Marketing is everywhere around us. From a hoarding at the corner of your street to the pamphlets lying on the road, from the sides of a bus to the notifications on your phone, we are surrounded by marketing. These efforts from the marketers and the brands are to introduce the brand and to initiate a conversation with their potential customers. These can be differentiated as Digital Marketing and Traditional Marketing based on the platform that brands use to communicate with their customers. They can choose either of those or both of them based on the type of communication and the results they want to achieve.

Ad spends of Indian brands in 2021 on various platforms:

Television – 23,201cr (41%)

Digital – 15,782cr (28%)

Print – 13,970cr (25%)

Out of Home Ads – 1,632cr (3%)

Radio – 1,617cr (2.5%)

Cinema – 288cr (0.5%)

What is Traditional Marketing?

Traditional marketing is a way of advertising your brand through one-way communication. This includes promotional content by your advertising agency on flyers, brochures, hoardings, TV ads, FM radio ads, magazine ads, newspaper ads, etc. Effective and engaging communication on a big television screen or widespread magazine can attach your brand to the memory and subconscious mind of your customers. A single ad can reach thousands of people but there’s no definite way of telling the return on investment of it.

Benefits of Traditional Marketing:

• Works wonders when you have a broader audience
• Gives your brand and communication a wider reach
• Reaches people who are located in places with limited internet connections, low literacy rates, etc.
• Can leave a long-lasting impression in people’s mind when the communication is effective and impactful

Disadvantages of Traditional Marketing:

• Difficult to measure and track the results
• No option to correct a typo or change a sentence once the communication goes out
• Considering the high investments it requires, the returns will be very less when the product is not meant for a broader audience
• Not every business can afford traditional advertising
• It is a one-way communication with no option to interact with your audience

What is Digital Marketing?

We live in an internet age and one can’t simply deny the dependency on the internet to lead our daily lives. Every new app, every new game and every new social media platform is an opportunity to interact with your audience. Digital advertising includes SEO, SMM, SEM, Google AdWords, Content Marketing, Email marketing, Online reputation management etc. Online marketing has changed the way brands can interact with their potential customers. It is the quickest and the most effective way to promote your brand to the targeted audience. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the adoption of the digital medium by Indians as they spend more than 4 hours a day on social media.

Benefits of Digital Marketing:

• Gives you a lot of options to interact with your audience
• Allows to customise your content and target your audience based on their age, interest, behaviour, demographics, etc
• Gives you in-depth insights and analytics for your online marketing and an option to improve your strategies based on that data.
• Easy to edit and cancel the campaign if there are any mistakes
• Easy to edit and cancel the campaign if there are any mistakes
• Cost-effective with less expenses and higher return on investment
• Reaches more audience with less efforts
• Builds a build a long-lasting relationship with the consumer

Disadvantages of Digital Marketing:

• Evolves constantly to stick to a single strategy
• People tend to block or scroll through ads without interacting with them if the communication is not worthy of their attention

Advertising Spends on digital medium by various verticals:

E-Commerce – 3,782cr (24cr)

Consumer Durables – 2,609cr (17%)

FMCG – 2,163cr (14%)

Telecom – 2,046cr (13%)

BFSI – 1,618cr (10%)

Auto – 1,004cr (6%)

Media & entertainment – 809cr (5%)

Retail – 388cr (2%)

Others – 1,362cr (9%)

What is the difference between Traditional Marketing and Digital Marketing?

Though the objective of both marketing techniques is one and the same, the approach, platforms, type of communication, etc. Traditional advertising is powerful and memorable by making people talk about it for years. This gives brands the most important mileage and registers the brand identity and its product for a longer time in the customers’ mind. Whereas digital advertising is quick and easy to execute, interact with customers and increase your sales.

What’s Best Traditional Marketing Or Digital Marketing for your Business?

While each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, it’s important for the brand to know its customers first. If the product or service is universal and communication is digestible by everyone irrespective of age, social class and regions, then traditional marketing can still do wonders for you. If your product or service caters to the young lot in the society, then it’s only wise to promote it where you can find your audience – Digital Platforms. If your intent is to make your brand visible and register it in people’s mind quickly, then traditional marketing is your go-to option. If all you need is a loyal customer base and trackable campaigns with measurable returns, then digital marketing is all yours to explore. A well-thought-out promotional strategy by any advertising agency usually includes both of them based on the service, communication, target audience and most importantly, timing.