Digital versus Traditional media in advertising

Table of Contents Introduction Body The shift from print to online media Analogue to digital television Digital interactive media Conclusion References Introduction A radical change in the media industry is totally transforming the whole meaning of advertising. In light of this, advertising has grown from a mere sub-industry to a very critical sector in the business world. Changes in technology have drastically transformed the manner in which operations are conducted in the world.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Digital versus Traditional media in advertising specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This new wave of change has seen a rapid growth in the digital media as a way of advertising. The digital interactive forms of advertising have been availed at the very appropriate time considering the amazing rate at which globalization is affecting business operations across the world (Langdon, 1996). This essay is an a ttempt to explore into this field and see how the digital interactive media is transforming the whole concept of advertising. It seeks to delve into the commonalities and the differences that characterize the traditional forms of advertising and the digital interactive forms of advertising. This essay will therefore delve into these issues while paying greater attention to the manner in which the whole aspect of advertising is changing. Body Firstly, the traditional forms of advertising that dominated much of the last few decades include television, print and radio. These forms of advertising are considered traditional in the sense that newer methods of advertising have actually come up rendering them close to being obsolete. But really, can the digital forms totally take over the process of advertising without back up from the traditional forms? Well, that is subject to a whole range of debates. Nevertheless, it must be stated from the onset that the traditional forms of advertisin g cannot in any way be relegated into the dustbin of history as they really supplement the digital media advertising. The digital media technology has availed many options in the field of advertising that had not been seen before. Today, more than merely watching an advert on the television, one can download the information they have watched and even store it for future use. It is in light of these varieties that one feels the urge to dissect the whole concept of advertisement to see the realities that have characterized the field and recommend options to anyone seeking to launch any advertisement in the market.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Any advertisement should be designed taking in mind that consumers are inundated with a flood of information at their disposal. The modern digital forms of advertising have therefore an upper hand in this aspect compared to the traditional met hods which may not reach many people as expected (Langdon, 1995). The shift from print to online media Secondly, the world has continued to become much global as time progresses. This has seen multinational companies establish branches all across the world. The goods and services produced are therefore targeted for not only the local markets but for the whole world. This has created the need for advertisement forms that reflect of the diversity of the world and can reach all corners of the world where the goods are supposed to be utilized. The print media industry has for a long time been dominated by the newspapers as the major forms of advertising. Newspapers, however, have the disadvantage that they cannot be supplied across the whole world. A paper published in New York for instance may not be circulated past the United States. They are therefore limited by reach. However, with the advent of the internet and the radical shift that characterizes the whole sub-sector, most of thes e materials can now be accessed online by the consumers. Mobile phone technology is currently extensively used as an advertising media. The number of people reached in this case is very large considering that majority of people own cell phones. Major newspapers have today introduced online versions where readers can access all the information at the comfort of their mobile phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs). It is a common trend today for most people in the developed world to read their newspapers online other than buy the hard copies on the streets. The printed papers may therefore go out of market in a few years if the rapid adoption of technology across the world is anything to go by. It is interesting to note that the world’s population is mainly dominated by young people who are below 25. It is this same young population that extensively uses the internet. This is a clear indication in the great potential that lies in the field of online advertising.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Digital versus Traditional media in advertising specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Newspapers, however, still continue to enjoy a large readership especially among the educated and in the developing world where internet is still expensive. Research shows that educational levels are a great determinant of the readership of newspapers. People who have spent much time in school tend to read newspapers more than those who have not. It is normally quite hard to change people’s behavior patterns and this has the implication of limiting advertisers on the amount of population they would wish to reach. Magazines are very popular all over the world and have become a very rich ground for reaching many consumers. They also have the advantage of reaching specific groups of people in the community. For instance, beauty magazines mostly target young women and could therefore effectively convey adver ts relating to such women. Like in newspapers, magazines have also managed to create an online presence and most of the popular magazines are presently read online in addition to the conventional printed