Printed Media Enters Twilight Period

In line with the increasing popularity and knowledge of internet in the society, many online media have successfully attract readers and printed media advertisers. “This is what we call the twilight of print media,” said Communications and Informatics Minister Rudiantara on Tuesday, January 26, 2016.

According to Rudiantara, the progress of online media can be seen from the constantly improving financial performance of the companies. “Just look at their balance sheets in the stock market,” said Rudiantara.

Rudiantara added that compared to printed media, online media can be considered to have the upper hand in presenting information. By accessing a digital news website, consumers can read texts, see pictures and watch videos almost at the same time. In addition, readers who wish to interact with writers can just leave a comment and immediately receive responses.

Such advantages also attract advertisers. Rudiantara predicted that more advertisers will prefer to advertise through online media. “For advertisers, online media offer advantages, ranging from placement to payment,” Rudiantara said.Ari Fadyl, head of transformation and innovation at AXA Indonesia, also said that it is easier to attract consumers through online media. Only by clicking links, prospective consumers can enter a company’s homepage or mobile app. “This is important because to buy an insurance, for example, people need to be assured with explanations or ‘experiences’,” said Ari.

Ari explained that ‘experiences’ can be in the forms of online test to identify a children’s talent in relation to finding the right school, which will eventually attract parents to apply for an educational insurance. Such method, Ari claimed, is proven to be effective in gathering customers. “We just started using digital platform two years ago, and now we have around eight million customers from [online platform],” Ari said