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Yesterday, Missy Clements, stood up and spoke in a debate at the Houses of Parliament…

Marketing2 min readSam Page

Yesterday, Missy Clements, stood up and spoke in a debate at the Houses of Parliament on the question: “Does including print make a campaign more effective?”

It was a TOUGH crowd.
The Debating Group event was sponsored by the Independent Print Industries Association (IPIA). And the room was packed with people from the print industry.

While the setting couldn’t have been more traditional,
the debate was very much about the present and the future.

Missy and her co-opposer, Ellie, presented a thoughtful, audience-first proposition. That campaign effectiveness depends on knowing who you’re speaking to, and choosing the right channel/medium to engage them.

Sometimes that includes print. Sometimes it doesn’t.

What surprised me was what happened next...

During audience participation, Missy faced a passionate wave of responses.

Many weren’t reacting to what had been said, but to the idea that print might be a dying art form, or it's effectiveness questioned at all.

And this is where I genuinely sat back in awe.

Missy stood back up. Calm. Positive. Passionate. Completely grounded.
And reminded everyone what the debate was actually about.

That moment, her composure, her clarity, her energy, is what stayed with me.

I was especially moved by her point on accessibility. About how digital, when done well, can reach people that print simply can’t.

Tech in service of people is what it should all be about.

The final vote?

It went with the proposition. But in truth, I think it was more a vote of love for print than agreement with the actual motion. Congratulations to Angus George and Gemma Greaves for brilliant speeches too.

I voted against the proposition. I don’t believe any channel should be assumed effective by default. Even one I love as much as print.

Missy, you were brilliant. Well done again. Super proud of how you turned up and everything you said and stood for.

First published on LinkedIn.

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---
title: "Yesterday, Missy Clements, stood up and spoke in a debate at the Houses of Parliament…"
url: https://sam-page.com/thinking/yesterday-missy-clements-stood-up-and-spoke-in-a-debate-at-the-houses-of-parliam
date: 2025-07-10
author: Sam Page
type: Post or article
categories: [Marketing, Go-to-market]
reading_time: 2 min
summary: "Yesterday, Missy Clements, stood up and spoke in a debate at the Houses of Parliament on the question: “Does including print make a campaign more effective?”"
first_published: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn%3Ali%3Ashare%3A7348986459611086849
---

# Yesterday, Missy Clements, stood up and spoke in a debate at the Houses of Parliament…

Yesterday, Missy Clements, stood up and spoke in a debate at the Houses of Parliament on the question: “Does including print make a campaign more effective?”

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/yesterday-missy-clements-stood-up-and-spoke-in-a-debate-at-the-houses--li1.webp)

It was a TOUGH crowd.  
The Debating Group event was sponsored by the Independent Print Industries Association (IPIA). And the room was packed with people from the print industry.

While the setting couldn’t have been more traditional,  
the debate was very much about the present and the future.

Missy and her co-opposer, Ellie, presented a thoughtful, audience-first proposition. That campaign effectiveness depends on knowing who you’re speaking to, and choosing the right channel/medium to engage them.

Sometimes that includes print. Sometimes it doesn’t.

What surprised me was what happened next...

During audience participation, Missy faced a passionate wave of responses.

Many weren’t reacting to what had been said, but to the idea that print might be a dying art form, or it's effectiveness questioned at all.

And this is where I genuinely sat back in awe.

Missy stood back up. Calm. Positive. Passionate. Completely grounded.  
And reminded everyone what the debate was actually about.

That moment, her composure, her clarity, her energy, is what stayed with me.

I was especially moved by her point on accessibility. About how digital, when done well, can reach people that print simply can’t.

Tech in service of people is what it should all be about.

The final vote?

It went with the proposition. But in truth, I think it was more a vote of love for print than agreement with the actual motion. Congratulations to Angus George and Gemma Greaves for brilliant speeches too.

I voted against the proposition.  I don’t believe any channel should be assumed effective by default. Even one I love as much as print.

Missy, you were brilliant. Well done again. Super proud of how you turned up and everything you said and stood for.