Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
With the advent of social media and inbound marketing, there seems to be a trend toward online advertising and away from certain types of traditional advertising. There are certain types of advertising that are used less and less lately.
There are many possible reasons for this, among them being cost. Traditional advertising costs money. Lots of money. Inbound marketing, which is a marketing method that brings your customers to you, costs very little, if any, money. With the rapid development of technology, the world of sales, marketing and advertising is being drastically affected. One of the main reasons that certain forms of traditional marketing are fading into the distance is that with traditional marketing, it is very difficult to track the metrics, whereas, with online advertising, it is very easy to track the metrics (with such tools as Google Analytics).
Another sharp contrast between traditional advertising and online advertising is that you are not able to focus your advertising efforts so precisely with traditional advertising. With online advertising, you can pinpoint your specific niche and your specific potential customers and existing customers. You have absolutely no wasted efforts.
If you examine the way in which companies acquired leads a decade ago, you will see that it is very different from the way in which companies acquire leads today. With the competition being as stiff as it is, as a business, you really need to have a hook in order to succeed. Your hook has to be unique and effective and it has to be yours alone. One thing that is for certain is the concept that before you can even entertain the possibility of selling any product or service, you need to work long and hard on interacting with people and with building strong and meaningful business relationships with your business associates.
Modern marketing
Marketing today is very different than the marketing of the past. In traditional marketing, the company that had the money to buy more leads and potential customers won the business. With online marketing, money is not really relevant. What is relevant is time and effort and forming and maintaining relationships that have trust as a foundation and mutual respect.
There are some types of traditional advertising, types that have been in existence for a very long time, that seem to be fading to the background and there is a good possibility that they may become obsolete in the next several years.
- Newspapers: Newspaper advertising has been a time-honored tradition for so long. It is certainly an institution. More and more businesses are no longer using newspapers to advertise their brand and offerings. The idea that a business would have to spend many thousands of dollars on one advertisement that will only appear for one day seems absurd when compared with online advertising.
- Local radio: Radio stations, per se, will not disappear. However, the small, local radio stations are struggling more and more to stay afloat. The concept of a local radio station selling a 30- or 60-second advertising spot to a business and that the business must run the spot for 6 months in order to see any positive results seems kind of crazy. Radio advertising is short-term advertising. Considering the extreme effectiveness of online advertising, radio advertising really can’t compare. The reason that inbound marketing is so effective compared with traditional advertising is that with inbound marketing, people can’t do anything to block your advertising methods. In fact, they make conscious decisions to opt in. With traditional advertising, people have gotten very clever. They can block ads at will.
- The Yellow Pages: The Yellow Pages is no longer an effective form of advertising, in many cases. Many people receive the Yellow Pages and never give it a second look. Maybe they use it to even out the table legs or the stick it on the bookshelf and it quickly gathers dust. Why would people use the Yellow Pages when it is much faster and easier to search online for the same information? And the print online is so much larger!
- Direct mail: Direct mailings find their way into the garbage much more readily than anywhere else in a person’s home. Direct mail is expensive and often, people don’t pay any attention to it.
- Home shows: You pay a great deal for a home show. After your business has shelled out so much money, you don’t generally get a good return on investment. Home shows are not all that convenient. Many people prefer to find out about new products, services, etc, online than having to pay an entrance fee to the home show and walk around aimlessly for hours.
Conclusion
As sad as it is to think about, some forms of traditional advertising are truly becoming obsolete. That is not to say that all forms of traditional advertising are dying or that they are not very valuable. In fact, online advertising works most effectively when it is paired with traditional advertising. Online advertising enhances your offerings very effectively and traditional advertising enhances your offerings in other ways. As a business owner, you should not forsake one form of advertising for the other. You should use them for your business as complements of each other.
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Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Social Media Today
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
no traditional advertising is not obsolete. It has and always will take a media mix to have an effective marketing campaign. I am sure when tv came around they asked if radio was going instinct but it did not and everytime a new media comes along they assume that it will replace another, but that is not the case. Some of the older medias may change to adapt but become obsolete no.
Posted by Nadine Sidoriak
Here we go again….another supposed IT guru making an erroneous case for online advertising on the premis that traditional advertising is obsolete. Another disingenuous rant with the fervour of a pre-bubble web investor. Don't get me wrong…there are some truisms in Michael's comments…some forms of traditional media are having a very hard time and may be destined for extinction and it IS a fact that online marketing is growing fast. What Michael fails to point out is that some forms of traditional advertising are also growing very nicely thank you.
