Because online business owners are presented with an array of online marketing options, they may wonder if offline marketing is worth their time. Television, radio and print ads often seem outdated when compared to their online counterparts, but a study by Forrester Research suggests offline marketing is effective and leads to significant online sales. The study revealed that nearly 40% of online users make a purchase after being influenced by an offline channel.
One reason for the sustained impact of offline marketing is the modern convergence of online and offline mediums. Did you know that more people listen to digital radio on their PCs and TVs than on an actual radio? In a similar trend, 20% of television viewers now watch their favorite shows on their PC. This synthesis of mediums suggests that marketing in the future will follow a corresponding model.
The Forrester data found that TV ads prompted more online company and product searches than any other offline mediums. This is not surprising – TV returns an average of over $4 sales for every $1 spent, a higher average ROI than any other offline medium. Even radio ads, the great-grandparent of modern advertising, were shown to be effective. One reason for this is that radio ads allow marketers to target local and national niche audiences.
According to the experts from PMI Education, the results from this study do nothing to diminish the impact of online advertising. Rather, it shows the importance of both online and offline mediums, suggesting that marketers should consider a synthesized advertising approach. As demonstrated by the growing amount of television viewed online, the convergence of the two will only spread in the future. To take advantage of this, marketers should consider strategies which utilize the strengths of both mediums.
Tags: offline marketing, online marketing, pmi education, print ads, radio, television
