Advertising Paradox: Old and New Media

There’s been some hand wringing over advertising allocations, judging from the interest in last week’s blog – Arguments for Advertising – and a recent poll-of-the-week from MarketingSherpa, which reported on the advertising plans of 382 business marketers for the coming year:

The platforms that advertisers plan to increase most during the downturn? No surprises: social network marketing, email prospect lists, and paid search word buys. The “big three” speak to audiences on contemporary electronic turf, they’re highly targeted with little waste, and they give you great control over timing, reach, and budget.

And the areas marketers plan to trim 2009 are no big news, either: radio/TV (a net 77% say they’ll reduce it), print advertising (-54%), event marketing (- 49%), emailing to purchased lists (-37%), and direct mail (-40%).

But here’s the paradox: The Web loves brands, yet it’s tough to build one online.

Think about it. When your school’s name pops up in a Google search, why do they click your button instead of the other guy’s? When schools are mentioned online, which ones do people remember? Online or off, the game is the same. Awareness. Attitude. Equity.

So is it penny wise and pound foolish to eliminate the very platforms that build awareness and attitude and drive people to your website? TV is still the most cost-effective way to generate reach and frequency to support an online presence. We continue to get great results by coordinating TV and out-of-home with Web marketing (paid search and social networks). When the targets are diffuse and scattered across a region or the country, we substitute in-theatre, out-of-home, direct mail, branded events, and/or targeted print to support the brand and drive audiences online.

No question, Web advertising is huge and growing. We counsel all our clients to be incrementally shifting dollars online each year. But don’t dismiss the traditional tactics. TV, out-of-home, and the others make easy targets in a tough economy, but it’s just not smart to dismantle a strategic multi-platform campaign to save a few bucks in the short run.