Consumers are spending more of their time in two areas…online (through whatever hardware) and Out of Home. Guess what…the two media that are seeing significant growth are…yep! you've got it….online and traditional Out Of Home posters. Having said that, there are digital developments within the poster mix…but these play only a small part in this thriving traditional medium.
Michael mistakenly attributes a key success of online advertising as low cost. Hmmm. Surely Michael, cost is only relevant to ability to pay. What IS important is ROI. If a medium is effective in achieving the goals set for it within the available budget then cost is merely a function of negotiated investment. I have also seen some costs for Google activity that I wouldn't consider to be cheap.
Your conclusion, however, makes some some sense. I agree that using a mix of media can produce effective results and increase the ROI across all elements of the campaign. Using posters, for example, to support a radio campaign can enhance the ROI from the radio element by a staggering 84%…Direct Mail campaigns by 61%…press by 34%…etc.
My conclusion is simply that online advertising and marketing is a new(ish) medium that is effective at reaching audiences because those audiences are spending more time online…and the audiences are targetable and active. Whilst there may be some traditional forms of media that aren't as effective as they once were there are others that are even more effective than they have been. There is even an argument that, whilst with the proliferation of channels TV audiences have fragmented, the medium is now more targeted than ever.
So, sing the praises of online by all means but don't undermine your argument by knocking traditional media.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Search Engine Watch
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Yes.Traditional advertising is undergoing a tremendous change and more people are choosing online advertisements and it is profitable to market a product globally than to go for a local market only. I like this blog as it give the effect on different advertising media.
Posted by meenakshi venkatraman
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Group: Consultants Network
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Yes, traditional marketing and advertising is basically obsolete.
It still has some remaining marginal utility. But it is based on the dying era of "mass" and "analog" media. The future is "mass customized 1:1" and "digital".
Most marketers/advertisers simplistically think that they can transition from the old media to the new. Some marketers/advertisers don't even realize the new is happening!
And I suggest that 98% of marketers/advertisers do not understand the new social Internet multi-medium. They don't realize its "reversal effect" (which is too long to explain here).
Posted by Frank Feather
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Group: Strategy, Marketing & Innovation Forum
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Your discussion topic will certainly result in varying opinions. And it is by no means unprecedented as new advertising vehicles have emerged through history. You are right that social/new digital media is exploding and it has to be considered part of any go-to-market strategy. However, I would argue that traditional media still has a place although it also needs to be transformed. The next generation of shoppers will demand information at their fingertips (literally) and will expect it from all forms of advertising media. It's an exciting time to be involved in research centered on shopper insights, buying behavior and the newfound importance on word-of-mouth and user-generated content. The biggest challenge facing traditional advertising is one of speed — can these formats morph fast enough to remain relevant? Only time will tell.
Posted by Dave Wendland
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Group: Marketing 2.0 Technology (Over 3400+ Members)
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
asking or telling? i think the turn towards inbound web-based platforms is largely linked to the fact that there are tons of specific metrics that support the viability of any campaign therein, whereas the old media is still a circulation, ratings and law of averages game wherein numbers are ballpark.
Posted by Raymond Prucher
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Group: NJ Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO)
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
I still love seeing print ads.. reading stories on paper and more. In addition with the online safety and personal things that can be found out when you click on an ad, I am less likely to go " there."
Posted by Risa Olinsky
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Group: Professional Writers
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Have paperbacks become obsolete, because of digital files and electronic reading devices? People buy both. Has radio become obsolete, because every home has television? Hardly.
Every media needs to adapt, but has its own space. Social media fills a gap for advertisers and enables us to reach the audience in a different manner. That's all. It adds another good tool to our arsenal. Just because we accept and use the new, doesn't mean we throw out the old.
If you are in advertising, just ask around for the rates of showing an ad film during intermission time in your local movie hall, and you'll realize how fresh the rates are – though that form of advertising is one of the oldest in our industry, barring hard print ads and hoardings.
Posted by Surajit Sen Sharma
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Group: Bergen Area Networking Group
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Depending on your product or service, it might be best to use a blend of traditional and new to support each other
Posted by Caryn Starr
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Group: Consultants Network
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Not yet, there is a plethora of advertising on network TV when you watch the news, for example — or any other show on network television. Plenty of people watch network TV.
