Striking the Balance Between Traditional and New Media

New media seems to be the prettiest girl at the party right now. With her engaging smile and immense popularity, she's got every marketer staring across the room and ogling. But here's the question—regardless of how alluring new media may be, should marketers be ignoring the other girls at the party?

We don't think so. At The Partnership, our research reveals that most companies are continuing to hold onto traditional media, like print and television, while others are fully embracing the new social media path. But who says you have to choose one or the other? Why not develop both at the same time?

We've found that new media and traditional media can easily work together, and actually heighten each other's effectiveness in a type of symbiotic relationship. Think about it—social media can benefit from the tried and true, tested ways of traditional media, while traditional media can benefit from the freshness of an online presence.

With so many media options available today, companies need to navigate through it all, utilizing the best pieces from both old and new media outlets, to find a successful advertising model and create a harmonious balance.

How is this done?

By integrating traditional and new media marketing channels and developing consumer relationships through both. You can support and strengthen each one by leveraging the other.

Traditional media like TV and radio “talk at” the consumer, and push creative messages to a mass audience. Digital executions, on the other hand, are more interactive and less formal. They allow the consumer to talk back, so companies have to "listen" to their customers more than “talk at” them.

At The Partnership, we believe melding both traditional and digital approaches together (we call it “Tradigital”) is the best of both worlds. Clients are able to push messages to consumers, as well as listen to their feedback.

Here's an example—one of our clients boosted participation in a print promotion by sending out a link on Twitter. Then they added the mailing addresses collected during the registration process to their mailing list. This increased readership of their traditional (mailed) newsletter, and also helped bridge the gap between social media (Twitter) and traditional media (their newsletter).

Another effective tactic is to saturate traditional media with where you can be found socially, so those who want to engage can enter into the dialogue.

We're doing that right now for one of our clients—their print advertising includes a Facebook address and encourages readers to “tell their story.” On the site, readers can see our client's ad executions, comment on them, and talk about the brand. So even in traditional media, consumers can be given a way to interact.

Marketers are well aware of the current media trends. Traditional media are continuing to decline in viewership and readership, while the consumption of digital media like streaming video, websites, social media and mobile apps is exploding. So it was no surprise when, in a recent Infographic from Alterian, we read that 75% of the marketing professionals surveyed said the biggest increase in their marketing funds would be in digital media channels.

However, is switching to all digital really the smart move?

[image credit: Alterian]

That same Infographic also shows that 7 out of 10 marketers have little understanding of the social media conversations surrounding their brands.

At The Partnership, we believe a balanced approach, utilizing traditional as well as social and digital media, can be the most effective. That's why we're creating integrated campaigns for most of our clients. It's also why we were recently named one of Atlanta's Top 25 Integrated Agencies.

If you're interested in continuing this conversation, please contact our Managing Director, Jim Crone, at 404-880-0080, ext. 237.