Christoph Ruef, VP & GM, Americas Printing, HP Inc.05.23.19
On the morning of Aug.13, 2018, New Yorkers put down their phones to pick up the paper. This divergence from digital was sparked by a landmark partnership between the New York Post and the streetwear brand Supreme. The paper cleared its cover of headlines and instead dedicated the edition’s front and back page to the apparel brand’s iconic red and white logo — a move that left newsstands bare within a few hours.
The way we’ve consumed media has changed and many in the print industry are embracing it. Too often, print’s critics equate its static form with an inability to innovate. The Post showed us that is not true. Its partnership with Supreme marked a first in the paper’s 200-year history and pointed to a major shift in print’s creative strategies within an increasingly digital market.
The decrease in circulation of traditional print products is not a de facto “death of print.” The disruption presents a new stage of life for legacy publishers and industry newcomers, alike. Faced with the ubiquity of digital content, print has been challenged to leverage, instead of lean on, its past successes and has an opportunity to redefine its place in the ever-evolving media landscape.
Print’s Place in a Digital World
Following the New York Post collaboration, one 18-year-old claimed it was the first newspaper he ever bought. His statement seems discouraging on the surface but speaks to a deeper opportunity for publishers to creatively expand their base and reach new audiences.
In the past few years, Millennials have increasingly turned to print products and catalogs, according to the Data and Marketing Association. A striking 92% of college students across the globe say they prefer print materials over digital, as discovered by recent academic studies.
These trends beg the question: Can print and digital coexist and thrive in the same space?
Data strongly suggests that they can — and that they should. Today, print continues to generate the largest chunk of revenue for most legacy publishers, according to PwC. Moreover, scientific studies have shown physical media outperforms digital when considering readers’ attention, engagement and emotional reaction. As Linda Thomas Brooks, president and CEO of the Association of Magazine and Media notes, “The old trope that print is dead is just lazy thinking.”
If print leaders continue to integrate digital’s visual and connectivity prowess into their own products, publications will be able to fill a critical gap in readers’ natural affinity for print without feeling threatened by their digital habits.
Creative Solutions to Ongoing Struggles
The success of print and the growth of digital are not mutually exclusive; they are ancillary. While print titles are innovating alongside online competition, digital-first brands are also taking a page from their ink-on-page predecessors. With consumers trusting print content more than digital (72%rate print positively), brands are keen to provide paper products in order to gain loyalty and legitimacy among readers.
Of note, Airbnb launched a print magazine in 2017 in partnership with Hearst Magazines to address a “void in the media.” It sought to speak directly to customers through tangible reading material that, “fits into the way they want to experience the world,” according to Hearst’s chief content officer, Joanna Coles. The polarizing but wildly popular wellness brand, Goop, led by Gwyneth Paltrow,followed suit and launched a print quarterly in collaboration with Condé Nast. Goop had already carved out a niche in digital media for almost a decade but leapt into print to push the brand’s values even further, according to Paltrow. In other words, print publications provide readers with a unique experience that digital alone cannot provide.
In a similar vein, print publications have taken a cue from digital competitors by amplifying their presence. With the help of advanced print technology, publications can more easily produce quick, flexible and endlessly customizable, original content. For instance, New York magazine created limited-run poster versions of their covers and created public art installations to celebrate them during the publication’s 50th anniversary last year. The campaign earned the publication considerable buzz and fueled multiple live events.
Print and digital do not exist in a vacuum. Their respective innovations continue to pressure each other to advance and rethink their delivery and services. If trailblazers in the industry continue to encourage the exchange of ideas between online and offline mediums, brands will be offered endless opportunities to captivate and entertain readers.
Leveraging the Past to Innovate for the Future
Print has been lauded as one of the greatest inventions of all time. It has garnered the public’s trust and devotion. It has enabled the spread of information and built global relationships.
Now, as storytelling and media enter the 2020s, the print news’ struggles are actually amplifying a resurgence of the entire industry. Today, covers are bolder, content is more reflective of society’s diversity and audiences are increasingly engaged. In the battle between digital and print, the two can flourish in the same space — if publishers embrace the challenges as opportunities, not moratoriums.
Our consumption of media is an incomplete journey. We are still writing our own history every day. But when it is complete — or as our approach to content evolves — there’s no doubt the story will be featured in print.