However, if you're streaming programs via the internet or Netflix, that's different because you control what programs you watch.
Somewhere I see it as more of a competition of channels not so much advertising. Why does one need so many channels when they can stream documentaries, movies and sitcoms of their choice from Netflix?
As for print in magazines, plenty of people still like hard copies. They want to refer back to an article, do the puzzles, share with a friend, read at the doctor's or dentist's office, or whatever.
To escape an ad, all you have to do is flip the page. This principle applies to digital as well.
Posted by Caroline Bucquet, MA
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Group: Authors, Writers, Publishers, Editors, & Writing Professionals (no religious/ political discussion)
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
I wouldn't say traditional advertising is dead… rather, I would say advertising is evolving to take advantage of new media outlets, new technologies, and new acceptance by mainstream society of those factors. To me, traditional advertising is putting the message before the people. Technology helps by wielding advertising more like a scalpel rather than like wielding a mace. Let's face it, TV channels, radio stations, magazines, web sites, social networking, etc. each targets a niche audience based on its content. If you are targeting certain groups, you find out where they get their information and utilize those sources. In that regard, advertising is no different than a harker selling orchard-fresh apples in a small village to hungry passers-by in 18th century England.
Cheers!
Christopher
Posted by Christopher Dunbar
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Group: Publishing and editing professionals
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
YES.
There is still value in other mediums… but the budget for them has been severely cut.
Posted by Arlene Atherton
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Group: Books and Writers
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Some valid points here. And when it comes down to it, money is usually the bottom line for most businesses whether home-based or larger corporations. I know there are still a lot of people out there who don't have computers, but to spend huge amounts of money to reach them with only a small percentage of response is not plausible. We all have to opt for the highest ROI possible if we want to stay in business.
Posted by Diane Stephenson
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Group: Ladies Lunch Business Networking
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Thank you. This is very informative. We hired a
PR group out of LA because they are in fashion, they are young,
and they are great at reaching our customer through
Social marketing.
Posted by Debra Weisser
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Group: Books and Writers
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
It's much easier to reach your exact target audience on-line than print advertising, radio and television. On-line the attributes of your target audience can be more narrowly specified.
Posted by Nelson Perez
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Group: Consultants Network
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
I think there will be a general emergence of combined traditional and social media as the optimal marketing strategy for companies, plus simply innovating new ways to advertise. Instead of ads on TV (which people do still watch), pop-ups will appear and disappear on the screen with a call to action or message. I agree print still has its place, too. Companies must realize where their customers are looking and searching and be there – including getting found online (SEO, social networks) and in the traditional marketing space (print, tv, radio, etc.).
I just came back from the DMA Conference in San Francisco and that was the main message – just know your customer and be there for them, wherever "there" is, and always be relevant and add value.
Posted by Rebecca Mountain
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Group: Small Business Online Community
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Michael, I feel that we are rapidly heading towards newer marketing platforms – even faster than many believed would happen! There are still pockets of areas maintaining with some traditional advertising but our company analysts see a much better ROI for our online and mobile text marketing services than with any other!
Business owners need to be aware that this IS happening and work with professionals within the newer technologies so that they aren't left behind and don't continue to loose money on things such as print, tv or radio when it isn't working for them.
What I find is that many business owners really don't even know what is out there for them to use. This is where I enjoy working with clients, one on one, educating and finding the right combination so we do maximize their ROI and cut out what isn't working!
Great post and I look forward to seeing what others have to say.
Linda King
Posted by Linda King
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Group: Small Business Online Community
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
I keep reading in blogs and discussion group comments how social media are making advertising irrelevant — advertising is dead. But I'm old enough to remember when TV was going to kill Hollywood and when the Internet was going to shutter all of the malls. Neither happened. There are really two levels of advertising. The national level for products that are nationally or globally distributed, like Old Spice. Then there is the local level for the millions of mom'n'pop-style retailers and service businesses whose markets are essentially local.
Both need traditional advertising; both need social media. But is is the emphasis of the two that will vary. National marketers will, as you suggest look more and more to social media to build relationships with customers, shifting large portions of what would have been spent on traditional media to relationship building. But they'll continue to support their new media efforts with traditional ads, like3 Old Spice did.
