations have learned, the role of the print medium is different now because of the web. Print can be used as a catalyst for driving traffic to the web, and vice versa. Knowing how to best use print publications as an important communications vehicle begins with an understanding of the audience and how it wants to receive relevant information.
Think about your own customers and consider these three examples from higher education:
- Alumni Magazines: Do readers enjoy leisurely thumbing through the pages of a traditional magazine? Research shows that recent grads would prefer to receive a monthly e-mail message with “class notes” and a short list of upcoming campus events. Consider offering alumni either option—and possibly print and mail fewer magazines.
- Course Catalogs: Do students want to find them in their desks or on the web? It may be that prospective students prefer the ease with which an online catalog can be searched but current students want their own copy to highlight, mark up and dog-ear. So, printing a small quantity of catalogs for campus constituencies would probably be well received, while external audiences will be satisfied with an online catalog.
- Viewbooks: For most institutions, these traditional admission publications continue to serve as an important gateway for prospective students and their parents. And, even though we know that students are spending a great deal of time scouring the web and devouring features like student blogs, the viewbook remains an important reference point throughout the search process.
As the digital world continues to evolve, so will the role of print publications. Where print once was the primary medium for informing readers, it is now one of many sources of information. Therefore, the functionality of printed media must be reconsidered as a marketing channel that drives readers to take the next step, whether that's going to the web, making a donation online or calling to speak to someone. Working together, print and electronic communications are powerful vehicles for delivering institutional messages.
In the News: Losing Market Share in Today's Youth
Spending their free time watching TV is not as prevalent among today's youth as it once was, according to a recent survey by Bolt Media. The most popular activity for the average 12- to 34-year-old? Surfing the Net.
After surfing the Internet (84 percent), the most popular activities among survey respondents were hanging out with friends (76 percent), watching movies (71 percent) and TV viewing (69 percent).
"There's a massive movement going on in people under 30 and how they spend their media time," said Bolt President Lou Kerner, who once upon a time was a cable analyst on Wall Street before leaving to run TV.com and then Bolt. "Our audience spends lots of time on the Net, creating their own media."
Expert Perspective: Building Brand Identity Online
While the World Wide Web is the most popular manifestation of the Internet today, Bill Konkol, Director of Applications for Marketing Architects and one of TLG's preferred interactive marketing partners, encourages clients to incorporate some of its other tools, like RSS and podcasts, for university communications.
"RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts and webcasts are very important to your marketing mix," says Konkol. "The biggest benefits of these communication tools are that they push out information—your message, your brand—and increase relevant traffic to your college web site."
And don't shy away from audio or video, both of which now distribute very well compared to applications even two years ago, stresses Konkol. "Today, audio and video from a current student, administrator or faculty member is a hot web technology that helps tell your specific story."
Like a campus visit, the content of a podcast or webcast distinguishes your institution from others. After all, even though numerous campuses may share similar characteristics, campus visitors leave understanding the subtle but important differences between various institutions. Audio and video content accomplish the same goal, says Konkol. After all, "no one else will say the same thing you’re saying online or show the same experience you're showing online in exactly the same way."
Did You Know?
There might be many more seniors on college and university campuses next year, according to The Media Audit—although you might call them "super seniors." According to a recent survey in the 87 metropolitan markets regularly surveyed by The Media Audit, more than 580,000 adults over the age of 65 plan on taking college courses and 165,000 of those are over age 75.
In the markets surveyed, which includes areas like Ann Arbor, Michigan; Washington, D.C.; Reno, Nevada; and Austin, Texas, there are 137.4 million adults, and 25.4 million plan to take college-level courses in the next 12 months. Bob Jordan, president of International Demographics, Inc., publisher of The Media Audit, said, "Of the 25.4 million with plans to take college courses, 57.7 percent are between the ages of 18 and 34. The remaining 42.3 percent are 35 and older."
BusinessWeek magazine, says Jordan, reported that "many retirees have long favored college ... but now colleges are actively recruiting retirees with housing that allows them to live on or adjacent to campus, and with many of the perks enjoyed by faculty and staff."
To learn more, read the May 10, 2006, press release on The Media Audit.
How well do you meet the needs of your audiences? To learn more about how to integrate various marketing media, or to have The Lawlor Group conduct an audit of your institution's communication plan, please contact us by e-mailing tlg@thelawlorgroup.com or calling 800.972.4345.
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