One of the blogs I read this week said, “Mobile has completely disrupted digital marketing”.
I have not seen piles of laptops along the roadside on garbage pick-up day with the move to mobile anymore than I saw radios piled in a heap when the internet began in 1982. We continue to use laptops, and radio, even as we add new media to our lives.
And while there is no doubt the digital marketing world continues to change faster than a speeding bullet, ‘complete disruption’ is an over-statement. This complete disruption myth is one that has been repeated almost weekly as the internet, search engine optimization, social media, mobile and a long list of digital marketing alternatives evolves.
As our digital media expert, Alysia Taylor, explains it, “These changes are an evolution, not a revolution.”
Imagine being a business owner in 2004 who bought the ‘complete disruption’ story with the introduction of MySpace, the self-proclaimed first social media. What would have happened had you put all of your eggs in that marketing basket just before Twitter, Facebook, and a long list of other social media evolved?
No business wants to be left behind in the evolution of electronic media. At the same time, as this world changes ever-faster, there is a great deal of comfort, and success, in continuing to use tried and proven heritage media like radio as the constant in this chaos.
The announced complete disruption has not made allowance for the fact that one of the oldest electronic media, radio, continues to reach in excess of 90% of adults every week, in spite of all of the new media introductions.
I would never discourage an advertiser from trying something new. But we also owe it to advertisers who want to sleep at night, to point out a constant that they can rely upon during this evolution….radio advertising.
Our Winning in the New Media Economy advertiser seminars and local market surveys are convincing local advertisers across North America to include radio as a primary media in their media mix. Contact [email protected] if you would like to facilitate our surveys and seminars in your market.
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