There has been a lifelong debate between marketing and advertising experts about which works better, online or traditional advertising strategies. Many argue that the digital age calls for online focused marketing efforts while others see promise in avoiding the digital clutter and using marketing tactics that are physical and tangible.

There are benefits of both of course and with both advertising choices being so versatile in today’s market, it can be hard to decide which one is best for your business. That is why we have provided an insight into both so you can market with the right advertising strategy for your marketing goals.

What is online advertising?

Online advertising, also known as "digital marketing", consists of online display ads, pop ads, digital ads, email marketing, using social media as a marketing tool and any other advertising done digitally. Online advertising has become more and more popular due to the growth of digital platforms and the new ways marketers can target their audience and effortlessly measure analytics through internet-based channels.

What is the downside of going digital?

There are a couple of downsides when it comes to going digital with your marketing efforts. For one, every marketer is using some sort of digital marketing strategy which is making it less likely for your brand to stand out. The immense amount of companies using social media, display ads, pop-up ads and all other types of online advertising is producing digital clutter that is overwhelming search engines and consumers. Along with this comes the intelligent ad blocking technology, binder blindness, mindless scrolling on social media, and email platforms becoming more accurate in pivoting emails into spam or promotional inboxes making it less likely for the recipient to open a marketing email.

What is traditional advertising?

Traditional advertising also known as “offline advertising” or "offline marketing"involves marketing channels like television, radio, billboards and the use of printed marketing materials like catalogs, direct mail, brochures, flyers, postcards and more to deliver your message. It is important to note that “traditional” doesn’t mean old fashioned. Although these types of advertising strategies have been around much longer than online advertising, technology and modern updates have made traditional advertising extremely relevant and successful in today's world.

What are the benefits of traditional advertising?

Traditional advertising like print and direct mail has become faster, more affordable and advanced with modern, state-of-the-art printing presses, advanced mailing services, and data-driven marketing solutions. In today’s offline market place, direct mail has become targetable, trackable and even more personal than it was already considered.

Just a few benefits of traditional advertising, like print and direct mail, include:

• Converting anonymous web-traffic with Mailbox Retargeting
• Sending impactful postcards as easy an email within your CRM platform with Direct Mail Automation 
• Targeted mailing lists that are based on your companies' rules and demographics
• The use of Variable Data Printing to send your audience personalized and trackable mailers
• And so much more

What's better: online advertising or traditional advertising?

To debate which is better between these two advertising efforts, it is important to dig a little deeper and see how one could help your marketing efforts better than the other.

Online advertising has become a relatively new form of marketing. In fact, the development of the internet in only the 1990’s began the path for digital marketing efforts, and companies become ecstatic when they launch a new digital ad campaign. This is because it is an impressive strategy and something that was not available to many and at one point, at all. But with these exciting advertising strategies, comes the digital war on ad blocking technology, binder blindness, people experiencing mindless social media scrolling, email inboxes directing emails as spam or promotional ads and recipients ignoring them, and so much more. Now we aren’t saying digital marketing should be looked passed when considering your marketing strategy, but it should be made aware the risks when deciding between online and traditional advertising. And if used as an advertising effort, should be integrated with traditional advertising to boost the chances of engagement, increase response rates and return on investment.

With all of this being said, it’s safe to say traditional advertising is the better option when compared to online advertising so you can bypass the digital noise and reach your target audience in a more impactful and effective way.

What type of advertising should you use?

Here is the thing, the more marketing you do, the better. You can utilize traditional marketing only and avoid the digital clutter, you can use online advertising only and stay on the same path as your competitors, or you can use both. Unfortunately using both isn’t always an option for companies as it can become expensive and hard to maintain. Although finding the right balance is a truly beneficial marketing tactic that ensures your brand is reaching both marketing channels, if it isn’t an option, you should always consider traditional.

Online advertising vs. traditional advertising statistics:

Here are a few statistics that show results to help steer your advertising strategy decisions:

1. 92% of young shoppers say they prefer direct mail for making purchasing decisions suggesting that the new and upcoming generation trusts traditional advertising more.

2. On average, every $167 spent on direct mail, U.S. marketers sell $2,095 in products or services.

3. Marketing experts have found that the average American is exposed to around 5,000 advertisements in a single day with most of them being digital ads and about 2 being direct mail pieces. This means that direct mail can significantly help cut through that digital clutter and helps your business stand out.

4. 80-90% of direct mail gets opened compared to only 20-30% of emails that get opened.

5. The response rate for direct mail is 5.1% compared to 0.6% being email, 0.6% paid searches, 0.4% social media, and a wowing 0.2% for online display ads.

6. Direct mail boosted ROI by 20% for marketers when it was part of an integrated campaign.

As you can see, traditional advertising has a lot of success when utilized as a marketing strategy. If you are interested in learning more about some proven traditional advertising tactics click below to explore some of the advanced direct mail marketing solutions we offer here at Conquest. Our experts are always here to help if you have any questions or if you are ready to get started!