Marketing Trends: When traditional recipes should make way for bite-sized convenience
There is a common misconception that a meal made the traditional way, by a local in its country of origin, beats the version that seemingly takes half the time and fewer ingredients. Non-traditional, however, doesn’t necessarily mean less satisfying or authentic just because you haven’t flown a thousand miles to taste it, or spent hours trying to decipher faded handwriting on the parchment of your great aunt’s recipe book.
The very same practice applies to traditional marketing and online marketing.
Part of the problem is that the advent of digital marketing didn’t bring with it its own nomenclature. As an alternative, we used terms like “advertising” and “copywriters” which gives away nothing in terms of defining the vast differences between:
• how these two are cooked up
• what goes into it
• who it is served to and,
• exactly how it is consumed
We assume instead that they are the same thing and that “traditional” means “better”.
So, let’s define them –
Traditional advertising
Traditional advertising characteristically involves advertising through print, television, radio and billboards. Basically, the advertiser pays for the size or length of the ad which could be a vast sum depending on the medium, its popularity and/or exposure potential which, to be clear, could also be vast. Think of the Superbowl.
Digital marketing
This is web-based marketing, only. Most of what you read online is some form of digital marketing – yes, almost everything.
So what’s the difference?
Traditional advertising
Before the arrival of internet, people had newspapers thrown onto their doorsteps early each morning, switched the TV on at a specific time each evening and got the latest music from the radio.
The act of reading the newspaper, watching TV and listening to the radio took time, and there was a certain satisfaction in knowing that an assured amount of time was being set aside for these activities. They hardly ever felt indulgent. In fact, being able to discuss the news and the latest episode of whatever was currently bringing households to a standstill across the country was almost deemed a constructive way to spend time.
It was also the perfect opportunity to tell consumers what they needed, with plenty of time to convey the message.
In the digital age this is the equivalent of travelling to Hong Kong for a bamboo basket of piping hot authentic dim sum. It would be great, but it’s a luxury for big brands with an enviable marketing budget. Still, the appeal is rapidly declining and the time taken up for these tasks is now a guilty secret in a world where “busy”, parallels “accomplishment”. Plus, thanks to the internet there is a far more appealing alternative, digital.
Digital – this is not the “new traditional” but is something entirely different
Digital marketing is a lot more accessible to all businesses at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing and more and more people are choosing to get their news and entertainment online. Magazines and newspapers have seen a huge decline in subscriptions, and television is being overtaken by on-demand viewing and PVR services.
Big brands have been forced to adapt to the constantly changing world of technology, and small companies are finding a level playing field in online marketing. Sure, if you have a marketing budget at all you might be able to reach a wider audience on multiple channels, but these days advertising is a lot more about connecting with people, which doesn’t need a big budget just some really in-depth research, clever strategising and great content.
Online, people are actively looking for information and don’t want to be marketed to. Every minute counts as you send messages to skimmers and seekers.
In contrast, traditional methods feed consumers information which they hope they will absorb at their leisure – it’s old-school advertising philosophy that just doesn’t cut it in an online world run by millennials and critical thinkers.
Integration on a plate
So putting a meal together in an hour as opposed to standing over a hot stove all day may not be the traditional way of producing a great dish. It serves its own purpose though by being accessible, satisfying and still getting you done in time to finish the feast for the dinner that night or the presentation for work in the morning.
Most marketing campaigns would benefit from a multichannel, forward thinking approach to advertising – integration on a plate; fortunately there is a vast choice these days, which is just not something that was available to our marketing forerunners. It’s also time to accept that the older recipes don’t always appeal to a younger palate and that now is perhaps the time to serve up the fresh dishes that you know they love and have been craving.
