Print isn't disappearing, it's becoming more strategic and valuable: Shreyams Kumar

The President of the Indian Newspaper Society, Shreyams Kumar, emphasized during the Indian Magazine Congress 2025, which took place in Delhi on August 8, that print media is not going extinct but rather is becoming a more valuable and vital part of the media mix.

“Print isn’t disappearing. Instead, it’s adopting and finding new roles through integrated marketing strategies,” he stated, emphasizing that the medium's focus, emotional connection, and credibility are still unrivaled. "Print provides the credibility, focus, attention and emotion… that screens simply cannot match,” Kumar said, despite the fact that digital enables immediate reach and exact targeting.

He emphasized the confidence readers have in print by citing an instance in Kerala where a newspaper feature was misinterpreted as actual news. “Whatever comes in print is more trustworthy than digital… If it came in digital, nobody would have bothered to react.”

With readers spending more than 20 minutes on a publication compared to less than five minutes online, Kumar claimed that print provides a lasting, sensory experience. He shared his insights by pointing out a study that said print drives 20% more motivation and brand recall than digital. While ads that blend print and digital can be "four times more effective" than those that simply use digital.

Noting that tools like QR codes may bridge the mediums, he urged marketers to view print as a supplement to digital. “Smart marketers recognize print’s unique value within integrated campaigns rather than use it as a standalone,” he stated.

Kumar referred to the Association of Indian Magazines on their partnership with ONDC and Prasar Bharati Web OTT for a magazine e-store as "A classic example of leveraging digital platform when enhancing print magazine sales.”

He concluded by saying, “Print magazines are grown and reclaim their audiences by blending tradition with modern innovation.”