Digital & Traditional Marketing – Chicken Or Beef?

You have a great product.

You offer a service that people need.

Now you need to tell the world…

Next step: Advertising!

This is not news to anyone, but there are two kinds of advertising:

Traditional: TV, Radio and Print

Digital: Website, Internet & Social Media

Not that long ago, digital marketing was pretty limited. A website was about as far as anyone went. And traditional media was more or less the playground of the big businesses with lots of spare cash to spend. As a small or medium business, you were limited to the odd flyer and perhaps a small ad in your local rag.

 Again, I’m not telling you anything new.

 The growth and availability of digital platforms opened up a whole new world for those with a limited budget! Everyone and anyone with a keyboard or a smart phone could jump right in and do their thing.

 Now, here’s the thing:

 As social media evolved, things became a lot more sophisticated and definitely more complicated. The clutter can be overwhelming! Especially for prospective clients…

How do you stand out when there is so much going on?

 At the same time, traditional media has shown a decline over the last few years. Broadcast and print giants are suffering and viewership has fallen. Yet, there are still a great many people who watch TV, listen to the radio and read magazines and newspapers – even if it happens online.

So, what are we saying?

1.  You need to know who you are talking to. Your audience determines what you choose. In general, traditional marketing is still consumed by an older target market. Driving to work means listening to the radio and noticing billboard and street pole advertising. Relaxing at night still involves watching TV. The younger generation have playlists in their cars and tend to use streaming services.
2. You need to know what you want the advertising to achieve. Yes, you want people to know that you exist; that’s a given. But there’s more to it! Instant sales gratification is not that difficult in the short term for a business that is new to the market. Long-term sales goals take longer, and a brand marketing approach is needed to build loyalty.
3. You need to know that you may not have to choose one over the other!

LET’S HAVE A LOOK AT BOTH OPTIONS:

 DIGITAL MARKETING:

• Targeting: You can pick your audience and focus on potential online customers without wasting resources.
• Tracking: It’s easy to track your reach and audience involvement. It’s also simple to gather information about the people who interact with your brand or service.
• Reach: You can reach a global audience.
• Flexibility: You can easily amend your copy and artwork – even once the advertising is already up.
• Cost: After initial design and brand identity development, the advertising itself is relatively inexpensive. Effective digital advertising can be a bit more expensive – websites need to managed, photographs taken and updated and copy needs to be well-written, relevant and topical.
• Longevity: It’s easy for your audience to skip between advertisements or ignore them completely. Online ads remain on a timeline for quite a short time.

TRADITIONAL MARKETING:

• Targeting: When you are aiming locally in a city, town or even a suburb, traditional ads can effectively target your audience. Flyers, billboards and radio can be particularly effective.
• Tracking: Tracking is complicated without additional research and very sophisticated technology that still provides questionable results.
• Reach: Your reach is more localised.
• Flexibility: It is difficult, if not impossible, to amend a print or radio ad – not to mention expensive!
• Cost: With design, print and airtime costs, this is a much more expensive option. TV ads are still the realm of big business, and your high-impact billboards cost a fortune to advertise on.
• Longevity: It’s harder to skip or ignore traditional ads. These ads can be a constant and repetitive reminder of your brand and message.  

CHICKEN OR BEEF?

Why not a combination of both? The most effective campaigns are the ones that combine digital and traditional forms of marketing, cherry-picking the pros of each and using those to your benefit.

 The important thing to keep in mind is to make sure that your messaging is constant across the board. Your look & feel, colour palette and brand voice must be consistent. Consider your target audience and their habits and preferences – whether they are old or young, digital or analogue!

Written by Nana, our WordWhizz.