It is very easy to get caught up in the hype of the latest great thing. In the advertising world, the latest great thing is digital. Is Digital Advertising deserving of the attention it is receiving, Yes. However, traditional media is still of great value as well. According to Nielsen, more than 93% of Americans 18 and older listen to radio every week.
It is not just about ratings and impressions, but how people consume and remember messaging. We have all met someone who “hears you” or others who “see what you mean”. David Adelman of OCD Media explains “Building a brand/business requires two things, making people aware of the reasons they should buy you and giving them a mechanism to transact. We find in many cases this requires a blend of media that work together.” A mix of traditional and digital media can have tremendous impact on an audience.
Define Your Target
Start by identifying the target audience. Think about their age, gender, employment, where they live, their behaviors. The audience profile will influence media choices. With a younger audience certain social media platforms will have greater value. If the audience is older, the TV programs selected must reflect their age. Time of day is also a consideration. Radio and computer usage are strongest during the day. By 7pm, TV is skyrocketing, but mobile is still strong as 95% of TV viewers watch with a mobile device nearby.
Geography
Geography also plays a role in media decision-making. Is the geographic footprint large enough to support broadcast radio or TV? If not large enough for broadcast maybe cable or streaming radio can work. For a highly mobile audience Outdoor advertising is a good option. Radio is another possibility for a target that travels a lot.
Media Mixes
Some media mixes that work well are TV and Mobile. As mentioned earlier, most people watch TV with a device nearby. For defined geographic targets, Outdoor and geo-targeted digital ads are a great combination. Radio has a strong impact on digital advertising. Many Direct to Consumer brands find both TV and Radio are highly effective at driving web traffic. A strong retargeting campaign along with traditional media makes a powerful mix.
No matter what channel is chosen, creative must be consistent at all times. A prospect needs to see the same messaging, colors, logo etc. wherever they encounter the advertising. Consistent messaging makes an advertiser seem ubiquitous and familiar. Consumers prefer products and services they recognize.
Attribution
Once your advertising campaign is in place careful monitoring is a must. As Adelman notes, “We also believe in identifying ways to track the value of non-digital media through attribution modeling”. A number of strategies can be used to evaluate the performance of traditional media. Assigning unique telephone numbers to each off-line advertising channel is a great start. Creating unique urls for offline media, especially when offers are made, allows for tracking through an analytics platform. Some advertisers are adding hashtags to their ads to encourage Twitter discussion of their products or offers. If your traditional advertising is dayparted, examine your analytics to determine if there is a corresponding increase in web traffic. Measure results wherever possible.
Some basics of advertising have not changed with digital, especially the value of reach and frequency. The more unique prospects reached, the better chance of a conversion. By reaching a target frequently, they become more familiar with the product or service. When that message is both seen and heard, in traditional and digital formats, it becomes infinitely more powerful. Keep this in mind when planning your next advertising campaign.