versions. However, the online media in the case of magazines has not gained much root as in newspapers. Many people still prefer to buy their magazines in the streets and shopping outlets as opposed to reading them online. This provides a suitable ground where the advertisers can harness many opportunities (Australian Interactive Media Industry Association, 2009). Analogue to digital television Thirdly, a radical change has been seen the world of television where operations have totally been transformed. Television has been use for decades as method of advertisement. Much of that use began in the later part of the 1950s when television sets were available in entirely the whole world. Televisions sets have for a long time been in the analogue form that availed viewer with various opt ions such as the free to air TV cable TV and pay-tv. Currently a shift is occurring from the analogue to the digital television, which has come with various modifications to the interest of the viewers.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The digital form enables the viewers to access many channels and interact more. This allows people to control their viewing and hence the advertisements they get. Advertisers have seen a great opportunities in the digital television that were hitherto unavailable in the analogue. It is estimated that by 2014, 80% of television viewers in the world will be using the digital television sets (PRC,2006). This can provide a glimpse on the amount of information that will be conveyed to the people in the form of advertisements. Radio as a form of advertising is not left behind in light of the new changes that characterize the advertising industry. Even though the digital radio is still limited to only metropolitan areas in the world, it is forecasted that by 2014 it will be within reach to over half of the population in the world. Digital radio like digital television, offers interactive capabilities to the listeners. It is not just audio as in the analogue case as it combines visual abili ties to provide the listeners with additional features such as graphics, animation and slide shows. Digital radio will therefore be used to offer better advertising services to the listeners. Presently, however, the analogue radio will continue to reign supreme in advertisements. It can be seen that both the traditional and the digital forms of advertisements are actually merged up. They continue to operate as a unit by supplementing each other (Commercial Radio Australia 2009). The dissatisfaction realized from television advertising comes from the fact that at any given time, the advertiser is not sure about who is actually watching. It therefore heavily relies on a matter of chance such that if the advertiser is lucky, then the intended target will be watching. Otherwise the whole advert becomes useless. Another problem also arises out of the fact that the interests of people who watch television are not usually the same. A discomfort therefore arises when an advert that only fav ours a particular category of people comes up. Advertisements by television costs more than the interactive forms of advertising. Their use is therefore becoming more and more limited to specific products. Digital interactive media Digital interactive media is used to refer to the modern digital systems that are computer based that offer various options to the users. Such options include animation facilities, audio-visual, text and graphics (Lane, W R, King, KW Russell, JT 2005). The advertising industry has greatly benefited from the introduction of new media in the market. Large companies are currently managing multi-billion dollar projects in this field. The digital interactive media has totally revolutionized the whole process of advertising (Digital Radio Plus 2010). Advertising companies now do more than mere advertising. They have become media companies as well. The revenue these companies receive today is much higher in comparison to the earlier days when they depended on t he traditional media. The modern media, in addition to advertising, offers the consumers links through which they can purchase the products being advertised using e-commerce (The Pew Research Center for the People the Press 2006). By simply clicking a mouse, one can receive supplier at their doorstep courtesy of the new media. This revolution enables people to interact and relate to each other more and more. Such interaction further increases the number of transactions conducted between the people. That is of much concern to the advertisers who intend to increase the sale turnover. While it can be well argued that advertisements by television have continued to increase in the recent past, the impact is not substantially felt. Television channels have become so many and people can easily shift from one to another. This implies that the image of the products advertised on the various channels is not left in the minds of the viewers (Langdon, J 1995). They forget entirely everything. That is what creates the need for interactive media. Here, one can click a link on the screen to get more information about the product being advertised. Attention is therefore drawn on the particular product after which the user may opt to purchase it. The use of digital advertising is no longer experimental like it was few years ago. It is gaining root full blast. All the changes seen are actually necessitated by the fact that the consumers demands are changing. People today want mobile things, immediate and with the ability to control what they consume from the media. As such, it becomes impossible to offer such people the adverts in the traditional methods that will require one to be glued to their television sets or radio. Gone are the days when families would sit in their living rooms in the evenings with all eyes glued to the television. The manner in which broadband advertising presents itself is very compelling to the viewers. The adverts are strategically placed on the ver y sites where people frequent to obtain information. That is