Will We See the End of Traditional Advertising?

As we all know, the world of media is constantly evolving. Radio suffered as television advertising became more popular; afternoon and evening daily newspaper editions suffered because of TV news programs; network news is suffering because of cable TV and the Internet. With this type of continuous cycle, will we see the end of traditional advertising?

While some advertising mediums may experience a decrease in effectiveness as technology evolves, it is unlikely that any form of advertising will become totally obsolete. Integrated marketing communications involves establishing any effective mix of advertising methods; therefore, all forms of advertising will be used at some point throughout the next fifty years.

Justin Seibert, owner of Direct Online Marketing states that “it’s not a question of new media vs. old media. Apply what worked before and use the new tools to become even more effective in your marketing.” Marketers should utilize new media to enhance the effective traditional advertising that is already in place. Below are some examples of how the new media is fitting into the marketing world:

• Direct mail is being replaced by the more cost-effective email marketing/newsletters.
• Banner ads are being used in place of print advertisements.
• Pop-ups are sufficiently formatted for direct response marketing.
• Rich media is being utilized to improve the effectiveness of banner ads, pop-ups and pop-unders, and pre-roll advertising. (Rich media is a way for marketers to get around pop-up blockers).
• Widgets are being added to computer desktops, websites, and mobile phones to invite user interaction.

As times change and technology advances further, there will be “new” new media; the methods currently known as new media will become the new traditional medium and so on. No method of advertising will ever become obsolete—it will just pass through the cycle.

What are your thoughts?

Sources:
Perez, Hugo. (2008). Lesson 2: The Internet & the Web; Banners, Pop-Ups & Pop-Unders. WVU IMC Program.

Seibert, Justin. (2008). Web 2.0 Tools. Presentation from Next Generation Marketing Conference. Attended May 22, 2008 in Morgantown, WV.