associationFOCUS | Volume 8, Issue 1

A Nielsen Catalina study for Meredith shows an average ROI of $7.81 for every one dollar spent on print ads. lmost half of those surveyed preferred to look at an ad in a print magazine, and only 1 in 10 preferred to see the same ad in a digital version — and none want to see ads in apps. Print magazines are probably the best way for your associate members to reach their target audience for products and services — one of the main reasons they joined your association. However, to be clear: The case for print is NOT a case against digital — both are extremely useful marketing tools. If consumers can integrate print and digital into their lives, so should marketers. If you’re considering ditching your print publi - cation, thinking about starting a print publi - cation, or just unsure of what to think about print’s future, we have a publication that you can download as our gift to you. Here are a few key subjects that are covered: 1. Print = The Sensory Media Experience 2. Creating Engagement 3. Digging Deeper with Print 4. Integrating Paper and Pixels 5. Talking to One or Many 6. Adding Print Increases the ROI. https://thenewslinkgroup.org/goldfish-publication/ Download our Goldfish publication. Here’s where we think print comes in: • On average consumers spend around 33 minutes reading their mail (45 minutes on magazines; 30 minutes on catalogs; and 25 minutes on direct mail). • 79% of people find reading physical mail more convenient than reading emails. • It has been scientifically proven that reading on paper requires impressively less cognitive efforts compared to digital. The human brain needs 21% less cognitive resource to process the informa - tion on print. This helps readers to more easily grasp the information and remember it longer. • People remember the brand name 70% better if they see it on a print ad compared to a digital ad (44%). The reality of the situation is this: numbers, if tortured long enough, will admit to anything. We know — based on reasonable science and studies — that we have a sensory overload problem. Research shows that that our senses are bombarded with over 11 million bits of data every second, and the average person’s working memory can handle 40-50 bits, max. That means we ignore 10,999,950 bits of data every second we are awake. So what’s the the takeway? We think that there’s a lot to be said for bringing opportunities for engage - ment directly to the members. The print experience is much more relaxed and focused. There isn’t a constant flow of other media vying for the limited attention span we apparently have and distracting us when we read a printed magazine or newspaper. Moreover, when reading magazines and newspapers, we’re not intentionally searching for specific infor - mation, which is almost always the case with digital. The information flows more organically. Print makes a difference when it comes to conveying important information and print does it faster — both are posi- tives when it comes to engaging association members. A Case for Print CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 association FOCUS | 11