when the ad pops up. One is tempted to click on the link to reveal the information, which in many cases will be in the form of motion pictures and videos. Moreover, many advertisers today have the practice of offering interactive media in cases where other media is used. For instance, when reading magazines an advert will show you the specific website of the producer where you can obtain more information about the product. The same is normally seen in television where the adverts will encourage the viewers to log into the websites given on the screen to find more information about the products. Today, many advertisers have capitalized on the great use of the social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Thorough these sites, they can easily reach millions of consumers that frequent them. They also take advantage of the fact that majority of the people who use the sites are young. It is therefore common to see adverts about products used by young people frequently popping up on the screens when one is logged in (Langdon, J 1996). Several multinationals have heavily invested on the interactive advertising methods and are gradually shunning the traditional ways. The giant consumable goods manufacturer Proctor Gamble has indeed been ahead in adopting broad broadband adverts for its products that are available all over the world. The company has realized that young people shun traditional adverts and is therefore investing heavily in online ads to reach millions of youth across the globe. An average person in America is bombarded with so many advertisements in a single day. This flood of information ranges from billboards to adverts in subway trains. The avalanche of such information may not therefore have any lasting impression on the minds of the population. As such, better ways have to be sought to create adverts that may leave a lasting image on the mind s of the people and compel them to buy the products. That is where the interactive media comes in handy. It is therefore impressive to note that many advertisers have adopted this option. Even though the internet still accounts for only a small percentage of the total adverts in the world, many companies are beginning to join the bandwagon. It has bee realized that the internet may not be very efficient in the case of a new product that is still trying to build a brand name. Nevertheless, it can widely be used for entirely all products that are used in the world. Studies have further indicated that the next 5 years will see tremendous changes in the advertising industry, more than what has been realized in the last 50 years. This is courtesy of the better forms of advertising, increasingly educated, empowed consumers, and better advertisers who manage the whole scene quite well. The popularity of the digital media is not only gaining predominance out of its superior quality but as well as the lower costs associated with it (Australian Government, 2011). Every supplier in the market wants to minimize the costs involved in the operations.IBM for instance has managed to reduce its expenses on advertisement by 20 percent in the last four years (Russel,2005 and Pew Research Center 2010). This is because of the tireless effort by the company to invest heavily in the digital media advertisement. A survey of 1500 consumers and 50 advertising experts reveals very interesting outcomes about the manner in which the advertising industry behaves (Journalism.org,2010). Certain market drivers that determine the success of all the adverts that are posted in the market govern the industry. One such driver is the consumer choice and control. The report indicated that consumers mostly prefer advertisement media that give them the ability to control and manage whatever they view or hear (Magazines.org, 2010). As a result, it implies that they actually prefer the digital methods that offer them such abilities. Another det erminant in the market is creativity. It should be remembered that the advertisement industry is very dynamic and it therefore demands only those who can come up with better and improved ideas every day. It does not give room for those boring daily adverts that were often heard on radio and seen on televisions sets a few years ago. Conclusion The digital interactive forms of advertisement that are cropping up currently are actually the sure way of staying competitive in the increasingly competitive market that is characterized by globalization and other market changes seen across the world. The digital forms are certainly better in terms of giving the customers variety and giving the advertisers an opportunity to track the response of the market to the goods being advertised. However, the traditional forms continue to supplement these new methods. They go hand in hand in giving the consumer the best they can have. It is therefore important that both the forms be adopted for the succ ess of any business. References Australian Government n.d., Popular Australian television, Culture Portal. Web. Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) 2009, ‘Digital Services Index TM’. Web. Commercial Radio Australia 2009, ‘FAQs’. Web. Digital Radio Plus 2010. Web. Journalism.Org 2010, How internet and cell phone users have turned news into a social experience, PEW Research Center. Web. Lane, W R, King, KW Russell, JT 2005, Advertising procedure, 16th edn, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Langdon, J 1996, ‘The history of radio in Australia: excerpts from a lecture given by Dr Jeff Langdon’, Radio 5UV. Web. Langdon, J 1995, ‘A history of community broadcasting,’ Radio Adelaide. Web. Magazines.org, ‘What you need, when you need it’. Web. Pew Research Center 2010, State of the news media 2010, Pew Research Center Publications. Web. The Pew Research Center for the People the Press 2006, Online papers modest ly boost newspaper readership, PEW survey reports. Web. This essay on Digital versus Traditional media in advertising was written and submitted by user Brody L. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.