The MPA (The Magazine Publishers of America) today is releasing an analysis that assigns a relative value to each minute consumed, and not surprisingly, consumer magazine stack up very well vs. other major consumer media on that basis, including TV, radio, the Internet, and even the other major consumer print medium, newspapers.
While laudable to show the value of magazine advertising I think the MPA has to take a real leadership in looking at the audience relationship with the brand - and stop putting the magazine at the center of the universe. Print magazines can be key product - but publishers are not in the print business - they are in the customer information business - it takes bold vision to move the conversation up a notch - which I think the MPA can do - but as long as it's just seen as a defensive trade organization, protecting print, then its long-term relevance will be questioned and it will continue to lose membership support and the dues that are necessary to fulfill a long-term mission.
I believe the industry needs an MPA - the Media Publishing Association. An organization that can get behind the value of print, online, mobile all vital but very different mass media with vastly different user experiences.
The current MPA is just not going to win a print versus other media argument but it definitely has more chance of winning an argument that values all media with magazines playing a role.
Comments