INDUSTRY / NEWS 8 email: news@printmonthly.co.uk September / October 2024 - Issue 350 PrintMonthly printmonthly PrintMonthlyMagazine Organisations and businesses have recently showcased the increasing profitability and impact of printed campaigns and materials. Advocates for print advertising, Print Power, recently highlighted an analysis from Thinkbox in the UK that showed that print delivers the highest profit ROI. The study undertook an extensive analysis of £1.8bn in media spending across 141 brands and 14 categories in the UK. Statistics also show that on average, a pound invested in advertising returns over £4 in profit. This figure is an average across a wide range of media types, while print specifically yields £6.36 in profit for every pound spent, outperforming the likes of TV and audio. Recently there has also been positive news regarding the response to mail as read rates and purchase conversions have increased. A provider of mail metrics and media campaigns, JICMAIL, has recently reported a strong Q1 in 2024 as 6% of mail prompted a purchase compared to 4.2% in 2023. Purchases were made in an omni-channel capacity as 46% of purchases were fulfilled online and 32% in-store. By David Osgar Positive signs for print in new reports Several reports have highlighted the value and increasing relevancy of print Campaign group 4 Day Week has called on political parties to endorse a four-day working week. The organisation is currently encouraging companies to sign up for a trial starting in November which would allow 4 Day Week to present the government with trial findings in the summer of 2025. The proposition is to reduce the maximum working week from 48 hours per week to 32 hours by 2030 and for the creation of a £100m fund to support companies in the private sector to make the switch. “Hybrid and flexible working is key at the moment especially if businesses want to attract the best talent,” says Matt Hanley, managing director of MTWO, a specialist recruitment agency for the print industry. Peter Jones, founder and managing director of recruitment company Foyne Jones, says: “I understand that anything different and new, typically challenges the norm. But being different is good. Difference lets people thrive and the 4-day week can help your staff by having both a successful career and rewarding personal life.” Four-day working week gains new traction Campaigners are trialling a four-day working week due to its healthier work/life balance Koehler Paper and other European décor paper producers have welcomed the European Commission’s decision to launch an anti-dumping investigation into the imports of décor paper from China. Décor paper is a type of specialty paper used to create quality finishes on wood materials such as laminate flooring and kitchen worktops. These special papers are impregnated and pressed with thermosetting resins which can remain in end products for up to 20 years. Initiated on June 14th, the investigation is the result of a joint complaint lodged by Koehler Paper and three other major European décor paper producers. The complaint highlighted the detrimental impact of distortions in the Chinese economy, which, Koehler says, enables Chinese manufacturers to “flood the EU market” with unfairly priced décor paper. Instead, the complaint calls for “the prevention of further material harm to the European décor paper industry” and “fair and healthy competition for the European market”. As a result, the letter underlines the “urgent necessity of anti-dumping duties to restore a level playing field for all industry players”. Anti-dumping investigation welcomed Koehler Paper has welcomed the investigation and is calling for a fair and competitive trade environment for the décor paper industry in Europe Nearly four in ten people are avoiding the news according to Oxford University’s Reuters Institute The level of news avoidance is believed to be at a record high with negativity and repetition cited as the reasons people are switching off from reporting. The research is bad news for printed news which has been in decline for the past decade. Press Gazette has reported a year-on-year decline of almost all national newspaper circulations in May 2024. According to the latest report from Oxford University’s Reuters Institute, 46% of people said they were very or extremely interested in the news, down from 63% in 2017. According to the report, women and younger people were more likely to feel worn out by the amount of news around with overall trust remaining steady at 40% (36% in the UK, 15 percentage points lower than before Brexit). Speaking to the BBC, Nick Newman, the report’s lead author, said: "You've had the pandemic [and] wars, so it's a fairly natural reaction for people to turn away from the news." News readership in decline says Oxford University report The war in Ukraine and Gaza are cited as examples of events that are putting people off daily news By David Osgar By Carys Evans By David Osgar
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