Why I Will Never Stop Reading Printed Words.

Samir Datar || “Samir is in the profession of communication for 25 years only because he is amazed with power of words every single day.” || Follow Samir on https://twitter.com/samirdatar?lang=en https://samirdatar.wordpress.com/

“Beautiful medium will continue to enthrall us for a long time to come” is how my friend Naresh put it when he asked me to write something about print.

Back when I was 8 I think, I got hooked. It all started with Enid Blyton and Famous Five. The book, the cover and how story unfolded; it had me hooked. If there is one addiction that I never regret (actually I don’t regret any of my addictions), it is the addiction for books. The sheer ecstasy of laying my hands on a new book, the fragrance of fresh unturned yet pages, the weight of the book, the excitement of turning the page and then getting lost in the words can never be surpassed by anything in the world. Not even the euphoria of falling in love can match this.

You might say that it’s all about the book, the plot and how well the author draws into the story. Trust me, it is more than that. It is the crisp white paper. The neat words with margins on the left and right (like keeping our imagination under reins), the page number at the top right or top left (depending on the page).All the thinking that went into crafting the book. The truth is it is a package. All these elements put together makes reading the book so gripping. How we control the urge to turn the page and read what happens next. That finger restless at the top, ever so eager to turn the page. No tap or swipe on Kindle can even come close to this beautiful ritual. Yes I do own a kindle too but there are certain authors that I will never ever read on kindle. Books by those authors need immersion. They need physical turning of the page. Kindle can never do that. No matter how much it tries to replicate. Kindle will always have the momentariness to reading a book. I tend to read books much faster on Kindle and I do not remember much once I am done reading. Doesn’t happen when I am reading an actual book. The words stay with me for long.

Here comes the kicker though. Everyone might think that I am old school, an old man who doesn’t understand the wonders of the digital world. My kids (17 and 14) are very tech savvy and understand the digital world the way Gen Z understands. But when it comes to books, their preference is physical books. Between the three of us, we have over a 1000 books in our house. There are books everywhere in our house. Yes they get the love for reading from me but books, it is all their own. The entire series of Agatha Christie and many other collections, they have built it over time and they are proud of it and possessive. You can’t get possessive about a book on Kindle. Can you? My daughter obsesses over keeping every book as good as new.

But lest you think it is about books only, let me clarify, it is about printed word on a physical page.

I have been reading newspaper for over 4 decades now and I still prefer reading a newspaper in spite of various apps (and even apps of these newspapers) that gives news at the press of a button. There is something about scanning all the headlines on a page and choosing which one to read. Or slowly leading up to Sports page (the final destination).

People have been writing epitaphs for printed publications (and yes many publications have gone bankrupt) but there is a reality that is emerging and I do believe that we need to take cognizance of it.

There is a generation which was born digital. Their first phone was a smart phone and therefore they have gone through the digital evolution cycle much faster than most of us. They have reached digital maturity in 1/10^th the time it has taken us. This generation is seeking real connects now. They are reaching digital fatigue and want to go beyond the screen. Live the real experience and not something vicarious through Facebook or Instagram or whatever. For this generation, digital world is only a source of staying informed and seeking knowledge. This Generation would want to feel the paper, smell the paper and turn a new leaf. Will we have these pages ready for them? Or would we have killed the pages come the reading hour. Maybe we need to gaze into the crystal ball and see what the future holds. And mind you, it is definitely not the future as tom-tommed by the people who are enamoured by the digital bubble.

To wind up, words fly on a digital page. They are there only till we scroll up. But in books, magazines and newspapers, they stay with you even if you turn the page.

*Image courtesy , The Spinoff | Joe Mull 

But Are All Marketing Touches Created Equal ?

Over the past fifteen years, neuroscience research methods have helped many companies, including Google, measure actual, rather than just self-reported consumer response to ads or products.

Neuroscience research uses eye tracking, sensors, and MRI techniques to assess the visual attention, engagement and brain activity of test subjects. A 2015 study by Temple University Fox Center for Neural Decision Making employed neuroscience to gauge how people respond to physical and digital ads.

During the first phase, they exposed respondents to print and digital ads, and administered a survey to gauge preferences and recall of the ads. For the second phase, the respondents were exposed to new and previously seen ads, and asked whether they had seen the ads and if so, what format.

The neuromarketing tools used revealed interesting observations:

• Respondents spent more time reviewing the print ads
• Print ads yielded higher levels of recall
• Print ads caused more activity in brain areas associated with value and desire, key markers of purchase interest

Why Does the Brain Process Ad Formats Differently?

When it comes to print, neuroscience has shown that we recruit different parts of the brain to encode information that we both see and feel. The deeper ways that the brain engages with print is why paper-based reading is associated with stronger transfer to long-term memory, recall, and overall comprehension.

This added depth of engagement is underscored by the findings of the Temple University Neural Decision-Making study, and 2015 research conducted by MillwardBrown Digital, which found that print achieved the highest levels of brand favorability and purchase intent of any measured media.

How readers engage with on-screen or digital content differs from print. In a study assessing, “Changes in Reading Behavior Over the Past Ten Years,” the author, Dr. Ziming Liu, observed a pattern of online reading characterized as, “skimming and scanning.” This reading pattern is why best-in-class online creative is strategically designed and written to communicate quickly and succinctly. This messaging, powered by data-driven tools, can be highly targeted and continually measured and refined.

Print vs. other media:

• Stronger transfer to long-term memory
• Better recall & comprehension
• Highest levels of purchase intent

Given what neuroscience has revealed, adding print to the media mix would complement a digital effort by helping to increase engagement and purchase interest.

A Multiple Marketing Touch World

Both digital and print offer significant advantages to advertisers, from targetability to deep engagement. A recent study by The Online Marketing Institute found that it takes seven to thirteen touches to deliver a qualified sales lead. All the more reason to leverage the unique strengths of a varied media mix to move prospects from familiarity to preference and finally, to action.

Via https://www.randallreilly.com/advertising-science-the-power-of-print/

Reading Brain in the Digital Age !

When it comes to intensively reading long pieces of plain text, paper and ink may still have the advantage.

People consistently say that when they really want to dive into a text, they read it on paper. In a 2011 survey of graduate students at National Taiwan University, the majority reported browsing a few paragraphs online before printing out the whole text for more in-depth reading. A 2008 survey of millennials (people born between 1980 and the early 2000s) at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island concluded that, "when it comes to reading a book, even they prefer good, old-fashioned print". And in a 2003 study conducted at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, nearly 80 percent of 687 surveyed students preferred to read text on paper as opposed to on a screen in order to "understand it with clarity".

Surveys and consumer reports also suggest that the sensory experiences typically associated with reading—especially tactile experiences—matter to people more than one might assume. Text on a computer, an e-reader and—somewhat ironically—on any touch-screen device is far more intangible than text on paper.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/