But for those mom'n'pops, i suspect that the traditional local media — the hometown newspaper, the local TV or radio station — will continue to be the backbone of their promotional efforts. Yes, they should and will use Facebook and Twitter to build relationships with customers, but the it will remain the minority portion of their ad budgets.
Dave Ramacitti
Posted by David Ramacitti
I imagine that when TV first started taking spot ads, people were saying this was the end of traditional advertising. Probably said the same thing about radio, too.
Traditional advertising, if we define that as placing an ad in front of a customer (ideally targeting the ad in some way) and hoping they will buy our product, is far from dead. In fact, the overwhelming majority of marketing on the internet is done as traditional advertising.. Make ad. Get ad in front of potential customers. Make lots of money. That's the theory, at least. 😉
In practice, internet ads are not really very different from TV spots, or radio ads, or newspaper ads. They're still the same kinds of ads, just in a new media.
There are new forms of marketing, which I would classify as "non-traditional", because they break away from the ad -> viewer -> purchase paradigm. But even as magazine and newspaper circulations go down and TIVO does damage to TV ads, internet ads take up the slack, so traditional advertising is alive and kicking.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Writers
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
I think traditional ad people took too long to warm up to the internet potential. They clung to old ideas and old ways too long, and have a hard time connecting to online customers. I see the same old sad advertising from t.v. and magazines on online programming. They need to try to learn that internet customers are different. I don't think they are dead, but they are very, very ill.
Posted by Deborah Aldridge
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Group: Writers
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
To be fair, you see the same ads on TV because they work, and work well. People spend quite a lot of money tracking the effectiveness of ad campaigns, and the pros in that field have a good idea if an ad is working or not. I'm really not convinced that "internet customers are different". They're the same people, for the most part, just listening or watching in a different venue.
Posted by Kevin McLaughlin
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Group: Writers
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
That I am in mobile ad business, I understand that the new ideas are fetching more returns but then people are not ready do away with the old ways because of the eyeball count. And yeah the results and performance of the traditional ads. Because people are always all of them are not hooked upto Internet or T.V or what ever. Maybe people who are spending doesnt mind spending but are worried about the decrease in sales if they stop spending in the traditional ways. Anyways 10% of the returns is huge to spend.
Posted by Vasu prasad.H
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Group: NJ Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO)
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Yes, I agree and still internet budgets aren't quite matching consumer consumption. Traditional advertising has taken a huge nose dive. Satellite has taken audience away from terrestial radio and we all know about the continuing demise of newspaper except for local and commuter pubs.With Oprah, Martha Stewart,and Conan moving to cable and Comcast's purchase of NBC Universal; Cable TV is quickly becoming an advertising powerhouse along with Internet. Take a look at this quick video featuring the ad industry's leaders in social advertising. Its really enlightening about where the measurement for social media and internet advertising is going.
http://www.comcastspotlight.com/takefive/
Posted by Yvette Solomon
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Group: Linked-N Bergen County NJ
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Yes for some, not so for others. Look at the decline in print adverts overall, newspaper and magazine revenues are way down. Although other "traditional" media seem to be hanging in there (billboards, radio, sky writing) are at least consistant in volume. The effect of the Net is persuasive and invasive..
Posted by Hank Salvacion
I agree that the available types of advertising have expanded greatly with social media and online advertising and in many cases the cost per ad (or impression) is lower. However, in my opinion the real question is "How can I best reach my customers?" Conversion rates will be higher for media your customers listen, read, or participate in. *That,* combined with cost, is what will determine the best choices from a mix of online and traditional advertising.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Writers World
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
I agree that the available types of advertising have expanded greatly with social media and online advertising and in many cases the cost per ad (or impression) is lower. However, in my opinion the real question is "How can I best reach my customers?" Conversion rates will be higher for media your customers listen, read, or participate in. *That,* combined with cost, is what will determine the best choices from a mix of online and traditional advertising.
Posted by Bobette Kyle
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Writers World
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
I agree that the available types of advertising have expanded greatly with social media and online advertising and in many cases the cost per ad (or impression) is lower. However, in my opinion the real question is "How can I best reach my customers?" Conversion rates will be higher for media your customers listen, read, or participate in. *That,* combined with cost, is what will determine the best choices from a mix of online and traditional advertising.
