With the rise of the Internet, some predicted that it would become the nemesis of the print industry. However, the Internet has not destroyed print but rather given us a new language – print documents are now hard copies. In the United States, in the first six months of 2008, no less than 291 new printed magazine titles were launched. This figure is down on the year before the decline because of the general economic downturn and not the impact of the Internet.

The new generation of children may not read printed material as often but studies show that they do read online every day. They also use the Internet to choose which printed material to read. Smart publishers are taking advantage of this. For example, popular British film magazine Empire capitalized on the hype surrounding the latest Batman film The Dark Knight with its July edition featuring two different covers billed as Collectors’ Editions.

Empire has employed this strategy before with multiple Lord of the Rings and Star Wars covers. Marketing strategies based on the notion of exclusivity are increasingly popular. Custom printing in the United States has rise 20% in the first five months of 2008. Specialist magazines in aviation, aerospace, military and agriculture sectors are reporting between 6 and 7% increases in revenue.

Tags: magazines, print industry

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