The Doctor Who Theory of Print and the Millennial

drwhomagazinesAccording to the millennial generation, a well-crafted print experience is worth the price of admission and the medium is regenerating to provide just that.

While conventional wisdom would have us believe that Millennials are averse to paying for content, a new report finds that “millennials seem to gravitate to the tactile experience of print—enough to tip the scales in favour of paying—even for the same content.”

“Most millennials agree that access to news was a civic and democratic right, but even here they were also willing to pay more to get it in print rather than digitally,” writes Estelle Pin in Fipp. “More than one-fifth of the survey respondents had opted to pay for magazine subscriptions last year, even when a digital version was available cheaper or for free.”

Pin is referring to the Media Insight Project survey that explored the news and content consumption habits of Millennials; it’s well worth a read to understand this vital slice of the market. The fact that Millennials have a fondness, indeed a preference, for print titles gives publishers new opportunities to engage them on a tactile level. Tangible is cool again, and if they provide the right content in the right package, publishers are finding that this generation will indeed put down some cash; in many cases, lots more cash than we might have imagined just a few years ago.

“Many of these magazines are aggressively niche compared to the mainstream titles you see lining the walls of [the local newsstand],” writes Adam Tinworth in his blog.

Tinworth goes on to describe one such title: “Like so many of its ilk, it’s not full of adverts – it has a handful of ‘supporters’ who get a section in the middle – and it costs around £10, which is double – or more – most high street titles. But for that money, you get better design, better photography and an all-round excellent experience,” he continues, referring Offscreen, a print magazine about the people behind digital media.

“This is the Doctor Who theory of print – it’s not dead, it’s just regenerating. And much like the new series of Doctor Who that came back in the mid-2000s, it has much higher production values than its predecessor,” Tinworth continues.

Let the regeneration continue. The independent magazine is a perfect match for the hand-crafted, artisanal millennial mindset. And it’s a perfect place for advertisers to reach them at their most engaged.