Facebook has today published the first edition of a quarterly print publication. Its called Grow and celebrates the best of the business world.
Lets just stop for a moment and consider that. Facebook. Print.
What on earth is going on?
It is pretty simple. There is so much noise, fake news, waving kittens and updates from grandma that anything meaningful posted online is all too easily lost.
For brands that want to put forward a 'stake in the ground' brand statement print still comes out top.
Why?
Quality, Novelty and Time.
A well produced, well written magazine with good photography subtly reinforces a brand's qualities. It says very simply that this is something we think important which is why we are investing in it.
Print has that novelty factor. it makes us stop for a few moments. Facebook's magazine may not be read cover to cover, but that is not the point. Readers will flick through and that is enough for a brand to reinforce its messaging.
So well done Facebook, and long live print.
Facebook has always claimed that digital is the future, which makes the decision to create its own print magazine all the more remarkable. The social media giant has quietly launched a British-based quarterly magazine aimed at wealthy executives, in an apparently belated conversion to the power of the printed word. Grow is being distributed free in first and business-class airport lounges with the slogan “Grow Your Business. Grow Your Network. Grow Your Mind.” The tech giant’s executives seem unconcerned, or unaware, that Grow is already the name of a popular cannabis horticulture magazine published in the US, which has its own Facebook page.
