Does Traditional Media Still Work?

First of all, let's start out with the all-important question: Just what is "traditional media"?

Pose this question to a high school or college student, and the answer may surprise you—if you're over the age of 20, that is. To this demographic, online advertising and social media are as traditional as newspaper, TV, radio and direct mail are to the rest of us. And that savvy high school or college student might likely challenge the notion that such prehistoric marketing methods actually still work!

Well, at EGC we'd stand up to the challenge, citing major national companies like Old Spice (that's right, it isn't all just social), AmEx, MasterCard and others who realize that traditional advertising has an ability to build brand awareness, brand character and brand cache in a way that many brands can't achieve in the ever-growing, ever-fragmented digital space. Don't agree with us? Well, Forbes certainly does. And while the online media darlings who go from Dud to Stud overnight and serve as amazing online media case studies may catch your attention, ask yourself—how many of them are there? And over the course of the lifespan of traditional media (100 years? 150 years?) how many amazing brands did traditional media build?

Score: Traditional Media – a lot. Digital Media – not nearly as many (yet.)

We would stand up to the challenge with a handful of our own clients, as well. Client Brother International (both their HAD and IPD divisions) has seen tremendous measured success with television over the past two years—GoogleTV, that is. So yes—the methods of buying traditional advertising have changed, but the core tenants around it as a means of people getting information and entertainment have not. The new ways of buying TV—locally, on cable, through satellite networks, etc.—have just made it more targeted and more cost-effective. But TV is still TV. No matter how you buy it, there needs to be a message, a reason to act. Recall.

Or, look at optical retailers Site for Sore Eyes and Sterling Optical, who continually report strong responses from print ads in local, targeted outlets…we're talking about drilling down to the community level, and even to the level where ads run in the daily bulletins at the shopping centers where the stores are located. They leverage and see success with new, innovative ways of buying print, like post-it notes on the front cover, and bellyband wraps, too. It's print. It works—if you buy it right.

And let's not forget radio. Gone are the days of 0:60 produced spots. What's working now is live reads, by station personalities, during news/traffic breaks. What better way to catch audience attention and reduce tune-out than to embed your message in real, relevant content they care about? A number of EGC clients across several markets employ this strategy with success—and are looking forward to the newest advance in radio-buying (Internet radio, anyone?).

The Forbes writer really sums it up with this quote: "The media of advertising may change, but its central role in brand strategy does not. First and foremost, it tells prospective clients we're here, and keeps our name fresh in their minds. It can help drive a company's growth, overall brand strength and resilience." So whether the way we tell them is a broadcast buy, or via GoogleTV, a half page black and white newspaper ad, or a post-it on the front cover, 0:60 radio spots or 0:15 intros to traffic reports, the end result is the same—traditional media is alive and well… it just had a facelift.