Don’t Throw Out All The Old Stuff

This morning, I spotted a link to an article on LinkedIn® entitled “The Old Marketing Methods Are Dead.” And, I clicked on the link – I guess that’s proof that digital works. I was compelled to take action and consume information that would not have been on my radar screen without that link staring me in the face. So that proves it – new marketing methods work! (Don’t you just love anecdotal evidence?)

But just because new marketing methods may work, does that mean that old marketing methods are dead?

Having conducted Return-on-Marketing-Investment (ROMI) analyses for clients across many different industries, we have found what appears to be a common result: the decision to deploy “new marketing methods” versus “old marketing methods” should not be an either/or decision. The best success comes from finding the right mix. We also continue to learn that there this no magic “right mix” across categories – or even for different products within the same category. The blend of marketing activities that optimizes a sales effect varies by product and by even target customer segment.

For a durable goods client, we discovered that TV continues to do “the heavy lifting.” Television AND Outdoor really moves the needle, but only when launching a new product. And a recent analysis for a services firm concluded that newspaper … dubbed “the dying media” … did the best job in activating requests for information. In this case, digital pay-for-click reached a different segment and the effect was additive. One client routinely invests about 10% of their budget in emerging media … we’ve seen mobile spike sales and building-wraps pay out. But there was also a bedrock base of traditional activity that demonstrated solid contribution … especially when interactions between the various activities were factored in.

I certainly applaud all of the people who are working hard to develop, test and rollout “the new marketing methods.” It’s fun. It’s cool. It’s great cocktail party conversation. But this grey-hair can’t help but bristle at a headline warning that “Old Marketing” is dead. The evidence simply doesn’t support it.