You hear the whispers— you know, that newspapers are shutting down across the world and no one even knows what a book is anymore. We blame millennials of course. They killed Applebee’ s, golf and department stores, why not blame the death of traditional media on them too? If video killed the radio star, then, surely, the internet has killed them all, am I right?
Wrong. While social media and digital marketing are growing at an astronomical rate, that doesn’ t mean traditional forms of marketing no longer work. Actually, research shows they’ re still completely necessary for any successful campaign.
“ While millenials may be spending an unprecidented amount of time on their devices, they’ re doing so while simultaneously using other channels. if you truly want to make an impact, you need to be reaching audiences everywhere they are, not just online”
In February 2017, the Advertising Research Foundation( ARF) shared interesting information from the largest, most comprehensive ROI and media impact study ever conducted: abandoning legacy media channels causes sales to drop. Brands shouldn’ t pull their ad spending from magazine, television, radio or direct mail, just because they think the internet is where everyone is hanging out.
Digital media is just one way people access information, content and entertainment. While millennials may be spending an unprecedented amount of time of their devices, they’ re doing so while simultaneously using other channels— i. e. posting on Instagram while watching TV, looking at mobile product videos while in store, reading print publications then going online to access expanded content. If you truly want to make an impact, you need to be reaching audiences everywhere they are, not just online.
trust in traditional Media Clearly traditional media is back on everyone’ s radar, but why? Data suggests that traditional advertising— aka magazine, television, radio and direct mail— retains a high level of consumer trust. In today’ s media landscape of fake news, privacy questions, hacking and cyber attacks, it’ s no wonder customers are clinging to these more tangible outlets.
A 2017 survey from the CMO Council revealed that almost two-thirds( 63 percent) of consumers would respond more positively to a social media ad if it appeared on a more traditional advertising channel. Additionally, print sources create a tone of credibility with readers as they have picked out the magazine or newspaper themselves, so they trust the content. A 2017 survey conducted by MarketingSherpa revealed 82 percent of participants trusted printed advertisements in newspapers and magazines the most when making a purchase decision.
reach of traditional Media Traditional mass media, such as billboards, magazine ads, television and radio, allows you to reach a large population across many different demographics. You can use the brand exposure gained by traditional media to keep your company top of mind to customers and direct them to more leadgenerating avenues, like your website or social media accounts.
Also, traditional media— especially print media such as magazine advertisements— tend to have a longer shelf life than digital media. Once an ad is printed in a magazine, it is there for good. As consumers hold onto a magazine for an extended period, an advertisement continues working each time they pick up the issue.
Where should your Company Be? 1. MagaziNes Print advertising is excellent for extended marketing and brand awareness campaigns. Magazines are created to target niche audiences depending upon the topic or theme. This means advertisements are relevant to the content of the magazine. This guarantees your advertisements will be in front of a target audience that cares about products or services like yours, since the reader considers the magazine’ s content important.
You want your magazine ad to be bold and visually stunning, so it jumps out at the reader from the page. Magazine advertisements also tend to be high-quality, giving your brand a great outlet to show off. Effective print ads tend to appeal to a need or problem of the reader over simply highlighting benefits.
August 2018 ■ PULSE 49