Christoph Ruef is VP and GM of HP’s multi-billion dollar Americas printing business. He has spent nearly 30 years working on HP’s print operations, managing global product strategy, marketing, go-to-market strategy and sales. He has worked for HP in Europe, Asia and the United States. In these markets, he has overseen tectonic changes to the printing market, navigating the transition from black and white to color printers and from single function to All-in-One products. Christoph speaks English and German and resides in San Diego.
The way we’ve consumed media has changed and many in the print industry are embracing it. Too often, print’s critics equate its static form with an inability to innovate. The Post showed us that is not true. Its partnership with Supreme marked a first in the paper’s 200-year history and pointed to a major shift in print’s creative strategies within an increasingly digital market.
The decrease in circulation of traditional print products is not a de facto “death of print.” The disruption presents a new stage of life for legacy publishers and industry newcomers, alike. Faced with the ubiquity of digital content, print has been challenged to leverage, instead of lean on, its past successes and has an opportunity to redefine its place in the ever-evolving media landscape.
Print’s Place in a Digital World
Following the New York Post collaboration, one 18-year-old claimed it was the first newspaper he ever bought. His statement seems discouraging on the surface but speaks to a deeper opportunity for publishers to creatively expand their base and reach new audiences.
In the past few years, Millennials have increasingly turned to print products and catalogs, according to the Data and Marketing Association. A striking 92% of college students across the globe say they prefer print materials over digital, as discovered by recent academic studies.
These trends beg the question: Can print and digital coexist and thrive in the same space?
Data strongly suggests that they can — and that they should. Today, print continues to generate the largest chunk of revenue for most legacy publishers, according to PwC. Moreover, scientific studies have shown physical media outperforms digital when considering readers’ attention, engagement and emotional reaction. As Linda Thomas Brooks, president and CEO of the Association of Magazine and Media notes, “The old trope that print is dead is just lazy thinking.”
If print leaders continue to integrate digital’s visual and connectivity prowess into their own products, publications will be able to fill a critical gap in readers’ natural affinity for print without feeling threatened by their digital habits.
Creative Solutions to Ongoing Struggles
The success of print and the growth of digital are not mutually exclusive; they are ancillary. While print titles are innovating alongside online competition, digital-first brands are also taking a page from their ink-on-page predecessors. With consumers trusting print content more than digital (72%rate print positively), brands are keen to provide paper products in order to gain loyalty and legitimacy among readers.
Of note, Airbnb launched a print magazine in 2017 in partnership with Hearst Magazines to address a “void in the media.” It sought to speak directly to customers through tangible reading material that, “fits into the way they want to experience the world,” according to Hearst’s chief content officer, Joanna Coles. The polarizing but wildly popular wellness brand, Goop, led by Gwyneth Paltrow,followed suit and launched a print quarterly in collaboration with Condé Nast. Goop had already carved out a niche in digital media for almost a decade but leapt into print to push the brand’s values even further, according to Paltrow. In other words, print publications provide readers with a unique experience that digital alone cannot provide.
In a similar vein, print publications have taken a cue from digital competitors by amplifying their presence. With the help of advanced print technology, publications can more easily produce quick, flexible and endlessly customizable, original content. For instance, New York magazine created limited-run poster versions of their covers and created public art installations to celebrate them during the publication’s 50th anniversary last year. The campaign earned the publication considerable buzz and fueled multiple live events.
Print and digital do not exist in a vacuum. Their respective innovations continue to pressure each other to advance and rethink their delivery and services. If trailblazers in the industry continue to encourage the exchange of ideas between online and offline mediums, brands will be offered endless opportunities to captivate and entertain readers.
Leveraging the Past to Innovate for the Future
Print has been lauded as one of the greatest inventions of all time. It has garnered the public’s trust and devotion. It has enabled the spread of information and built global relationships.
Now, as storytelling and media enter the 2020s, the print news’ struggles are actually amplifying a resurgence of the entire industry. Today, covers are bolder, content is more reflective of society’s diversity and audiences are increasingly engaged. In the battle between digital and print, the two can flourish in the same space — if publishers embrace the challenges as opportunities, not moratoriums.
Our consumption of media is an incomplete journey. We are still writing our own history every day. But when it is complete — or as our approach to content evolves — there’s no doubt the story will be featured in print.
Christoph Ruef is VP and GM of HP’s multi-billion dollar Americas printing business. He has spent nearly 30 years working on HP’s print operations, managing global product strategy, marketing, go-to-market strategy and sales. He has worked for HP in Europe, Asia and the United States. In these markets, he has overseen tectonic changes to the printing market, navigating the transition from black and white to color printers and from single function to All-in-One products. Christoph speaks English and German and resides in San Diego.