NEW DELHI: The world is going digital and so is the print medium, which currently is at the forefront of a digital revolution. The digital boom has redefined print business. “Those in the medium, now call themselves as content producers,” said The India Today Group chairman and editor in chief Aroon Purie.

According to Purie, print medium has gone a step further, as it now engages with the audience. Talking on monetisation in print at the CII Big Summit 2014, Purie emphasised on the growing need for those in the publication business, to engage with consumers in different ways. “We are going through a digital ‘tsunami’. The good news for print medium is that we are riding on top of this tsunami. But it is moving so fast that one doesn’t know where he/she is heading,” said Purie.

While there was a time when print was in a depressed mood, things now have changed drastically. For Purie, print has converted the tsunami into an opportunity, where they are generating revenue not just by advertising in the print format but also on digital.

Currently India has 240 million internet users, which according to reports will jump to 350-400 million in the next three to four years. “These are opportunities where content can be transferred,” he informed. The good thing, as for Purie, is that publishers in India have good content and so there is nothing to worry about when they go to the digital medium.

But he agrees that the print content needs to be modified as per the medium, which is a challenge. “Traditional business is declining, while there is an increase in the digital business,” he informed.

While advertisers are ready to catch the young eyeballs on the internet, digital advertising currently is not very prominent. “But the future is digital and if you don’t invest in that now, you will soon die,” he added.

In order to have a healthy business, Purie suggested that the print industry should look at transforming itself into multi-platform, get into contextual advertising, build clients, brand launches for advertisers and also look at hosting events. “Sometimes the events become more popular and profitable than the publication itself,” he said. 

Digital revolution has also changed the kind of content being produced. “Today, content needs to be designed in a way that it can be availed on any screen. It needs to be interactive, sharable and available all the time,” informed Purie.