CTV vs Print Advertising for Law Firms

Print is largely obsolete for PI. CTV reaches 90% of households vs print's declining, older readership. Budget allocation: 0-5% print at most.

Print advertising (newspapers, magazines, directories) was once essential for law firms. Now it’s a small slice of most marketing budgets. Here’s how print compares to CTV and when each still makes sense.

The Print Landscape

Print’s Decline

  • Newspaper circulation down dramatically
  • Magazine readership shrinking
  • Yellow Pages largely irrelevant
  • Digital has absorbed attention

What Remains

  • Local newspapers (reduced but existing)
  • Niche publications
  • Community publications
  • Legal directories (mostly online now)

Reach Comparison

Option A

Option B

For broad awareness, CTV dramatically outreaches print.

Engagement Comparison

CTV Engagement

  • Seconds of attention (if noticed)
  • Static image and text
  • Reader controls pace
  • Easy to skip/ignore

CTV commands attention. Print hopes for attention.

Cost Comparison

FactorCTVPrint
CPM$35-50Varies widely
Production$15,000-35,000$1,000-5,000
Minimum buy$15,000-25,000/month$500-5,000/placement
MeasurementStrongVery weak

Print is cheaper but delivers far less per dollar.

Measurement Comparison

CTV Measurement

  • Verified visits
  • Attribution tracking
  • Branded search correlation
  • Accountable ROI
  • “How did you hear about us?” (if they remember)
  • Unique phone numbers (some tracking)
  • Very limited attribution
  • Largely unmeasurable

62% of consumers discover brands via TV. Print discovery is rarely tracked.

Targeting Comparison

CTV Targeting

  • Geographic precision
  • Behavioral signals
  • Household-level
  • Advanced segmentation
  • Publication’s readership
  • Geographic (newspaper coverage area)
  • Basic demographic (publication audience)
  • Very limited precision

When Print Still Works

Local Community Publications

  • Hyper-local focus
  • Community credibility
  • Low cost presence
  • Specific neighborhood reach

Niche Publications

  • Industry-specific (trucking, construction)
  • Case-type alignment
  • Targeted professional audiences
  • Credibility in niche

Directories (Selective)

  • Still referenced by some
  • Declining rapidly
  • May make sense for specific demographics

Credibility Plays

  • “As seen in…” value
  • Reprints for office
  • Social proof element

When CTV Wins

For Awareness

CTV provides what print can’t:

  • Scale of reach
  • Emotional impact
  • Brand building
  • Measurable results

For ROI

CTV delivers accountable performance:

  • Track from impression to case
  • Optimize based on data
  • Justify investment

For Modern Audiences

People don’t read print ads:

  • Attention has shifted
  • Video is expected
  • Digital natives ignore print

Budget Allocation Reality

For most PI firms today:

ChannelBudget Share
CTV35-45%
Search25-35%
SEO15-20%
Print0-5%
Other5-10%

Print is optional, marginal at best.

The Exception Cases

  • Specific niche publication aligns perfectly
  • Very local community presence matters
  • Budget is very small (print cheaper entry)
  • Credibility/social proof specific need
  • At expense of CTV presence
  • For broad awareness goals
  • Without clear niche alignment
  • Based on “we’ve always done it”

The Practical Approach

If Considering Print

Do:

  • Evaluate specific publication value
  • Negotiate rates (print desperate for advertisers)
  • Track with unique phone/URL
  • View as supplementary

Don’t:

  • Replace CTV with print
  • Expect significant lead volume
  • Invest without tracking attempt
  • Assume print builds brand like TV

If Currently Running Print

Evaluate:

  • What leads come from print? (really)
  • What’s the cost per lead?
  • Is there tracking in place?
  • Would CTV budget serve better?

Consider:

  • Shifting print budget to CTV
  • Reducing print to true niche value
  • Eliminating low-performing print
  • Keeping only what demonstrably works

The Honest Assessment

✅ CTV Delivers

  • + Modern audience reach: 90% of households
  • + Measurable performance: verified attribution
  • + Brand building capability: visual + audio storytelling
  • + Growing viewership: where audiences are going

📰 Print Is

  • − Legacy habit: 'we've always done it'
  • − Marginal at best: minimal lead volume
  • − Unmeasurable: no real attribution
  • − Declining in value: shrinking readership

The comparison heavily favors CTV for most marketing objectives.

For complete channel comparison, see the CTV vs traditional advertising guide.

References