As marketers, we have more channels than ever before to reach, engage with and convert our customers. Debates within marketing circles here and globally as to the merits of traditional vs digital media are rife and some would say that many marketers undervalue the impact of traditional media.

As with many things, this depends on the marketer and the brand or product they represent. Some campaigns will call for a mix of channels, some will be better suited to newer media while others will, in fact, drive the best results using traditional media - no one formula is ever going to work for all.

As a media company that owns products at both ends of the spectrum and as marketers who have the luxury of utilising our owned channels, both traditional and digital, Stuff’s approach differs depending on a number of factors relevant to each campaign. We believe it’s important to resist jumping on either the ‘Traditional’ bandwagon, or on the ‘Latest’ bandwagon and instead, it’s about assessing all the advertising options available to see what fits with your customers’ media consumption behaviours, and of course your budget.

If we take a step back and look at the basics of good marketing then we remind ourselves that a campaign that delivers results is built around knowing our target audience, knowing our brand and being clear about the results we want to deliver. We must ensure that we approach our campaign planning with objectivity - just because you start your day by checking Instagram, doesn’t mean your target audience does.

While we’re unlikely to end the debate here and now, here are a few things we consider when planning the media mix for marketing campaigns:

Budget. What marketers never have enough of. This will, of course, play a crucial role in your planning and it’s a given that you need to be clear on this before you get underway.

Target audience. Who are they? Who influences them or their behaviour? How do both them and their influencers consume media? What or who do they trust?

What does this campaign need to achieve? What’s the bottom line. Is it leads? Is it awareness? Is the campaign more about educating? Whether traditional or new, all media channels have their strengths and weaknesses and having clear objectives will help guide your selection.

Moving past the basics we can layer in complexity by asking further questions which should help to really focus the channel mix. Does the campaign need to deliver a large amount of information? Are we operating in a cluttered market? Is the brand new to market? What’s the tone - are we saying sorry or asking for trust?

In case you need a little more inspiration here’s a case study showcasing a recent successful marketing campaign which ran across both traditional and new media.

A panel of Marketers from Stuff, TVNZ, The Media Dept, and Mint Design will be discussing this topic in much greater depth at  Marketing South 2019 on 2nd May 2019 at the Rydges, Latimer Square.

We hope this has got your marketing juices flowing and that we see you on the day with a few tricky questions to keep the experts on their toes!

This article was provided by Stuff, Premier Sponsors of Marketing South 2019.