Warming the Mailbox: Digital Advertising's Counterparts to Traditional Tactics

While the day digital ad spend surpasses traditional (tv, radio, newspapers, magazines) has yet to come, when looking at actual daily usage time per medium, digital is in the lead. According to eMarketer, of the 12 hours a day the average U.S consumer is engaged in media, 6.5 of those hours are allocated to digital whereas 5.5 go to traditional. Yes, people still own cable and satellite services, listen to terrestrial radio and read the newspaper, but since 2018, more households in the U.S. transitioned to OTT and CTV. And audio is a close digital runner up as time spent listening to digital audio is projected to pass terrestrial radio in 2020.

It is safe to say that traditional advertising’s place in consumer’s lives still exists and holds value. However, advertisers today shouldn’t strictly rely on the catchy radio jingles we can’t stop singing, the commercial we quote for the next year, and the billboard we have driven by every day for years, because they will miss out on a growing part of consumers’ days spent plugged in—early morning news skims, daily workouts, morning and afternoon commutes, quick midday social media scrolls, and late-night TV binges.

With the goal of providing a holistic and effective advertising experience, marketers should consider which angles of consumers’ daily lifestyle and patterns they are overlooking with their existing traditional strategy. The following are a few ways marketers can complement their traditional tactics with digital to make more effective use of their media dollars:

1. Stimulate the Senses with Digital Audio

Because audio is screenless, the minutes engaged with digital audio are often spent while exposed to other media (billboards, display ads, or Youtube videos). When considering the fact that using multiple senses allows for more cognitive connections and associations to be made with a concept, marketers should invest media dollars in digital audio to feed people’s ears while they are feeding their eyes. This timing can be meticulously matched via geofencing, so when they’re passing your brand’s billboard they are also hearing your audio ad. Brands can also capitalize on the dual senses by serving digital audio ads when consumers are seeing the thousands of digital ads served on their computer screens during the workday.

2. Influence Cable Loyalists with Mobile Advertising

Even if your target market is part of the generation that has not yet cut the cable, over 78% of American adults are smartphone users (including 67% of boomers) and the average U.S. adult spends 3.8 hours per day on their smartphone—meaning 3.8 hours exposed to mobile ads. This means that even though you cannot reach this audience through CTV, marketers can influence them through mobile display and video advertising. Despite the fact that these consumers are potentially watching a competitor’s traditional television ad, marketers can serve their own ads in the 3.8 hours a day users spend on their mobile devices when scrolling through Facebook, playing a game, following a GPS or train schedule, checking their finances, googling a quick question, tracking a workout, reading the news, or watching a short video on their phones.

3. Reach Those Who have Cut the Cord with CTV

According to Nielsen, the number of homes unreachable by traditional TV has increased by 48% in the past 8 years and the trend continues to grow. Without investing in CTV, marketers are missing the opportunity to reach over 234.5M viewers during 100% of their TV ad experiences. In other words, 234.5M viewers are no longer seeing any traditional TV ads and in order to influence these people and mitigate any loss of business, marketers should invest a portion of their television dollars in CTV. In my previous blog, I dive deeper into the benefits of CTV and how this digital tactic enables marketers to reach granular audiences with the right message at the right time on premium TV content.

While it might not make sense for all marketers to completely shift away from traditional methods of advertising, in order to drive the most reach, influence, and return, they should be prioritizing a strategy that utilizes digital to complement their traditional tactics. Contact Rise to learn more about how we can help implement and improve your digital strategy.