This is going to be hard to believe, particularly for anyone who has watched the decline of the US print media, but the latest mediaskop advertising statistics from Vertriebsunion Meynen show that the German print advertising market in the electronics segment grew during the first two quarters of 2016. That’s right: people are increasing their print spend in Germany!
The research showed a modest but significant growth of 2.1% across the market, with Markt&Technik, benefiting from an impressive 4.6% increase in their advertising revenue, which kept them as the number one title. The second spot in the ranking was taken by sister publication, Elektronik.
Fellow Weka title, DESIGN&ELEKTRONIK, also did exceptionally well from the growth in print advertising, registering an increase of 7.4% over the same period in the previous year.
Although it’s not fashionable, it’s clear that advertisers in Germany still believe that print works. Whether it’s the German culture, the quality of publications, the attitude of local suppliers or the strict privacy laws affecting online marketing, it’s clear that print is not dying any time soon in Germany. Although I’m delighted to see a strong print advertising market, it’s also clear that a single six-month period doesn’t define a long-term trend. However, with 2016 being an electronica year, it’s reasonable to assume that we will also see another rise in print advertising during the second half of this year.
Weka certainly seem to be one of the main beneficiaries of the print boom in Germany. So congratulations to all three titles they publish: with their online portal, elektroniknet.de, also doing well, this publisher appears to be thriving in what is an incredibly challenging market for B2B publishers.
