Disrupting the Advertising Market - Why we’re moving away from Print Media
The future of advertising is digital.
Advertising in New Zealand is big business, with the industry generating over $3 billion last year alone, more than a 30% increase on the previous year. What’s abundantly clear within the data is that digital marketing is what’s pushing that growth, with a total digital advertising revenue of more than $1.8 billion last year.
With digital advertising now representing more than 50% of the industry's revenue, and continuing to increase its share of the advertising dollar, we’re encouraging businesses more than ever to shift their spend from traditional print media to online advertising, and here’s why.
It’s true that we all encounter some form of traditional advertising in our day to day lives whether that’s passing a billboard, a flyer in our letterbox or a magazine in a coffee shop, but the question is do we truly engage with it? We as consumers are so accustomed to seeing this form of advertising around us that it becomes like white noise, with very little meaningful engagement or attention paid to it. And it’s almost impossible for businesses to measure that engagement as well. By contrast, digital advertising provides an abundance of ways that consumers can engage directly with a business, and in ways that are measurable; clicking, viewing, liking, sharing, commenting and more.
It is also true that there’s a specific audience that’s easier to reach through traditional marketing. But what digital advertising provides is an outreach to an enormously vast audience, way beyond the reaches of traditional advertising campaigns. In addition, it’s an ever-growing audience due to the cultural, technological and societal shifts around us. But what if you WANT to reach a very specific audience? Digital advertising allows for that too! Advances in targeted advertising across search engines and social media platforms mean it’s now easier than ever to reach your target audience, whether that’s based on demographics, location, interests. Sure, many people may see a billboard as they’re driving by, but how many of those people actually take notice of it? What is their age range and gender? Digital advertising allows those questions to be answered.
Another advantage digital advertising has over traditional methods is the possibility for immediate interaction. If a consumer sees an advert for a particular product in a magazine and wants to find out more, they can’t click a link that takes them directly to the appropriate website, or send a direct message to a representative of the business to find out more. Not only is this lack of interaction a huge obstacle in customer conversion, it will also likely cost you more than a digital advertising campaign would. A full page advertisement in our local magazine will cost you $1200 plus GST. Using social media and search engine adverts allows YOU to determine the cost of your digital marketing strategy, set your own budget, and adjust it as you go depending on what works for you. What if you’re running a campaign with a product or service that becomes unavailable? With digital advertising you’re able to make instant changes, whereas with print media, you’d have to wait until the next issue to reprint, and in the meantime that $1200 that you had already spent has now gone to waste. Not to mention the waste of paper and other resources that go into creating print media - but we’ll save that for another discussion.
In addition to all of these advantages of outbound digital advertising, the huge advances in technology and internet usage in recent years has allowed digital marketing to open up a whole new level of inbound marketing; where consumers are finding the businesses, not the other way around. Now is the time to ditch traditional methods of advertising and focus your energy and advertising dollars on digital; for the benefit of your business, your consumers and our environment.
To find out more about how we can assist you with digital marketing contact us now - info@beseenmore.co.nz
