The Magazine Publishers of America – the consumer magazine association charged with promoting the industry – has been pushing the “power of print” concept for years, and spent millions doing so. (Sensing the seismic shift, the association has been pushing digital, too, with conferences and awards dedicated to magazine brands online.)
Now, some of the industry’s biggest names — Condé Nast president Charles Townsend, Hearst Magazines president Cathie Black, Meredith Publishing CEO Jack Griffin, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner, Time Inc. CEO Ann Moore — have created a YouTube video to push print’s aforementioned "power."
The accompanying "Power of Print" campaign will roll out in nearly 100 magazines in April and May “to promote the strength of — and consumer commitment to – magazines” – the hope being advertisers whose budgets are slowly returning will pour the same share they had been into magazines before the economy collapsed.
Considering the industry lost more than a quarter of its ad pages in 2009 compared to 2008 – and an estimated $4.2 billion in advertising revenue – it couldn’t hurt.
