Want to build your brand communication using traditional methods?

Must-know facts about traditional media

Marketing and communication are an evolving term. New methods emerge everyday, and they are referred to as ‘new media’. It is believed that the new media delivers better results than the traditional tactics. Every business is nowadays following the best modern tech-savvy methods to gain digital outreach and attract an audience. But traditional media also has certain pros over new media that can be really beneficial to build the media branding and reach out to your consumers.

What is traditional media?

Traditional media uses those communication/advertising channels that have been used for decades. And those which are still relevant in the 21st century, and businesses have relied on them for years. They can be used effectively keeping the ad budget in mind.

Traditional media include radio, television, print, billboards, direct mails, and cold calls. Other than the traditional media vs new media debate, there is another debate that within traditional media, which one works the best. But it depends on a lot of factors, such as what kind of target audience is kept in mind, and what is the ad budget. That’s a topic for another day.

In this digital age, why do few businesses still consider traditional media campaigns? Here are some facts we present about traditional media.

Traditional media isn’t dead.

Traditional media allows a digital advertising agency to target a broader group of target audiences through billboards, newspaper, and TV commercials. New media is only for those who have adapted their lifestyle in the mobile world. But there’s still quite a large proportion of the audience who prefers traditional media and still haven’t moulded themselves according to the new technological world.

Brand awareness in the digital world can be challenging, but TV and radio still works the best. A misperception that says that the emergence of digital media has made marketers say goodbye to traditional media, is completely false. The truth is marketing and advertising presently uses a cross-platform or a multi-platform approach. Social media advertising for a small business or any big business can be enhanced with the usage of traditional media. A group of target audiences can’t consume only one type of media. That’s unlikely.

Traditional media supports easily trackable data

One of the biggest advantages of new media is easy data tracking. But that doesn’t mean traditional media cannot be tracked, That’s again a false rumour. With the help of data analytics, results of traditional media can also be efficiently tracked down neatly.

In the case of TV and print mediums, the audience can be directed to a URL or promo code, through which the performance marketing agency of the business can monitor leads easily.

Traditional marketing is considered a great tool for generating brand awareness. Businesses can monitor website traffic during the same time of a traditional campaign. It should be understood if that campaign has generated a spike in branded search visits.

Outdoor advertising is harder to track. But digital billboards and smart technology have come to our rescue in this case. Advertisers also use data related to cell phone location and traffic movement patterns to understand how much billboard exposure triggered how much in-store physical visits.

Traditional media is (also) effective.

Every media has certain strengths and weaknesses. Traditional media isn’t an exception. Advertisers can study the pros and cons of traditional media attentively and use them effectively in campaigns to drive maximum brand awareness, A strong strategy for brand building is necessary to make traditional media usage a successful one. Setting tangible goals and key messages for a traditional media ad is a very crucial factor.

Research over the time has shown how traditional media stands as one of the most effective ways to generate awareness and drive ROI. Due to its broader reach, compared to social media, traditional media has growing customer acquisition, brand awareness, and brand consideration. Example, businesses are considered to gain good views in local operating stores through billboards.

Traditional media is trustworthy.

As print, TV, and radio are considered trusted sources of information, traditional media is a good option to build your brand communication. When it comes to news, viewers still turn to TV and newspapers. The term ‘fake news’ mainly emerged from digital media where anyone can post anything, and that becomes ‘viral’. But TV and newspapers always report after cross-checking facts. And that’s why these spaces can act as excellent advertising mediums to catch audience attention.

A 2017 survay shows consumers find advertising through traditional media as most trustworthy. 61% of consumers trusting TV, print (58%), radio/podcast (45%), and out-of-home (42%) while the digital media seems less trustworthy as online (41%) and social media (38%).

Traditional media and digital marketing can go hand-in-hand.

Marketers shouldn’t participate in the argument of traditional media vs digital marketing. Instead, they should build a media plan where they will be able to use both traditional media and digital marketing to benefit the business. The performance is most effective when they are used together. Either of them shouldn’t be ignored.

Integration is the key to a successful business. The digital world has opened new possibilities, but there will always be a place for traditional media. The best tactic to make a media plan successful is to use a combination of all useful tools that can effectively highlight the business’s core message. Other new media tools are terrific complements, but cannot act as replacements for the traditional media.

A perfect media mix consisting of the right traditional media and digital media channels can create wonders. Here are a couple of examples.

Coca Cola: This global beverage brand used social media through a strategic approach and achieved the strongest global marketing integration ever with Expedition 206, a social media campaign where a small group of travel ambassadors went to 206 countries over 365 days to “generate happiness” and published on social networks. It enabled global promotion execution and integration among 3,500 Coca-Cola marketers around the world.

Ford Fiesta: The company gave 100 consumers a car for six months and asked them to complete a different mission every month. At the direction of Ford and their own imagination, some “agents” were employed to use Ford’s Fiestas and deliver Meals On Wheels. They went looking for adventure. All of these stories got beautifully documented on YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter. Fiesta got 6.5 million YouTube views and 50,000 requests for enquiries about the car— and they were all new leads. Like this, the Ford sales went up to 10,000 units in the first six days. The results came at a relatively small cost. The Fiesta Movement is known to have cost a small fraction of the typical national TV campaign.

Source: Want to build your brand communication using traditional methods?