Recovering from the shock, the print industry promises to make a strong come back in 2010. Though the absolute numbers do not project a stupendous growth for the print medium, the very fact that the medium looks promising to be on a comeback trail from a degrowth in 2009 to single digit positive growth in 2010 is something to take heart from.

The Pitch-Madison Media Advertising Outlook expects the print media to register a single digit growth of 9 per cent in the year 2010 to gain a figure of Rs 8,470 crore, a level achieved in 2007. The medium will, simultaneously lose 1.7 percentage points in the overall advertising pie (projected to be Rs 21,145 crore in 2010) to have a share of 40.1 percent.

The players in the print media are treading cautiously in view of the slow recovery prospect of the medium in 2010. N Murali, Managing Director, The Hindu, says, "There are signs of a sustained recovery. The outlook for 2010 is cautiously optimistic as the worst is certainly behind us."

Sharing Murali's optimism is, Maheshwer Peri, President and Publisher, Outlook group, when he says, "The year 2010 has taken off in a very nice way. We will see a profit driven growth in the year 2010. Also, the publishing houses in the country will start looking at each title's profit and loss statements individually." Media players across categories and segments are convinced that the days of print having a 20-25 yera-on-year growth and being the lead player in the media are bygone. The industry has to face up with the new reality of a single digit growth in coming times and 2010 will take the industry face-to-face with the fact that internet as the new age medium may eat into the print share.

Sunil Mutreja, President - Marketing, Amar Ujala says, "We expect a growth rate of 10 to 12 per cent in 2010. The reason for these expectations is that ad revenue coming from government advertising is slowly moving to internet. The volumes are also going down."

Sanjeev Kotnala, VP - Marcomm, Dainik Bhaskar feels that growth for the medium would come from innovations. On the the outlook for 2010, he says, "Innovation, innovation and more of it. Focussed tactics to shift advertiser interests more towards the Tier-II & III markets will continue in 2009."

Sharing similar thoughts is Jwalant Swaroop, Director, Ad Sales, Lokmat Group. "Ability to innovate and create solutions, which helps brand managers to build a stronger bond with their customers will actually define the opportunities in the market. I am sure the same will be the driving force for growth of ad-revenues in the next 12 months too."

Among magazine players Anant Nath, Director, Delhi Press feels that the next 12 months would spell good times for the print medium and more so for the magazines as there is a widespread consciousness among the advertisers that magazines deliver. Nath emphasises, "We at Delhi Press are looking forward to a 25 per cent year-on-year growth. Also, for the magazines, 2010 should be a better year since the marketers have realised the fact that magazines offer a better delivery at a lower cost."

Another player who looks at the year 2010 with a lot of anticipation in this segment is Oona Dhabhar, Director - Marketing, Conde Nast India. Dhabhar says, "Things have already started looking up at the beginning of the year, advertisers are beginning to see business growth consistently over the last few months and this optimism and growth will definitely help the media industry as a whole. In fact we feel extremely positive about 2010 and will be launching our 3rd brand Conde Nast Traveller in October."

The print industry also feels that learnings and lessons from the tumultuous 2009 will help the players consolidate themselves in coming times. As Benoy Roychoudhary, Director, HT Media says, "The worst is behind us and efficiencies gained during the downturn will only help us leap much higher in the good times. The slowdown on ad-revenues has led the print medium to focus on the cost side of the business as well as towards enhancing revenues from circulation. There is a significant focus on improving business efficiencies across the value chain and rationalization of expansion plans."

Print players claim that advertisers will see more relevance in the print medium once the tight control over marketing spends eases. Roychowdhury says, "Increased offering to the advertisers with innovative new products and 360 degree brand and media solutions, thereby increasing the value of the medium beyond just print ads, will be a trend that will be seen emerging in the coming times."

Many a players feel that sectors like realty and banking and financial services will make a comeback this year while auto and telecom would continue to be strong spenders. Roychowdhury adds, "In urban markets the realty and services sectors are also opening up. As market sentiments continue to improve, other sectors like travel and tourism, banking and finance will provide opportunities for growth in the next year." With the signs going right and print players working on innovations and offering holistic solutions to advertisers, 2010 bodes well for the medium to rise from the doldrums and walk into the new normal. The year promises to bring in new-normal growth rates and novel ways and hopes to explore new advertiser pockets along with rekindling the old ones.