Where In The World Does Print Advertising Fall In The 2010 B2B Marketing Mix?

In my effort to connect you with the information you care about, I find myself on BtoB blogs pretty much all day. With the execption of Folio announcing the closing of magazines or the restructing at publishing companies,  I’ve seen little to no chatter at all about print advertising in 2010.

Tom Pick, on The WebMarketCentral blog, just yesterday did offer an interesting perspective when he asked the question, “Will content marketing kill trade publications?” While interesting, it does emphasize what I am not seeing or hearing – and that’s how one should incorporate print advertising into the 2010 marketing mix.

That just seems odd- for this time of year to not be hearing the marketing mix discussion including print. Doesn’t it? I’m clearly all in for social media…but as Gary Vanderchuk describes in this video – Social is business, not a tactic, but a mindset that permeates throughout the entreprise. With that as our definition, as planning is taking place for 2010, can it really be possible that companies are completely eliminating print? Can that be a wise decision?

Take the recent Pew Internet Survey where we learned these average user ages: Twitter 31, Facebook 33, and LinkedIn 39. Current retirement age is 65 [I'd argue 70 after this recession]. In that 32 year range (33 – 65), what end of it do the decision makers in your industry fall? I’m betting more likely than not closer to retirement age than Facebook 33.

Sure it is important to get in front of these influencers on Facebook, but my point here is that the entire workforce has yet to become digital natives (shameless plug: tune in for the #B2Bbookclub Wed at Noon for the Trust Agent definition). So quite a large percentage of the targeted decision making, purchasing power demographic, may in fact still be reaching for that print publication as soon as it arrives.

Now don’t get me wrong…I believe Ballmer when he stated, “All content consumed will be digital, we can [only] debate if that may be in one, two, five or 10 years.” But my money says for certain it won’t be in 2010, leaving you with decisions to make for your 2010 marketing mix.

Right, I mean don’t forget that old school idea…put your website address in your print ad…buyer sees it, she turns to her computer and goes directly to your website. No Google page ranking to contend with, no other contextual ads for her to get distracted by, just straight from the magazine to your doorstep. (Your website being ready to convert them is a discussion for another post.)

Now this is not a one size fits all suggestion either. A recent CRNtech issue I had my hands on was just 24 pages, that’s thin. So the industry you are in clearly has a significant impact on whether or not print advertising should be included in your marketing mix for 2010. My hope is that these are the decisions you are struggling with.

As I’m suggesting that print remains a viable vehicle for your 2010 marketing plan. The medium itself has suffered more as a result of the recession and budgets being slashed versus it not being a viable method to reach and influence buyers. A truly integrated marketing program – one that surrounds your buyer in all channels (including print) — enhances your brand presence in their mind. The more places your brand can be the greater opportunity you have to influence them.

I simply think it is to soon to call the grim reaper for print advertising, print’s not dead. What do you think?

Author: Jeremy Victor | Website | Twitter

Jeremy's the founder of Make Good Media and Editor In Chief of B2Bbloggers.com. B2Bbloggers.com is a B2B Marketing online magazine discussing the evolution of B2B marketing. Topics include content marketing, B2B social media, demand generation, marketing automation, and more. Sign up. Get all the articles via email.