The
game is far from over for traditional media in PR strategies and practices.
According to a research which recently mapped the marketing/PR behavioral
habits of clients of Worldcom Public Relations Group, a
considerable amount of stakeholders still can only be reached by traditional
media.
This
research has given valuable insight on how the Worldcom PR clients think in
terms of their most important communication channels and how they reach their
customers in different types of markets of various countries.
According
to recent statistics, one third of Europeans used the internet on average less
then once a week, one quarter have never used it. This must not be disregarded
when considering communication strategies. Even though online media is getting
more and more popular, the communication strategies need to be focused also on
people who don´t have access to or do not use the internet.
The
average penetration of internet among European users is 61,3 % which leaves a
notable space of more than one third of the population for off-line
communication strategies. While many companies want to keep up with the modern
technologic era and put a lot of stress on online communication, there still is
more than one quarter of the European population – a lot of potential customers
– that companies want to communicate with but who, for one reason or another,
do not use the internet.
The
research shows that 38,7 % of Europeans cannot be reached by popular social
media such as Facebook. Therefore especially for companies focused on consumer
communication, there is a need to go back to basics – which means printed media
or TV, radio and some other communicational means like billboards, citylights,
etc.
”It is
a trend to advise the client to communicate via online media. It is faster and
in many cases a cheaper approach towards the customers. But 25 % of the
European population is not a small figure. It is important to remember that print
media will always have its word to say. It is a traditional way of
communication and a lot of people still enjoy it”, says Patrik Schober,
responsible of the research and new business chair of Worldcom Public Relations
group EMEA, also head of the rewarded PR agency PRAM in Prague.
Patrik
Schober reminds that looking at market trend data the percentage of Europeans
reading newspapers has decreased by 8 % since 2004. He notes that despite a
massive decrease in the last decade the drop has stabilized since 2009 due to
people who are never or sometimes connected to internet.
”Print
media still has a future as a means of communication. 65 % of Europeans in
average throughout Europe read newspapers. Printed dailies are very popular in
most EE countries – almost 90 % of the population in these countries read some
daily and listen to radio”, Schober underlines.
”There
is and will be for a long time a strong need to communicate also with ‘offline
people’ as potential customers and stakeholders. And to reach this almost 40 %
of Europeans, the best way is the classic printed media. We will take them into
account when planning PR strategies.”
This
is why Worldcom Public Relations Group EMEA strongly recommends a balanced
combination of online and offline media world.