No one can say for certain which is the most effective. Im sure if you ask experienced Marketing and PR managers from an "older generation" they will stand by print advertising and media and if you asked any intern or "younger" generation PR manager they will adamantly argue for social media.
Does it come down to your target audience? If so, how would you gauge something as complicated and important as that? How many people interested in music still pick up Xpress, Drum and the Wire and flip through the gig guides to see whats coming up? Or does everyone just hop onto Facebook and look through bands and venues pages. Often before a graphic designer even has time to design the advert that is going in a street press magazine, the event has already come up on hundreds of peoples news feeds and the information has spread like wildfire. So is that a pro of social media? What about those people then that still have not and refuse to get a Facebook, Twitter etc account? Dare anyone take the risk and rely on one form of promotion so that we can all benefit from finding out which one, once and for all, is the most effective
All arguments aside is there really ONE answer. In my experience a perfect balance and happy medium of both can be the compliment to one another and the foundation of a truly strategic PR plan.
