May 022011
 

Why did Companies start shifting some of marketing dollars from traditional mediums such as TV or Print to Online? The following table compares the two marketing channels.

  Traditional Marketing Digital (Interactive Marketing)
Two Channels: Example TV, Billboards, Seminars, Postcards, Print, Public Relationship Efforts, Yellow Pages, etc. Display, Search, Social Media, Podcasts, Online Videos, Blogs, etc.
ROI Measurement Faith Based; Results are extremely difficult to measure. Measure your online campaigns and advertise with what is working vs. what is not working. Results are actionable.
Which consumers are targeted? Provide advertisements to a wide variety of people, most of whom are not interested in Ad. Supports Permission Marketing Model: Users can subscribe/unsubscribe to Email; Can target to potential customers by demographics, site content and geography.
Cost Perspective More Expensive: In terms of both time and money to make/print a commercial/Ad. Getting a 30 sec spot on TV is tricky and expensive. Is More cost Effective: Hosting and making a website is much cheaper. We don’t have to pay sometimes for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or many other resources.
Consumption and Creation Media TV and Print is more consumption media, and after coming back from office people just like to sit and watch TV. People can skip ads by switching to various channels. Internet is both consumption and Creation. People can engage with Ads more.
Expensive/Cheap to Fail Very expensive to fail in channels such as TV, radio, or magazines. Failing online is cheaper and response is faster. We can test multiple promotions very quickly and make strategic decisions faster.
Others Advantages Not Available Immediate results

  • Email subscribers clicking on links in your email
  • Place and view ads from any location
  • A faster way to establish credibility and brand identity
  • A larger marketing share because the Internet is available Globally
  • Modify or add to written content easily.

In my view, for most businesses, there are huge rewards for utilizing every bit of available advertising space and for touching customers via multiple channels. So, a combination of traditional and digital media might be a good strategy for many businesses. In the end, it all depends on the type of industry, business (small, medium or large), and marketing goals.

Now, this is the era of smart phones. People are talking about shifting marketing dollars from Online to Mobile (similar to how some of TV spending is gradually shifting to Online). Is it happening or yet to happen? However, that is a post for some other time.

Please share your comments/praises/suggestions.

  3 Responses to “Traditional Marketing vs. Digital (Interactive) Marketing”

  1. About title “Consumption and Creation Media”, I have noticed that TV is gradually becoming more interactive media –
    1) There is an option to rent a movie by clicking on-demand remote button while an advertisement for a new movie is shown
    2) There is an option to do shopping from on-demand. I am not sure though whether this will come under advertisement because a person will intentionally go in on-demand shopping menu option.

  2. […] few years? Will companies start shifting marketing dollars from Online to Mobile similar to some TV spending shifting to Online?You may also be interested in:Traditional Marketing vs. Digital (Interactive) MarketingTags: […]

  3. People are using digital marketing than traditional marketing these days, and it is worth doing doing.

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