DIGITAL MARKETING

Traditional Vs Digital Marketing

A reflection on the unique advantages that Digital Marketing provides to Brands and Marketers.

Infographic: Digital VS Traditional Marketing

There are a few similarities between traditional and digital marketing. The end goal of both is to generate awareness about the brand and its product, which leads to conversion—in short, creating Brand Recognition. Another is to build brand loyalty, attract new consumers, and maintain existing consumers.

The ultimate aim of reaching consumers and targets has remained consistent for marketers throughout the transition to digitization. What has changed considerably is budgeting, strategizing, and the consumption of media.

The infographic below highlights the same:

Upon observation, it is noticeable that there is a rapid growth in Ad Spend and Digital Media consumption. There is a downward trend for Print and TV, while Radio remains static, as consumers prefer radio during their daily commute in the US.

The key advantage of digital marketing for brands is that the ads and campaigns can be targeted according to demographics. 

Timing plays a crucial role in determining when ads reach their target audiences. Digital ads have an advantage over TV ads or other types of campaigns and promotions. Since the campaign reaches targeted audiences at a much faster pace through digital marketing than it would through traditional marketing channels, this helps brands quickly assess how their products perform and work on improving them if needed.

While ads are traditionally played in blocks of 2-3 minutes, one after the other during commercial breaks, consumers find it easier to remember digital ads as they are presented in a standalone format. Their focus will be solely on that one brand on their display until they choose to refresh their screens. 

Apart from that, brands have more room for strategizing and being creative when advertising through various online platforms and streaming services. 

This not only reinforces brand loyalty among existing consumers but also helps retain existing consumers while scouting for potential ones. 

Unlike traditional marketing and advertising campaigns, the performance metrics of digital marketing and advertising campaigns are instantly measurable, and analytics enable digital marketers to gain insights and make data-driven decisions or adjust campaign strategies accordingly.

There are various ways to measure data and metrics of ads and campaigns. Even more so for digital marketing. KPIs, such as click-through rates, are a few among the many tools available.

Platforms like Meta (Facebook and Instagram), as well as search engines like Google or Bing, provide comprehensive tools to measure the metrics and performance of posts and campaigns. These tools also provide insights into customer behavior and engagement. In other words, it helps marketers understand Consumer Psychology and use the knowledge to their benefit and for the best interests of consumers.

Hence, marketers can provide more personalized experiences and engagement for targeted audiences and demographics by proactively identifying trends. 

Accuracy, transparency, and easy accessibility to such tools and insights are the most essential aspects present here, which help marketers achieve better results. 

Finally, investments in online advertisements and campaigns are relatively less expensive than traditional marketing and advertising campaigns, allowing brands and digital marketing firms to rectify, re-strategize quickly, or relaunch campaigns in case of errors or unforeseen circumstances, as mentioned above. In other words, the most significant advantage of digital advertising or running an online campaign is “Flexibility.” 

In all senses, we must consider digital or non-digital channels as a single entity going forward, as most channels are now digitalized. For instance, we see television transitioning to digital channels, such as streaming. If TV Ads are shown at the awareness level of the AIDA marketing funnel, they are often followed up by consumers pursuing the topic further on search engines. Therefore, we must consider these channels as complementary, working together in a coordinated manner.