Warning: Do Not Kill Your Print Publication Before You Watch and Read This.

The Mr. Magazine™ Interview with Dr. Robert Magee, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech State University

“Ceasing a print publication in favor of an online-only publication might hurt the effectiveness of an organization’s marketing communications, and managers should not make the decision based on cost alone.”

We are living in a digital era. This is a fact. No debate here. The debate that is raging in the magazine media industry is whether digital will replace or should replace print as the preferred method of delivery. The same debate is also taking place on college campuses as to whether universities should keep their printed alumni magazines or replace them with an online version.

Dr. Robert Magee, assistant professor at Virginia Tech State University, opted to take a scientific approach to this debate in an attempt to reach a definitive answer. So before you decide to kill your printed publication watch this Mr. Magazine™ Interview with Dr. Magee, and read the abstract below of his paper entitled: Can a print publication be equally effective online? Testing the effect of medium type on marketing communications that was published in Marketing Letters, a publication of Springer Science + Business Media.

Click below to watch my interview with Dr. Magee…

And read the abstract of his field experiment below:

Faced with budgetary pressures, many marketing communication managers are canceling the print distribution of their flagship magazine in favor of an online version. However, if the online publication is less effective in achieving the organization’s goals, this move may be ill advised. In a field experiment, subscribers of a promotional magazine received either a print version of the magazine or an e-mail invitation that linked to the online version.

The print version had a higher open rate than did the online version. In addition, print readers had higher recall memory and engaged in more browsing. Ironically, although younger readers indicated a preference for receiving an online version, the effect of medium on memory performance was strongest among the younger readers.

Therefore, ceasing a print publication in favor of an online-only publication might hurt the effectiveness of an organization’s marketing communications, and managers should not make the decision based on cost alone.
© Springer Science+Business Media

To read the entire paper click here.