Print is making a comeback

Remember the old adage that every reaction has a counter reaction? As marketers struggle with exponential growth of Internet advertising, luxury advertisers are once again focusing their attention back to print. Print has always been a cornerstone marketing channel of the luxury industry. Today’s focus is on quality versus quantity, meaning that brands would rather get a targeted message out to the right people than use a ‘spray and pray’ approach. Print media campaigns can be highly targeted to consumer demographics and psychographics.

More evidence that luxury print issues have been booming as of late: News Corp.’s Wall Street Journal and The New York Post audiences will have a new supplement titled Apples to Oranges, a magazine focused on bridging similarities between New York and southern Florida. Additionally, W magazine’s August issue reflects the rebound of the luxury market – the first 36 pages boast two-page spreads from brands such as Prada, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Christian Dior and Burberry.

Print is where brand storytelling begins. Louis Vuitton recently tapped actress Angelina Jolie to benchmark its Core Values campaign, targeting wealthy jetsetters. The campaign is being pushed mainly through print. Luxury brand marketers are in the storytelling business and the Core Values campaign is a travel and adventure story that ties in with its spokesperson – The tagline reads: “A single journey can change the course of a life. Cambodia, May 2011.” A physical and emotional journey is one with which the actress can personally identify.

Luxury travel also has a renewed confidence of print: American Express is teaming with Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ Hawaiian locations to introduce a bar code in print publications that leads consumers to an optimized site with travel deals at the properties. We also enjoyed a great new print campaign from luxury hotel The Brown Palace, which is bringing a classy 30’s era look back to advertising.  The ambitious campaign from the historic hotel located in Denver, Colorado beckons to its past with a stylish font and cocky yet clever copywriting over the beautiful images of the hotel providing the backdrop.