One of my favorite blogs is Mitch Joel’s “Six pixels of Separation“. Couple of months ago, he spoke about the premature obituaries being written about traditional media in his blog about “What type of advertising has the most influence?”. Death of the 30 sec. TVC, print declines dramatically, etc. have been common refrains from multiple marketing experts. A Deloitte survey in the US showed that Television was still rated as having the most impact on their buying decisions. While this might get some digital/new media evangelists up in arms, a neutral observer might not be surprised or alarmed.
Let’s agree on a fact – digital has taken over our imagination like nothing else in the last 50 years. The explosion of the digital ecosystem has gotten many of us carried away in its wake. To be still supporting the primacy of traditional media in a marketing set-up can be seen as Jurassic.
But a more essential question to ask is – is the choice between traditional & new media really a zero sum game, where one can win only if the other loses? Reality seems to suggest otherwise.
- The sheer volume of TV channels (and print titles and radio stations and OOH touch points) has exploded in the same period that the Internet has
- Content is migrating across media channels like never before, with benefits being shared between the consumer & the producer – though magazine & (paid) online publishers might disagree
- Ideas & technology have cross-pollinated from digital to offline media (and vice versa) helping both to deliver exciting communication opportunities
What stuck with me was the point Mitch makes about consumers multi-tasking (surfing, tweeting, chatting) while watching television; this is now seen as reinforcing the power of TV and not disrupting it. I am sure there’ll be a lot of skepticism around this theory, but keeping an open mind is essential.
As marketers, we are always told that marketing is not advertising. Today, the same needs to applied to digital enthusiasts as well. Digital advertising is probably the most exciting part of being in this business today. Engaging consumers using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. is allowing us to time our messages & design mechanics based on true consumer listening, behavior & preferences. But it’s effectiveness is in complementing the overall communications & engagement task, by plugging holes that traditional media cannot.
Good article. Good points made on the holistic nature of the mix.