For years we’ve been hearing that traditional advertising would become obsolete because of the rise of the Internet. This hasn’t happened, but traditional media seems a little weaker because of the Internet.
Print readership has been on the decline for years, and now revenues have plummeted. Although TV and Radio haven’t had as fast of a decent, they have experienced decreases in audience numbers and revenue.
The fact is the Internet has given advertisers what seems to be an infinite amount of new advertising possibilities, but despite all of this, traditional media isn’t going anywhere.
Traditional media sellers are just going to adapt, cut costs, and change their business models. And they’re going to continue to be viable channels for advertisers to reach their target audiences.
Let’s not forget, 93% of Americans listen to their local radio stations on any given week, and 95% watch television (RAB 2008 market report), while over 70% read a newspaper at least once a week.
Online methods are just another means to reach an audience–when used appropriately, online advertising is effective, but when used inappropriately, it’s ineffective. The same applies to Radio, TV, and Print media.
The Google Effect
Far too much credit is given to Google for the traction they have made with search and their PPC revenue model, at least when people correlate Google’s success at the expense of traditional media. The fact is that Google has taken very little spend away from Radio, TV, or Print. Most of Google’s $10 billion in annual revenues has been taken from the hard-copy directory business–known as the Yellow Pages.
What Yellow Pages?
Let’s be honest. By the time someone gets to search for a product or service in a printed directory, they are so late in the buying cycle that if they aren’t aware of your business prior to their search, the chances of them choosing you over your competitors is slim.
If search alone was today’s answer, wouldn’t yester year’s answer have been the yellow pages only? The fact is even when there was only one directory in town, businesses still had to use other mediums to separate themselves from their competitors and generate awareness.