For more than a decade, companies in every industry have focused their go-to-market strategies on digital advertising techniques. It’s easy to understand why. We’re living in a world where virtually everyone has access to the internet, email, and social media channels.
Around 66.2% of the world’s population has internet access, giving companies incredible opportunities to reach a phenomenal audience through online channels. At the same time, the digital revolution has prompted consumers to pay less attention to traditional media.
Consumers are more likely to see and respond to digital ads than billboards. They’re more inclined to search for product information online and make purchasing decisions based on the data they find.
However, as the digital landscape has grown increasingly cluttered, particularly in today’s age of AI content creation and evolving social channels, traditional media channels are stepping back into the spotlight. For companies looking to regain an edge in the promotional landscape, now might be the ideal time to reconsider the power of traditional media.
The Resurgence of Traditional Media Channels
For some time now, marketing experts have predicted the ongoing decline of traditional media spending. In the most recent edition of “The CMO Survey”, marketers reported a potential decrease in traditional ad spending of 0.55%, compared to a 9.87% increase in digital marketing spending.
However, over the last few years, this spending decrease has diminished, from 1.4% in 2022 to 0.55% in 2023. Companies in every industry are recognising a growing need to go “beyond digital” to capture the attention of customers overwhelmed by online content.
So far, the trend is most significant in the B2C landscape, with service companies predicting an up to 10.2% increase in traditional media spending going forward. However, various other organisations could soon begin to take notice. After all, traditional media channels, from direct mail to television advertising, still have incredible value to offer.
Around 5.4 billion people worldwide have a television in their household, and the rise of streaming services has only increased the number of ways companies can potentially reach tuned-in audiences.
5 Reasons to Embrace Traditional Media and TV Ads
While it’s unlikely that digital marketing will disappear in the years ahead, as digital transformation continues worldwide, it’s growing increasingly obvious that an effective go-to-market strategy requires a multi-faceted approach. Embracing traditional media, such as TV advertising in your marketing strategy can lead to a range of benefits, such as:
1. Breaking Through the Digital Noise
According to studies, the average consumer spends most of their working hours online, using the web for work, communication, entertainment, and education. As a result, people are becoming increasingly blind to conventional digital marketing strategies.
More people are overlooking or ignoring ads on social media channels, using ad-blockers to eliminate pop-ups, and sending promotional messages to spam. Some consumers are even becoming frustrated by the constant barrage of digital advertising they’re exposed to. One HubSpot survey found that 57% of participants were sick of seeing ads playing before an online video.
Traditional ads, on the other hand, feel almost like a novelty in today’s world. One study found over half of customers either always or frequently watch television advertisements between shows. Additionally, people seem to actually look forward to getting promotional content in the mail.
2. Cost Effective Reach
As mentioned above, while the digital landscape may be taking over the world, channels like television still have phenomenal reach. With the right television advertising strategy you can connect with consumers all over the world, leveraging a range of promotional strategies, from standard TV ads, to in-show promotion and streaming campaigns.
While producing and airing a TV commercial might seem like an expensive process, there are options available for all business sizes and budgets. Plus, the cost of TV advertising is becoming less restrictive at a time when digital customer acquisition costs are rising.
Currently, the research tells us that traditional media channels (starting with television), outperform digital channels in terms of engagement, reach, and customer attention, giving companies more value in exchange for their investment.
This performance differential may continue to grow as issues like impression, click, and conversion fraud continue to play havoc with digital marketing budgets.
3. Earning Consumer Trust
Studies show that consumer trust in companies is consistently falling. In today’s difficult economic environment, consumers, both in the B2B and B2C world aren’t convinced their favourite brands have their best interests at heart. To regain customer trust, and improve retention rates, companies need to find new ways to connect emotionally with their audience.
Investing in traditional media strategies could be the key to success. One study found that the top five most trusted advertising formats were all “traditional”, starting with print advertising (82%), followed by television advertising (80%), and direct mail (76%).
British and American consumers in the study were particularly likely to say they trusted traditional advertising more than social media and digital campaigns. This could mean that investing in digital media gives you a chance to elevate your brand’s reputation and relationship with customers.
4. Addressing the Challenges of Declining Third-party Cookies
For some time now, marketers have heavily relied on third-party cookies to help them track the journeys of website visitors and the touch points that drive conversions. With these cookies, business leaders have been able to use detailed data on search and consumer preferences to improve customer experiences and enhance their targeting strategies.
However, in recent years, there’s been a growing focus on phasing out third-party cookies. Google has already begun banishing third-party cookies from its browsers, and companies like Apple have eliminated them from their smartphone operating systems.
In this landscape, traditional advertising could become increasingly valuable. Without advanced data-driven targeting solutions, companies will be more reliant on traditional media strategies to learn more about their target audience and their customer journeys. There are even solutions in the TV advertising landscape that already allow companies to fine-tune their targeting strategies to ensure they reach customers at the right time, in the right location, and on the correct channels.
5. Improving the Impact of Digital Marketing
Finally, embracing traditional media advertising channels like television doesn’t have to mean ignoring the digital landscape. Companies have the opportunity to combine the reach and emotional impact of their traditional marketing efforts, with their digital campaigns.
For instance, direct mail advertisers are already using QR codes on physical letters to direct consumers straight to online landing pages. Television advertisers can use similar solutions in their ads, or direct customers to specific social media channels, or websites.
Companies can even share snippets of television ads on digital channels, like social media platforms (TikTok and Instagram), or streaming channels like YouTube. This can be an excellent way to boost overall brand awareness and strengthen the impact and memorability of your campaigns. In fact, one study found that ad recall for TV ads is actually higher than that of other ad types at 46%.
The Return of Traditional Media Advertising
Analysts and marketers alike have long suggested that traditional advertising would eventually disappear or die out entirely. However, the reality is that the power of traditional media is still significant, no matter who your target audience might be.
In fact, for the first time in years, we might be seeing a major resurgence in the number of companies relying on traditional advertising strategies to connect with, engage, and earn the trust of their customers.
