IT'S BOTH OFFLINE AND ONLINE: REPORT

Printers, retailers, brands and agencies gathered in Melbourne last Friday and Sydney today for the launch of the Industry Insights Report by TRMC, which revealed that print and digital work best together.

Presenting the report at the breakfast events, Kellie Northwood, CEO of TRMC, said the report shows that the best way to optimise the channels is to use both together.

She said, “It is not a case of either or, and it is certainly not digital-only, if you want the best results. Time and again the power of print to engage and influence is proven. Studies by the leading marketeers, Binet and Field, show that campaigns that use a combination of print and digital are 58 per cent more likely to deliver profit, and 74 per cent more likely to increase major market share growth.”

Northwood gave numerous examples of catalogues achieving great results for clients such as Myer, Aldi and Target, and alluded to companies who pulled out of catalogues losing market share.

The report showed that while letterbox distribution took a hit during Covid, with numbers down by nine per cent as mobility was curtailed, it has already bounced back by 4.7 per cent.

It also showed that catalogues have the ability to deliver the greatest reach, available to 20.3 million Australians, more than any other channel.

And it showed that 10.9 million people read magazines in print, compared with three million online, and that people spent 30 minutes reading a print magazine compared with three minutes for an online magazine.

When it came to addressable mail Northwood said the report showed the notion that young people are not engaging with printed mail was a fallacy, and that mail resulted in their highest engagement trigger. Northwood mentioned that TRMC had negotiated further discounts on addressable mail from AusPost, in whose buildings the breakfasts were hosted.

The report also highlighted the move to and from online shopping, with Covid increasing online shopping by 25 per cent, but in-store shopping recovering by ten per cent since then.

Northwood addressed questions on the sustainability of the print channel compared to others, as the industry grapples with the ongoing misperception that print is bad for the environment. She said a new report by the BBC showed TV in fact has the highest carbon footprint, and also referenced a PhD study by Phil Lawrence that is about to come out on the carbon footprint of the different channels, and then pointed the audience to the Two Sides campaigns.

The Industry Insights Report is available from The Real Media Collective.