WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell has highlighted the strengths of traditional printed media and praised its high level of engagement.

In an interview with Media Show host Steve Hewlett on BBC Radio 4, WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell said advertisers should focus more closely on engagement levels.

“The death of traditional media is much overplayed and there is value there,” said Sorrell.

“Obviously as it comes under price pressure it becomes a better bargain and you get more bang for your buck.”

The CEO of the world’s largest advertising and communications group, WPP,  went on to discuss the measurement issues with engagement.

He said that engagement levels had to be captured in different ways and the “traditional ways of measuring audiences “do not currently do that.

“If you look at the data in the US, the advertising industry invests around 20% of their budget in print and yet consumers only spend about 5% of their time with print, so there’s a disconnect.

“But on the other hand, if you look at data which shows the engagement between people and physical, the engagement of individuals with a physical newspaper is very strong indeed.”

Sorrell said that a “highly-engaged reader” was more valuable than somebody who superficially ran through content.

“Someone flitting through a screen will not get the degree of engagement that is necessary,” he added.