Posted by Bobette Kyle
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Linked-N Bergen County NJ
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Yes for some, not so for others. Look at the decline in print adverts overall, newspaper and magazine revenues are way down. Although other "traditional" media seem to be hanging in there (billboards, radio, sky writing) are at least consistant in volume. The effect of the Net is persuasive and invasive..
Posted by Hank Salvacion
The word obsolete means "no longer in use or no longer useful" . . . by that definition, traditional media is NOT obsolete.
In today's USA TODAY home page, they polled readers on how they would follow the World Series that starts tonight; i.e., via live tweets/facebook, via synched broadcasts with their PC/Laptop, via synched broadcasts over their smartphone, via radio, or watch TV at home.
The last one – watch via TV at home, was overwhelming in favor; the others didn't even break 2% of those polled; some scored zero percent.
Traditional media is not obsolete so traditional advertising can't be obsolete. As in almost everything else in life . . . it all depends.
It depends on the needs and objectives of the advertiser – if you are a manufacturer of wheelchairs, you may not need to Tweet among 25 year olds. Your audience ain't there. You'll need to speak to an audience where wheelchair users are visiting. And yes, there are wheelchair users of the internet, but they're more heavily invested in other media.
Yes, interactive and mobile media are growing dramatically, of course, but we are a long, long way from killing off traditional advertising. It all depends . . .
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Bergen Area Networking Group
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Caryn is right in which it depends on your product or service. I've experimented with print mailing when I first started and it was brutal, I barely increased any traffic on my website. Along with the fact that it cost me quite a bit of money. I firmly believe search engine optimization is the way to go for local businesses these days.
Posted by John Ferrughelli
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Group: Medical Marketing & Communications Group
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Not at all… Web, Social networks, mobile devices are taking up more time within a consumers limited day and we see more money going to digital content, but that has increased the value of print media due to the fact that it is no longer cluttered and the distribution is more targeted, especially with Niche titles.. Another advantage of print is that the consumer tends to spend significantly more time with editorial content as well as the advertisers copy. With, digital the amount of time spent on a page is limited and the number of distractions and links away from the advertiser is tremendous. The use of interstitial ads / roadblocks / interruptive ads annoy the consumers and make them shy away from sites that heavily rely on them. This is why it is important to have a mix of traditional as well as "new" media.
I also recommend reading Joe Cappo's "The Future of Advertising." Spend your money on sites that deliver "interesting, timely, unique and valuable content"
I am pro-print! Could you tell?
Posted by Damion Harte
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Group: Books and Writers
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Traditional advertising is evolving and will never go away. Social media is important but not the end all. The one traditional vehicle that is really hurting is newspaper. TV advertising is very strong, and the advent of strong cable offerings has certainly changed the way advertisers buy tv.
Posted by Terrence Brejla
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Writers
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
I HAVE seen that now internet ads are getting shorter. I think ad people are catching on that people who are watching online or on their cells live more fast paced lives in a lot of cases, and don't want to watch long ads. I wish they would catch on that I don't want to watch a 30 second ad before I get to see a chosen video.
Posted by Deborah Aldridge
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Group: NJ Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO)
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
Some great points. I also believe much traditional advertising is going away, whether we like it or not. However, I still there is room for a variety of advertising modalities and I think it depends a great deal on the nature of your business. It is true that both traditional and online will be used, but I believe it is still much like the basic concept of years ago – what kind of advertising do I do – mail, yellow pages, newsletters, professional journals, etc. Now it is just between which of the "new" and "old" worlds I use for what and choose the strategy that fits your goals.
Posted by Louise DiSclafani
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Group: NJ Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO)
Discussion: Is Traditional Advertising Obsolete?
There's no doubt that traditional advertising has taken a major hit. However, in niche markets it hasn't died yet. It also depends on the age of your audience and how they are used to consuming information. I advertise in a niche print publication and continue to garner solid results from it. Plus, now you stand out from the pack if you advertise in print! It's akin to snail-mailing someone a resume rather than e-mailing it.
Posted by Etya Novik
old marketing method can found most is offline marketing and hard to measure the result and what they get back from . Complicated to estimation when planning. But i cannot say direct ignore it because i still it effective and depend on how you use those media for marketing. We cannot direct ignore it, but sometime it can take as example or maybe an option.
Thanks forr sharing your thoughts about advertising. Regards