Which is Better? Online vs. Print Advertising

“So, which is better, online or traditional advertising?”

A client recently asked me just that question.  The answer, however, is not as straightforward as you might think.  So in a twist of tradition, here is the ‘meat’ of my answer: “Advertising success depends on two factors:

1. Who is the target?
   and
2. What are your goals?”

Let’s break down these two components…

Who is the advertising target?

Often overlooked, ‘knowing your target’ is a crucial piece of an effective sale conversion strategy.

“Everyone should want to buy my [widget/service]!”, a client told me once; and while potentially true, research shows that timing & relevance are a much bigger factor in making a buying decision. Crucial pieces of effective sale conversion strategy rely on saying the right message at the right time. As such, knowing your target and their buying cycles tends to lead to a significant lift in success when it comes to any advertising.

Demographics are a huge aspect of knowing your target

Today’s ability to track age, gender, location, how they saw your advert, how long they stayed, did they share it, etc., are at the core of the advantage of digital advertising. In fact, “Direct Response Marketing” techniques are heavily invested shopper data in an effort to ‘personalize’ the shopping experience for each individual.

What are your advertising goals?

Today’s goals seem different, but they’re not. In fact, the goals have not changed until the last 20 years. It is still all about the conversion of the audience or “target” — are you seeing the tie into the first advertising component above?

So, what did traditional advertising discover that digital ads still need to work on?

In short, ‘message effectiveness’. Tradition advertisers recognize that the timing at which their ads display — and the core of the offer — must be in alignment with the awareness level of the target. While simple messages like “free trial” and “try it now” are synonymous with today’s advertising, traditional adverts, traditional methodologies tend to focus on an awareness level that works off the brand awareness level — and consequentially, the true reason people buy — how the experience made them feel.

Today’s conclusion to this deep advertising question

I could probably write 10 more blogs on this subject and only scratch the surface, but the bottom line is, both types have their place. A wise marketing mentor taught me a lesson that I will never forget: “Never put all your eggs in one basket!”.

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