Is the Thomson Local Directory a Sign of the Print Industry's Decline

The new Thomsons Directory popped through the door this morning, and appeared smaller than ever. Now reduced to less than A5 in size and maybe only 20mm thick, it made me think about how this is a reflection of how the economy is, and how some people now perceive printed directories. Although this is a totally different sector to the litho print services provided by Marstan Press I feel it illustrates some of the difficulties the print industry faces.


More and more companies are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn, and many wrongly decide to cut their marketing budget. What money is left often seems to be spent on online activities such as Pay per Click advertising, Search Engine Optimisation or Email Campaigns. This means that millions of pounds are no longer being spent on printing services.


Looking at the Thomsons Directory as a good example, I struggle to see who uses it that much nowadays. More and more people have internet enabled phones or iPads, and a large percentage of people have broadband internet in their homes. Does this mean printed materials are on the way out?


I don't think so, but printers and marketeers need to change the way that they use their printed materials. Print runs are being reduced, but companies are now able to take advantage of digital printing to create personalised printed marketing. Targetting consumers on a personal level like this is proven to achieve better reply rates. Companies are able to reduce their postage costs and their raw material usage by using digitally printed personalised marketing both of which can be quite considerable.


Printed items will decline, but won't disappear as people will always like the tactile nature of having something in their hands, rather than just viewing something on screen. Marketeers just need to be clever with their use of print.