A BLACK-AND-WHITE MATTER, by David Margolis, President, Syndicated Ad Features

Are you old enough to remember when 8-track tapes were all the rage, and you spent more time in your car listening to tapes than sitting in your room enjoying your vinyl records? If not, maybe you are old enough to remember when compact discs were the must-have new technology. These sleek disc, filled with digitalized information unleashed by laser technology, were so cool that they made vinyl records and a scratchy stylus look like antiques! That is, CDs were all the rage until MP3 players came along. Now, no one would be caught dead without an iPod feeding music into their ears and MP3 connectivity in their cars. What’s next? Here’s a hint: I hope you didn’t give all your vinyl records away.

It seems that a growing number of stereophiles prefer a turntable, vinyl records, and tube amplifiers over the newest technology. They make a good case for the fact that vinyl contains more information than digital music and that old amplifiers produce a “warmer” sound that newer technology can’t duplicate. Are they right? Well, try telling that to the average ten- or twenty-year-old. On the other hand, educated music-lovers of all ages are falling all over themselves to get their hands on vinyl.

The point is, the Internet is great. But does that necessarily mean that newspapers are dead? Hardly! Each medium not only has its place in the world of information dissemination and advertising, each can co-exist and supplement, complement, and enhance the other. This “battle of the media” is not necessarily a winner-takes-all matter. In fact, it isn’t even a battle. 

Savvy advertisers understand that the best way to reach readers is a multi-pronged strategy that captures eyes every way possible and directs them to where the advertisers want them to go. Whether that means newspaper advertising directs readers to a website or a website points readers to another platform, there are many ways to garner readership and interest.

Syndicated Ad Features supplies its clients with copy worth reading. Where our clients choose to place our content is not necessarily a black-and-white matter as long as it ultimately gets read.