Today’s digital world is more diverse than ever before, with cryptocurrencies, the Metaverse, and Tik Tok dominating the headlines. With how “digital” life has become, does it even make sense to spend money on traditional advertising? The answer may surprise you. In 2022, it’s more relevant than ever to advertise across both mediums.

Celeste Torres, an Account Strategist at MDR with a background in mass media sales and advertising, puts it like this:

“McDonald’s, GEICO, Budweiser, Pepsi all still use and invest in traditional advertising while broadening their arsenal and allocating additional ad budget towards digital strategies as well. Everyone has heard of these companies, yet they don’t abandon traditional advertising on TV or radio because research shows the value in continuing to take up space there. In fact, we’ve seen traditional marketing and digital marketing become more intertwined as time goes on, which is why a coordinated strategy is the way to go.”

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You may be wondering, what do we mean when we make the distinction between digital marketing and traditional marketing? What’s the difference?

What is Traditional Marketing?

Before the dawn of modern technology and the pervasive impact of the web on our daily life, marketing was done through radio, television, print ads, or billboards. There were fewer options for discovering new products or services outside of these channels, and people got their information from fewer sources.

As time has changed, you may have anticipated that mass media and traditional advertising would be less important today, but that statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. Instead of thinking of traditional marketing as being “the old way” and digital marketing as the “new way”, you should think of these strategies as being intertwined. These channels promote overall brand visibility, and they form a symbiotic relationship where success in one channel feeds into the other and vice versa.

What is Digital Marketing?

“Digital marketing” consists of things like optimizing your website to appear higher in Google searches, search advertising, banner ads on websites, or advertising on social media. One of the nice things about digital marketing is the fact that you can track your ad spend and ROI instantly. Through reporting dashboards and analytics, you can see exactly how your digital campaigns performed—and how to optimize your next one!

While it can be tempting to dive in and start making campaigns right away, without the right guide, digital marketing can get expensive fast. That’s why having an agency to manage your digital campaigns is critical. An agency will help you get the exposure you’re looking for, while minimizing wasted ad spend and increasing conversions.

Is digital marketing going to replace traditional marketing? 

One of the trends we’ve seen over the past few years is that traditional marketing strategies have become more intertwined with digital. The proof? Look no further than Coinbase’s Super Bowl ad that featured a bouncing QR code—and no other content. QR codes are everywhere. You find them occupying space on printed products that were traditionally used for branding. In this sense, the website connected to those printed products helps people connect and interact with a brand in ways that would have been previously impossible. 

We truly seem to be heading towards a space where both mediums merge. Old becomes new, and eventually we’ll get to a point where the channel distinction is dropped, and marketing becomes “marketing” again. Indeed, the future is still bright for mass media, printed materials, signs, and billboards. We don’t rely on them less, but our relationships with these mediums have changed, because society has changed. 

This shift in cultural attitudes towards media shouldn’t deter anyone from considering traditional mediums like mass media or print. At the very least, savvy marketers will make investments in both for the best results.  

Hire a Full-Service Agency: Get the Best of Both with One Firm 

While some businesses have a digital and a traditional agency on their payroll, a full-service agency brings both of those specialties under one roof. With a full-service agency you will get a coordinated strategy across mediums so that your digital and non-digital campaigns will be aligned. You’re also more likely to get a better team with more consistent talent than you would if you hired a digital agency and a mass media agency separately.  

Contact the experts at MDR today to see how we can create a campaign that will help you get the best ROI from your budget.