Calling All Advertising Agencies: Have You Developed Your Exit Strategy From Print Yet?

A good friend of mine has sold magazine and newspaper ads for the past 10 years. I remember asking him about 5 years ago how his business was faring. Without hesitating he said “My phone rings so much I have to take it off the hook by Wednesday.” Add to that the bloated rates they were charging (and had no problem getting by the way), and the life of an ad salesman was good. Flash forward to last week, I am sitting down with the same friend over beers after work, and I asked him the same question. His answer: “They just fired 35% of my department with more cuts coming, and at this point my clients are making up their own prices.” Yikes. I guess this round is on me.

Print is dying. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the recruitment advertising industry. Clients are spending less and less on print to attract talent because it’s not adding the same value it used to. Candidates are not reading newspaper or trade journal ads anymore because it’s not convenient for them.

So why should adverting agencies be on red alert? Because the dollars that were previously allocated to print will disappear from your clients’ budgets if you don’t act now and develop an exit strategy. And the best way to replace print is with a much more cutting-edge approach (e.g. relationship marketing, social media etc…). There is no doubt that these will soon be the dominant ways that employers find, hire, and retain talent. The recruitment advertising agencies that saw this coming last year are doing well despite the sluggish economy, and they will be the only ones left standing when the dust settles.