Ask any successful marketer, and they’ll tell you stories of how they experimented with various media before coming up with the perfect marketing media mix. You keep mixing and testing until you find ways in which they will complement each other. Not just that, they’ll also advise you to find campaigns that are working for you and the costs associated with it.
However, with the dawn of the age of the internet, the world has embraced a “Digital First approach”. And we have all the reasons in the world to do so. With the amount of technology that is available today, the number of media on which marketing users can advertise has also increased. One such platform, which has gained momentum is mobile technology. Even the marketing giants bear witness to this fact and proclaim that mobile users have surpassed desktop users, way back in 2014.
But, after all this rightful upheaval, the question still remains, ‘Is a marketing campaign complete without traditional advertising and media?’
At first, the answer would seem like a ‘Yes’. However, once you take a step back, you get the bigger picture. Marketing and advertising activities cater to a broad spectrum of people. And these people are spread across various demographics, interacting with and consuming content in a multitude of ways. There is no denying the fact that the world has gone digital, but the importance of traditional advertising and marketing exercises still holds its own.
Traditional Advertising is in no way dead. Not yet. There is a reason it’s called mass media. Radio and television alone reach users far and beyond, and they continue to add a massive chunk to driving sales. This is the reason that most tech giants and other consumer driven products rely heavily on these outlets.
Apple recently launched a massive ad campaign engaging in media buying activities to flood all major hoarding sites with their campaign.
But, that does not mean that traditional media alone can help you run a successful campaign. The key lies in finding the balance between traditional and digital, and leverage on it so that the campaigns you run has a positive outreach.
Traditional advertising media is for humans
Traditional media sources and above the line (ATL) marketing activities are crafted for humans. They devotedly work towards catching as much attention as possible. The audience that come in from digital activities is usually a mix of real users, spammers, hacking activities and bots.
The thing about traditional media like TV and newspaper ads is that they interact with real people in real time, generating the impact that digital media sometimes can’t, and that is what makes them still relevant.
The above ad by Google, seeks to advertise their services, while creating an emotional link that can bring a smile on your face. That is the human element that digital ads have not yet managed to achieve.
As effective as it gets
That, in itself, is a metric that should help you in understanding the importance of traditional media for your campaign.
Traditional media is by far the most accepted and trustworthy form of content consumption. Yes, there are a multitude of digital channels catching up, but you cannot ignore something that is proven to be effective, simply because you think it is old-school. Traditional media is easier to process because it’s more trustworthy. We pay more attention to a source we trust, rather than random news that shows up on our social media feed.
Multi-screen users prefer traditional advertising
In a recent study, it was found that users with access to multiple screens like their smartphones, laptops, tablets and others prefer consuming advertisements on their TV screens. The reason is simple, it’s less intrusive.
Imagine being impatient to get to the next level in your game and an ad pops up, or trying to watch the new music video from your favorite band, but you have to wait while the advert finishes.
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Most marketing campaigns fail to understand human nature: we want simple things that cater to our priorities in the best of ways. We don’t want to wait for an advert to complete or a popup to close.
Striking the balance
As an advertiser or a marketing strategist working on a campaign, one needs to understand the importance of both digital and traditional media buying. The goal is to reach as many people as possible and this should be independent of the means we use to do that.
One of the best ways to approach this is to weigh the costs involved versus the outreach. Keeping your campaign flexible enough to accommodate changes is something that needs to be on your priority list.
In its recent campaign, Tropicana utilized the power of digital media and integrated traditional marketing channels to get the outreach it needed. The campaign revolved around dispensing information pertaining to the nutritional coefficient that a glass of Tropicana brings to your table. The brand used massive digital billboards to engage audiences and bring them to their social media pages. Alongside a massive TV commercial campaign, the brand struck the balance engaging its massive audience and thus boosting sales.
It is still relevant
Traditional Advertising media is still one of the most effective and efficient ways of reaching the masses. It offers the flexibility you need to be present everywhere at all times and does not rely on digital metrics. Billboards, TV ad campaigns, Radio spots, Newspaper ads and other such outlets let you ensure that you get the outreach you need. Though traditional media buying can hit your purse, they help you reach a much wider demographic and drive sales in real time.
The trustworthiness of traditional advertising media outlets is irreplaceable, at least in the immediate future. Digital media still has a long way to go before it can totally replace traditional media and its outreach. Keeping traditional media in your marketing mix is one of the best things that you can do to your marketing campaign. You give it the means to grow and reach out to an audience who would otherwise get ignored.
Now that the importance of traditional advertising has been emphasized, you should seriously think of incorporating in your marketing mix. Let me know in the comments how it worked for you.
