Comparing Traditional and Digital Media

Digital Marketing - Study Notes:

Optimizing campaign performance

For those using both traditional and digital media in their strategy, it’s essential to use all channels in a consistent way. Aesthetic consistency can be achieved by aligning the colors, branding, and imagery between offline and online channels. But it is not just about aesthetics, as both offline and online need to work together to achieve the desired results. 

Remember, traditional media is outbound by nature. So, you’re being shown a TV commercial or you hear a radio spot because you fit a certain profile. For the most part, the primary objective of traditional media is to drive awareness. Once people are aware of the business and its offering, it is hoped that the marketing message resonates with them. And this can encourage your audience to start their buyer’s journey. Be mindful that some journeys start with exposure to offline marketing material and then finish online by taking inbound actions such as searching or engaging with brands on social media. 

With this in mind, you can effectively use offline channels to drive people towards taking inbound actions online. For example, if someone sees your poster on public transport or hears a radio ad about a holiday deal, they might do further research online and then book their vacation on your travel website. Just as before, the journey starts with exposure to the outbound traditional ad and the purchase finishes online after the person goes to your travel website.

Alignment across your channels increases audience recall, and your campaign becomes more recognizable for people who see it across all the different channels you include in your strategy, whether online or offline. As a result, they’ll recognize your messaging via the consistent experience across all channels. 

Comparing traditional and digital media

When it comes to channel choice, you have to consider the audience, because they’re the target of your strategy. Let’s compare traditional and digital media formats and how they are consumed by the audience, as understanding these differences allows you to optimize your media usage. 

Mass media versus individual media

The first distinction to consider is how people consume media. There are media formats that are used for mass communication, often called mass media. And there are other channels that are intended for individual messaging and consumption. 

When people are watching TV or listening to the radio, it can be more of a group experience, depending on the context. The medium can be consumed in a group situation, for example. So, if someone is watching TV with a family, or listening to the radio with people in the car they’re all receiving the same message. They’re all hearing the same things, and being exposed to the same stimuli. It’s a group experience where all the eyes and ears are receiving a single, focused message, so it must be relevant to everyone. After all, the primary purpose is to communicate en mass with people.

In contrast, if you think about social media, email, and apps, for example. The functionality of these channels is the same for everyone, but the content can be customized for the individual. Most people use the same social channels, the same email platforms, and common apps, but the content they engage with on these channels is customized to their preferences.

Thanks to digital data, you can understand more about who that person is and adapt the messaging to what they actually want to see. This can help deliver them a personalized variation of your content based on their specific preferences. As a result, your strategy will be more impactful as it is a more tailored, individual experience. So now you can see the difference between mass media consumption associated with offline channels and the more tailored, individual media consumption associated with digital channels. 

Passive media versus active media

Another important distinction in relation to media consumption is the level of interactivity offered by the medium. Media types can be classified as active media versus passive media, depending on the medium’s interactivity. 

If we think about it, watching TV is a very passive activity with little to no interactivity. Viewers receive messages with no requirements on their part beyond watching, listening, and cognitive processing, which is typical of passive consumption. All they have to do is watch and understand. Since the viewers aren’t interacting with the TV, they might not fully absorb or even notice the advertising messages when they appear. This is because of the passive state and mindset associated with the TV viewers. This makes TV, radio, and similar media types a one-way communication stream, and therefore, less impactful.

Active media, on the other hand, requires the viewer to engage and interact with the media channel they are using. Digital channels are some of the most interactive media types available to marketers. Content on digital platforms has been developed to be highly engaging so that audiences can share, comment, like, tweet, or pin. They are doing something with the content they’ve been presented with. This makes the channels an active two-way form of communication, where the audiences can react, and essentially, can talk back to brands and businesses. Bear in mind, you won’t get a response from the advertiser if you talk to a TV commercial or try to click a print ad!

Knowing the difference between passive and active media will help marketers align the right message to the right medium to maximize impact. So, with an understanding of how digital and traditional media differ and how media is consumed, you can get a better understanding of the business and marketing functions of the various digital channels.