In this blog post we will give you an understanding of the development and change of marketing, and draw your attention to the differences between traditional and digital marketing and how we believe digital marketing will take the lead in preferred advertising and return on investment.

Let’s begin – what is traditional marketing? 

Traditional marketing includes all “traditional” means that have been known in marketing for decades. It includes media such as billboards or printed media and many more. These media are the key factor in differentiating digital and traditional marketing. This is because digital marketing replaces haptic media with digital media – the focus is on social media and digital platforms. 

The change began with the invention and development of search engines. Special emphasis is placed on the first communication platforms such as MySpace or Facebook. People now have the opportunity to exchange and communicate with each other. Even more important for marketers was the invention of cookies – these collect and track consumer behaviour and buying patterns. Cookies help to anticipate the next consumer need and are so able to present a solution. Nowadays cookies are a way to keep track of the users behaviour and to collect user data. 

In an age where 170 million people use social networks every day, digital marketing is benefiting like never before. Social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, have opened up a new world in recent years and enabled the creation of a whole new job industry. Due to this extremely large growth in the last 20 years, digital marketing is currently tending to overtake traditional marketing. Despite this current trend, traditional marketing like print must not be forgotten by marketers. 

The next points will bring you closer to the details of digital marketing as we look at the 

5Ds of digital marketing: 

Digital Devices: are used by people on an everyday basis (especially nowadays where the choice of devices is so wide) 

Digital Content Platforms: Just like the devices, the choice of platforms is increasing, so that nowadays everyone can find their community and platform according to their interests and hobbies. Marketers are challenged to find the target audience on the different platforms. 

Digital Media: A distinction is made between paid and owned digital media channels, which are used to reach the different target audiences. 

Digital Data: is searched for and collected via cookies, for example, in order to locate and define the individual target audience. This is essential to set and fulfill the marketing objective. 

Digital Technology: further technologies that are used to reach the target audience. Particularly attractive: these complex technologies can be used to stand out from the crowd – Artificial Intelligent (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) are used, for example.

Still unsure which marketing suits which customer? 

We break down the differences for you: Engagement with traditional marketing is very low to non-existent because recipients cannot engage with traditional media. With digital media, engagement is very high because consumers can share, like and comment on posts, making it interactive. Similarly, conversion is slow with traditional media and extremely fast with new media. Furthermore, the traditional ways of marketing are rather static, whereas the digital media are dynamic. 

The reach of digital media is global and the audience can be customised, allowing marketers to react and adapt more quickly. In addition, traditional marketing does not provide a way to track the success of a campaign. 

Although digital marketing is becoming increasingly important and is particularly convincing due to its extreme versatility, traditional marketing must not be forgotten. If it fits into the budget and the target audience, a combination of both methods should be tried out. Especially traditional marketing still benefits from the longevity and the feeling of eternity created by print. It creates an emotional connection that benefits the marketer and the company.