Digital leading the pack of media avenues to get the marketing message across

In his presentation during the Stonewall+ Aggregate 2010, Stonewall+’s CEO, Ben Wagner, said that 2009 amplified the relevance of digital. However, traditional communication mediums such as TV; radio; and print, are still being employed by the majority of traditional agencies within South Africa, meaning they must still be effective, right?

I attended an HDI Youth Marketeers conference in 2008, and an interesting point was made by 5FM’s Gareth Cliff: “Radio gets an individual at a time that is useful, and allows an individual to listen because they want to and not because they have to. This allows the listener to consume this media ‘in their own time’, such as in the morning on the way to work.” I think this comment is true and can also be applied to other forms of traditional mediums.

However, the advertising panorama is ceaselessly shifting towards digital due to advancements in technology. Evan Milton, Strategy Director for Stonewall+2009, feels 2009 hurt traditional agencies as there was more of a need to get involved with digital, for financial reasons and due to the landscape moving towards digital, and according to Loga Wilmont, Chief Idea Architect at PI&C, “There is a readily-growing audience of people who embrace this new world of communications, where they can interact; question; fact-check; support; opt in; or opt out. For them, digital is not about emails and Google, but about entertainment; socialising; and self-expression.” Digital mediums are providing the ‘now’ generation with a momentous platform from which to share information and express themselves, and now more than ever, this generation is online, whether it is for social networking; gaming; reading; or shopping… so what better place to reach them?

Marketers need to take advantage of this increasing move toward digital, and in it, social networks; however, they need to remember that social networks, such as Facebook, are all about communicating on their own terms, and meeting and interacting with others. Society today comprises a ‘tech-generation’ using all types of media. Ideally then, marketers need to speak to consumers via the different media avenues in practice, engaging with the consumer rather than enforcing a specific message. As we are living in an era dominated by technology, more specifically social networking, it is important that traditional agencies tap into this medium, as their target market is online.

Which communication channels do you think are the most effective for advertisers? Is digital the way of the future? Leave your comments below.