...while the game has fundamentally changed, there are some compelling reasons to believe that the daily paper’s relevance can and will continue long into the future. Could personalized newspapers, specifically printed to meet the needs of an individual reader, alter the fates of publications slated for the chopping block? I say there’s a strong reason to believe so.
Recent advancements in digital print technology can make it possible for newspaper publishers to cost-effectively deliver publications that cater to specific demographics. Imagine this: Printers the size of a bus with the potential to print different editions of the same newspaper with editorial and advertising content tailored to the particular reader’s needs. Imagine your local newspaper with local sports news always on your front page because that’s what you want to read first.
In turn, today’s sophisticated digital printing technology offers new ways of leveraging personalization for advertisers. The same ad space in separately printed editions of the same newspaper, targeted towards different readers, could be sold to different advertisers. Why would a grocery store or dry cleaner want to pay for advertising that reaches the homes of people who live too far away to ever shop there? The targeted approach offered by this new digital printing provides more bang for the buck – the person who actually walks into his neighborhood store to buy the week’s groceries or clean their clothes.
The bottom line is that this new technology creates a win-win situation.
More...