The Evolution of Marketing

All that talk about how Millennials and Gen Z are responsible for killing off newspapers because they don’t like paper? That might turn out to be just another cultural myth as misguided as “Helen Reddy sure could sing.”

The world’s digital natives, who grew up clicking keyboards in preschool, have indeed had an impact on print communications, but there’s a growing body of evidence that says their preference for digital to print isn’t entirely absolute. Not long ago, the global paper-products company Sappi dug into the digital-only claims of younger consumers and declared it … off the mark.

“It’s a common misconception that consumers, especially Millennials, prefer digital to print,” the paper concluded. “After all, Millennials and Gen Z coming of age right behind them are digital natives and, as such, are more familiar with the internet, smartphones, and computers.”

But the authors determined that there was still plenty of room for print marketing in the digital age: 92 percent of individuals 18 to 23 said print was easier to read, provided fewer distractions, led to a more in-depth understanding of content, and earned higher levels of trust among those consuming that content. 

“Other benefits linked to reading printed media include better reading comprehension, minimal eye strain, and headaches,” the authors determined. “After spending hours looking at a screen, consumers experience digital information overload. As a result, they reach out to print media to unplug and consume information with ease.”

So the issue for marketing executives isn’t whether to use print but how to find the correct print channels that will help maximize multichannel messaging.

Such findings, says Josh McCoy of Trozzolo Communications, are not surprising.

“We take this into consideration when we create a digital strategy,” said the marketing agency’s director of integrated channel delivery. “Digital must hold hands with traditional media in the strategic vision of how we attract our audience. Someone doesn’t just simply sit on Instagram or TikTok—OK, some do—there are non-traditional digital plays and offline considerations that must be made.”

As an example, he cited someone whose daily media experience might include sharing a YouTube video with a co-worker, donning earbuds to listen to Spotify, taking note of a bus wrap on the way home, and thumbing through a magazine where an ad is QR-coded for an offer on site. Trozzolo, he says, is right there with all of those platforms.

“Yes, we have to pair digital with print, but more so offline in general. There is so much noise online that attention needs to also be paid off-screen,” he said.

And that, says marketing executives, creates the potential for seamless campaigns across channels. The thing about their digital enterprises is that whatever tactics those agencies are doing today won’t be part of the same strategies in the very near future. The evolution of digital marketing over the past decade has shown how rapid the change will be.

“One thing to note about digital marketing is that it is always moving,” McCoy said. “This becomes rather exhausting, as there is always a ‘new thing.’ It can be hard to ignore the FOMO of not joining the pack racing to be the first wave of advertisers that will eventually saturate a platform with advertising or content.”

Marketing history is filled with examples of that. Voice Search, McCoy said, and the Internet of Things have both been touted as the Next Big Thing. They might eventually be, but they haven’t fulfilled the promise that was being suggested even a few years ago.

“If we had raced to these as an ultimate tactical solution in the past, we would have underserved our clients,” McCoy said. “The next few years are going to be very interesting. We are seeing large social platforms adhere to stringent privacy considerations. We are seeing them walk away from third-party tracking. We are seeing them adopt broader (equal advertising) approaches, which makes demographic and geographic targeting harder.”

The newest next big thing in digital might well be the Metaverse, but those who go all-in there may run into unanticipated restrictions and roadblocks down the road. “Ultimately,” McCoy says, “we need to do what we have done for years: Strategize a well-rounded media mix based on an understanding of what our audience cares about, what they want to know, how we can help them, and in the digital outlets where we can meet them.”