MBUZZ: Not Your Mother’s Media Mix
Emilie Hapgood
Fill Me In:
From billboards to newspaper articles, to radio commercials: traditional media has long been the backbone of B2C advertising. In our digital age, it’s hard to see where these traditional forms of media fit. Even with digital ad spend ever on the rise, what remains is a defined interest in what traditional advertising can offer- mass awareness, reach via the physical environment, and high engagement with targeted audience segments. It is clear that traditional media isn’t going away any time soon, and advertisers are now finding ways to incorporate traditional channels in tandem with digital placements to create well-rounded media approaches.
What this means:
According to an eMarketer survey, consumers in the U.S spend approximately 7 hours and 34 minutes a day with digital media in 2023. With so many people “plugged in”, there has been a push for digital tactics to reach users during this period. However, with all other advertisers executing the same plan with the same channels, the digital landscape has become oversaturated, and consumers are more prone to becoming irritated with the advertising and skipping out on digital ads all together.
Long have both digital and traditional channels been siloed. Why do we separate these tactics when there is opportunity for optimization by including both? This is particularly pertinent when looking at the advancements made with technology within traditional channels. Advertisers have found ways to leverage digital technology within traditional advertising, such as with programmatic buying options, geofencing capabilities, audience segment targeting platforms, and the integration of unique URLs and QR codes into their traditional buy. There are also many creative opportunities with technology such as the ability to have touch-screen OOH and interactive ads that the consumer will ultimately have higher engagement with.
Traditional media is taking advantage of these tech solutions, and there are now ways to gather extremely granular data to further develop analysis and understanding of each format and maneuver media plans accordingly. By capitalizing on these advancements in traditional media and its mass engagement in conjunction with the increased reach of digital media, advertisers can reach consumers in both the physical and online environment.
The MBuy take:
With the incorporation of digital lift into traditional media, and the ever-increased opportunities for engagement across traditional mediums, a new path is emerging within the binary world of advertising. Herein lies an intersection of digital and traditional where traditional media is most effective with a digital component as a part of the full buy. At MBuy, we ensure an omnichannel approach and strive to complete traditional buying through a digital lens. By leveraging media plans that incorporate digital and traditional solutions, we can further the reach of our clients in an oversaturated ad space.
Allowing digital to drive campaigns opens the opportunity for traditional to create a unique experiential component to the client’s campaign. Not to mention the potential for creativity and innovation when it comes to generating a unique media approach. There is no limit to what “traditional media” is and when approached from this digital perspective- anything is possible for a client. There are no longer the confines of just OOH, print, TV, and radio nor display, native, and social. But rather, a cohesive cross- channel media approach that will ensure all campaign goals are achieved. We are eager to see where these digital and traditional solutions will expand and how they will continue to merge, synchronously to create a more holistic approach to advertising.