(THE PROBLEM WITH OLD SCHOOL MARKETING)
BY CHRISTOPHER ZULLO

Now that we’re back for round two of our deep dive into those agencies that refuse to adapt with the times and the ever-changing landscape of advertising, a few points we’d like to touch on are things like delayed feedback loops, those who fall into neglecting data-driven decisions, inflexibility and rigidity—always a red flag, missed opportunities with social media, and overlooking SEO and online presence. A lot of this encompasses an old school way of thinking which lacks the forethought to engage in interactive elements that today’s consumers crave. Engaging your audience through interactive approaches like social media and the open internet by using SEO tools is often overlooked by the old school agencies who are either afraid of the technology because they don’t think they’ll understand it, or they simply don’t want to learn it…because they think they won’t understand it.

Think of a time in your life when you decided to put all your eggs in one basket, a gamble.

Sometimes it can work out in the greatest way possible, and sometimes you can lose your shirt. When you’re opening yourself up to a partnership with an agency, it’s important to know the differences between traditional and digital marketing techniques and how it may take longer to gauge the effectiveness of your campaign in one versus the other. For instance, in a digital campaign, data is constantly updated and the reporting for you campaign can be sent to you with the analytics in real time. For a company like ours, with a seat at The Trade Desk, our media buyers are optimizing your campaigns daily. Traditional media works quite differently. Set it and forget it. Measuring the effectiveness of a campaign is significantly slower and adjustments are made even more slowly. If you’re looking for feedback on how a digital campaign is performing versus a traditional one, the data will be available immediately from your digital campaign and will take a bit of time for your traditional one. Think of it as going away with a group of friends across the country. Half the group is going by plane, the other half are driving. The flying group is going to get to the destination much quicker having had a much more streamlined experience than the group that’s driving. Digital vs traditional is effectively the same thing. You’ll get results. One you’ll be able to pinpoint with precision (digital), the other (traditional)…not as effectively.

If you’ve ever been to a casino or a sports betting location, and you want to bet on a race, let’s say the Kentucky Derby, you weigh your options. Sure, there are a lot of outcomes: there’s the favorite to win, there’s the one with the odds stacked against them and all the others in the middle where anything can happen. That’s kind of what happens when data-driven decisions are neglected. Instinct or the “let’s try this here and see what happens” method of old, doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on when data is available for you to look at. This is a more tangible approach with the digital side of marketing. Wouldn’t you like to bet on the horse with certainty knowing that it’s going to win based on proven date, without throwing money to chance?

Your agency and/or account rep, will know how to interpret the analytics from a data-driven approach to help each client strategize for their next campaign.

You will have numbers that you can tie to each aspect of your campaign and how effectively they’ve worked. This gives you the best recipe when strategizing for you next campaign. Constant optimization tools: someone always looking at how your campaign is performing and real time data that you can have in hand to see the trends with your own eyes. Numbers on the traditional side are much easier to fudge. It’s your money, you spend it how you wish. We’re also not dumping on traditional media. It definitely has its perks, but it is not leading the way in advertising anymore. Digital media has revolutionized how advertisers engage consumers. The only arena you must be a little more cautious is with social media platforms. You spend the money, and they tell you your campaign performed well, without having to disclose actual analytics. Social media advertising is a lot cheaper and has a far and wide reach. More on that later.

When you’re dealing with an agency stuck in its old ways of inflexibility, rigidity and refusing to budge, and yes, they are still out there, you’ve got an issue. Gone are the days, especially with digital advertising, where numbers can be fudged, and things are hidden in plain sight, but you don’t actually understand what you’re looking at. When an agency refuses to adapt to changing market conditions, they don’t have your best interest at the forefront of what you’re trying to achieve. Before the horse leaves the stable, you’re in a losing race. Firmly believing in an antiquated, ineffective marketing strategy leaves you open to chasing down a campaign to an unsatisfactory end. What does that do in the long run? It poisons your image of the new age advertising agencies that understand and chase down the changing markets. Why would you want to work with another agency again after having been burned by them before? Knowing what you know is a great position to be in. Not knowing what you don’t know is a vulnerable position. When an agency can present you with concrete data-driven analytics, proving to you that your campaign is working, is the only time you can trust the process.

It was touched only briefly, but social media can be a home run if harnessed by the right person. Due to the fact that the algorithms are constantly changing, willing to evolve with the expansion of social media is a must when trying to get brand awareness and expand your company’s footprint. Consumers are spending so much time on social media as it is, it’s kind of a no-brainer. On social media platforms you can build a community of loyal followers who support your brand and want to see it expand…word of mouth just got a glow up. When building your community on these social media platforms, your followers begin to share your message with those they are connected to and then it spreads from there. Clicks turn into conversions and before you know it, you’ve harnessed a relatively fair market value for advertising and can reach a little bit farther by using social media platforms.

A big trend is harnessing the power of influencer partnerships.

Many companies overlook the potential of collaborating with influencers to reach broader audiences. When someone who has influence promotes a product or a brand, that product or brand tends to see an immediate spike in conversions. Why does this happen? Influencers have established trust and credibility with their followers, and partnering with them can provide brands access to niche markets. Missed opportunities arise when businesses, or their agencies, fail to leverage influencer marketing, which can lead to increased visibility and engagement that traditional advertising methods may not achieve. There are a whole bunch of tricks you can use social media for, and this example just scratches the surface.

One final piece of the pie that is missed with the outdated, old-school way of advertising is overlooking SEO and online presence. It is often the case that traditional marketing agencies ignore the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) and maintaining a strong online presence. Traditional agencies may prioritize print, radio, or television advertising, completely turning their backs on the importance of digital channels. Why would someone do this? Granted, we do spend a lot of time in our cars and if we’re not on satellite, we’re using terrestrial radio or listening to our podcasts or whatever. During those times, we’re being served ads that are directed to us based on our interest in what we’re listening to. By solely concentrating on these outdated models, where all the money must be allotted to traditional platforms, we’re missing a significant and more effective way of reaching potential consumers with SEO platforms. By failing to integrate SEO strategies into your campaigns, not only are you leaving money on the table, but you’re not able to enhance your online visibility. An oversight like this can result in missed opportunities to drive traffic to clients’ websites or physical locations, ultimately limiting their reach and engagement with their target audiences who, let’s face it, primarily search for information online.

While there are many reasons you should consider looking at an agency that knows how to deal with all aspects of the many different platforms that are out there, no one can force you to. Digital media is the future, and then something inevitably will come after that. Being ahead of the curve is where you will see your dollars stretched further.