Is traditional media dead?
When I talk to people, I hear all the time about how they don’t watch commercials. Then I ask them which Geico commercial they like best, “the money you could be saving”, the “cavemen”, or the “gecko”? Funny, they know exactly what I am talking about and have an opinion. They can name a lot of different versions of those commercials. How is that possible if they never watch TV?
Brian Banks, the owner of the upscale Lifestyles Furniture store based in Moline, Illinois, has seen a substantial increase in sales even during this down economy. He attributes it to an increase in advertising. His advice to other retailers?
“There’s a party going on, you’ve got to invite the guests.”
His formula includes television, print in local magazine, and some innovative PR. He adds “My business isn’t flatlining, we’re up. All the people that are down, it’s because they aren’t working it. What are you waiting for?”
Does increasing advertising during a poor economy work? “I’m busting it off the map”, Brian tells us. So what does he think about people that use the poor economy as an excuse for lower sales? “Get off your ass and do something about it.”
Brian believes that the economy is all about a mindset and changing the mind can be done with a selling message that reaches the viewer on an emotional level. His company’s message is on improving a person’s life, and he’s promoting it aggressively in TV, print and promotions.
Companion Animal Care in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, got their first taste of how advertising can affect their business. They originally thought that social media was the key to reach people. They were disappointed with the results until the traditional media hit. Barbara Janiak, their practice manager explains “things really started happening once the TV started”. They literally started getting people walking through their doors after the TV buy started airing.
I’ve recently read that the number of hours that people spend in front of their TV is still around 4 hours a day on average. These statistics show that people are still watching television. And yes TiVo and digital recorders have changed the landscape of how people watch, but you can still reach a lot of people with a smart traditional media buy.
And I believe in other media besides television. I think you can still be successful today communicating your message with radio, direct mail, and other traditional media. The bottom line is that traditional media isn’t dead, it may be in a state of change and there are other options out there, but it still is a great tool for communicating your marketing message.
Tags: Traditional Media
This entry was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 8:47 pm and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.