New School Meets Old School: How to Embrace Traditional Advertising and New Media

Often there is a misconception that when it comes to modern marketing strategies, you are either going ‘traditional’ (think print, radio, television) or ‘new’ (social media, mobile marketing, digital campaigns).
Some people make the mistake of thinking that digital (particularly social media) means that they can reduce their overall marketing and advertising spend and use the “free” platform instead. This can be a mistake as often you need the support of traditional or multi-channel campaigns to build the digital audience. The right solution for your business isn’t always as black and white as using one or the other; in fact, an integrated campaign that communicates your brand and key messaging across a variety of platforms can sometimes be the most effective way to reach your target audience.
The key is to rethink the way that you’re using the platforms and find new ways to be creative and above all else, interactive.

Rethink Your Goals and Measures

Tracking new media campaign performance is not a matter of applying traditional metrics to the digital platforms. ROI is still measurable, but your objectives, outcomes and tracking systems are a little different. If you’re not sure how to monitor and measure your digital media activities, consider booking a consultation with a full service agency like http://www.simple.com.au. Not only can they help you to craft creative and effective campaigns, they can also explore how to unlock the potential in each medium to best achieve your desired results.

Tell a Bigger Story

You may have noticed that many traditional advertising mediums tend to use a digital platform as the call to action. This can be one of the most effective ways to integrate the two but it doesn’t have to stop at a “find us on Facebook” or “visit our website” prompt. Some brands are getting really creative in how they encourage their audience to interact with them.

The latest television ads for the Hyundai ix35 focus on the journey, not the vehicle and viewers are encouraged to use the Shazam app from their smart phones to continue exploring the storyline they introduced in the ad.

Old Spice’s classic “Smell Like A Man” campaign is another example where traditional media has been used creatively to drive traffic to a digital platform. Their Facebook page for the campaign got over 700,000 likes and when launched, 1.8 million people searched for the brand online in the first month – all from a really well done television and print campaign.

Looking to what the big brands are doing can be a great way to gauge current trends and see live examples of seamless integration between print, TV/radio and online mediums. By keeping consistency in the branding and messages being communicated and utilising each platform effectively, these corporations are taking their audiences on an adventure and achieving some remarkable results.

Do you know any other examples of brands merging traditional and online mediums into effective campaigns?