Get over it: Advertisers will continue to ask for digital in the advertising mix, and relentless technological advancements are unlikely to cease moving forward. But that doesn't mean you should stop offering print.

A report by the US-headquartered INMA says the combination of print plus digital advertising delivers superior results for advertisers.

"Whether print is a lead medium or support medium, it is a differentiator under the

publisher's solutions umbrella," says Dallas-based freelance writer and editor Dawn

McMullan in 'Making print+digital work for advertisers'.

The report includes a score of case histories, including two from Australia and one each from India and Singapore. The projects are the 'Gold Coast Bulletin' with Sony Centre Channel, the West Australian with the City of Perth, the 'South China Morning Post' with kitchen appliance maker Miele, Singapore's the 'Straits Times' with Estée Lauder Cosmetics/Clinique, and the 'Times of India' with Shriram Properties.

Chapters cover context and accountability, the shift to 'print+digital' and the demands of advertisers and consumers. And McMullan has a crack at forecasting how the print+digital relationship might evolve.

"Hand-in-hand with their evolution to multimedia companies, publishers are re-positioning themselves as a toolkit of 'print+digital' marketing solutions, taking on agency and media buying roles in the process," she says. "As it becomes comfortable with the credibility and relevance of the brand environment across platforms, the advertising community is warming to the idea of the news media company as toolkit

of solutions."

Several dozen news media executives were interviewed for the report, which draws three key conclusions:

• News publishers use print+digital as a reach extender, complementary combination, and dimension builder;

• Publishers are selling print+digital advertising as value-added to publisher- generated marketing services; and

• Combining print's strengths with digital's drives creative solutions for advertisers.

The report captures the creativity of publishers interviewed and their frankness about areas for improvement.

"Far more research is needed to understand the nuances of print+digital advertising

effectiveness," it says, warning that news media companies must work with agencies to better bring together the advantages of the combination.

And finally, return on investment is not as concrete a concept as publishers and advertisers may have once thought.

"The key for publishers is not whether to be digital-first, mobile-first, or print-first in how their company approaches the advertising market," it says. The key is to be consumer-first.

"This drives the advertising community and remains the strategic hinge-point in what likely is a highly malleable marketplace in the years ahead.

Other case studies come from Archant (with Adnams Brewery), Corelio (Procter & Gamble), Dallas Morning News (Bella Vita Custom Homes), Ekstra Bladet (GF Forsikring), Gazeta Wyborcza (Continental), Gannett (Space Coast Credit Union), Grupo Dutriz La Prensa (TSE), Helsingin Sanomat (Kesko), Houston Chronicle (FuelFix), Irish Times (Powers Whiskey), Kleine Zeitung (Eurospar Liezen), Media 24 (Bridge Wealth), New York Times (Audi), O Globo (Brookfield), and Telegraph Media Group (Wickes).