TIMES RESPONSE KNOWLEDGE SERIES
THECompelling
The TIMES OF RESPONSE
Truths About Print
We shouldn’t merely sell. We must make our clients want to buy.
It is more important for brands to be present
in print in a digitally connected era.
In the digital world, the currency that is in perennial
short supply is consumer attention. So, a brand needs
to be ‘available’ 24x7. This availability has two parts
– physical availability and mental availability. The
way brands make connection with consumers in the
modern era of marketing can be constructed like this:
Desire
Opinion
Affinity
Higher
Impact
(Mass)
Distribution
Transaction
Response
High Performance
(Individual)
Print is one of the rare mediums that works on
both ends of the spectrum. Because of its high impact
nature, print builds mental availability. It creates de-
sire and opinion and stays at the back of a consum-
er’s mind building long term memory. At the same
time, because of its daily and local nature, it helps
create a sense of urgency in terms of store visit, web-
site visit or even search. This builds a compulsive
step towards physical availability as well.
Marketing is not just about fulfilling needs. It’s
about creating needs and print plays a critical
role there.
Print allows discovery of brands and offers in a curated
environment where the consumer is open to imbibing
new information. This creates the market and attracts
audiences who may not currently be in the market. A
great example is employment ads. Putting an employ-
ment ad on a job website or exchange will only attract
people who are looking for a job. But an employment
ad in print will even attract people who are not in the
job market. More often than not, the latter make for
better candidates.
A print ad puts a brand at the top of the
status hierarchy.
India is a status driven market, and most products
and services are bought to climb up the status chain.
If a product or service doesn’t offer that intangible
value, it falls into a bargain domain and discount be-
comes the primary motivation. Print, especially The
Times Group products, are intrinsically linked to the
upper end of the status chain. An ad in The Times of
India or The Economic Times inevitably allows the
brand to acquire a status badge – otherwise status
takes a lot of time to build.
Sitting in the front row of a social function connotes
status and people spend many years to earn that. But on
the other hand, managing to obtain a seat in the front
row is another way to acquire that status badge. Be-
ing present in the pages of The Times of India and The
Economic Times, along with other premium brands
is a shortcut to acquire status especially for relatively
unknown or new brands.
Print is the best ally for brands to build trust
and safety.
In a society where trust and safety are
increasingly under threat, brands are struggling to
gain these currencies. Print connotes trust – in a re-
cent survey in India and across the globe, The Times
of India has come out as the global leader in trust.
Not just that, being a curated environment, it offers
100% brand safety. Any information consumed in
this environment is trusted more, thereby allowing
brands to win the most desired consumer value.
Brands should always reach people who matter.
Marketing and brand building is a social phenome-
non, and the most desired outcome of brand commu-
nication is talkability. Print, especially The Times
Group publications, are not just read by the affluent,
but also by people whose opinions shape public dis-
course and social consciousness. A great anecdotal
evidence: During the launch of a car brand, the mar-
keting head decided that “digital only” was the way
to go. The CEO of the brand met another very high
profile CEO in the lobby of his building. “So where
are you working these days?”, asked the other CEO.
When the car CEO mentioned his company, he was
met with a ‘what’s that?’ expression. Needless to say,
print, especially The Times of India and The Eco-
nomic Times, made a prominent comeback in the
media plan.
Print is here to stay and will continue to add value
to marketing efforts.
When TV came, many were quick to declare the de-
mise of print. But print co-existed with TV because
print was never the enemy of TV, but a partner.
Similarly, print is not a competitor for digital. It is
an ally to digital. Print builds the mental availability,
the desire, the opinion, the affiliation. It makes digi-
tal’s job easy to push people to action and transaction.
As the saying goes in marketing budget making:
you need at least two cups before you can pour. For
serious and ambitious marketers, Print will always
remain one of the cups.