It’s the End of the (Ad) World As We Know It

The widely held belief among businesses is that traditional mass media advertising is in decline. Recent reports on ad spending in the U.S. estimate overall spending was up between 0.2% and 0.6%. A closer look at the numbers on ad spending by national advertisers tells it all.

Down:
– Network TV advertising
– Radio advertising
– Newspaper advertising (more than 7%)

Up:
– Outdoor advertising
– Magazine advertising
– Online advertising (a whopping 18.7%)

The distinction is clear. The ad mediums experiencing growth all have the capability of segmenting markets more effectively than the mediums that experienced decreases in spending. In particular, online advertising holds promise because of the potential to interact with the audience. Ad messages that invite the target to respond in some way, whether it be clicking a link for more info, printing a coupon, or just playing a game, are all ways to engage customers and prospects alike. Without engagement, it is too easy for your target market to ignore you. Don’t make easy for them! Link

Author: Don Roy

Don Roy is a marketing educator, blogger, and author. His thirty-year career began with roles in retail management, B2B sales, and franchise management. For the past 27 years, Don has shared his passion for marketing as a marketing professor. Don's teaching and research interests include brands, sports marketing, and social media marketing. Don has authored over 20 articles in scholarly journals, co-authored two textbooks, and self-published three books on personal branding. Don is an avid hockey fan and enjoys running. He and his wife, Sara, have three sons.

One thought on “It’s the End of the (Ad) World As We Know It”

  1. They are actually different kinds of targeting. Online is like setting a net and it captures people who veer into it. Radio advertising, done right, stimilates demand. Radio’s “decline” is good for advertisers — it means that prices will be lower, and therefore ROI can be higher. This can be proved easily. For more info, you can check out two sites full of great (free) information: Direct Response Radio and Strategic Media.

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