Traditional Marketing vs. Digital Marketing (2024)

Traditional forms of marketing blossomed in the middle and late parts of the 20th century, although the roots stretch much further back.¹ When you watch a TV commercial or read an advertisem*nt in a magazine, you're engaging with traditional marketing. By contrast, digital marketing encompasses the online world. In this post, you’ll learn about the differences between traditional and digital marketing, the advantages offered by digital marketing and where the future of marketing is heading.

Traditional marketing is any form of offline advertising.¹ That includes the banner trailing behind the Goodyear Blimp, flyers for guitar lessons, billboards, direct-response mail, Super Bowl TV commercials and full-page advertisem*nts in the Sunday edition of The New York Times.

The following list is not exhaustive but covers the four major categories that make up the bulk of traditional marketing strategies and traditional marketing campaigns.

• Print advertising comprises advertisem*nts in newspapers, journals and magazines
• Broadcast advertising refers to radio and television commercials
• Telemarketing is the practice of calling prospective customers on the phone to solicit interest in a product or service
• Direct mail encompasses sales and marketing materials sent directly to the consumer, often unsolicited. It’s also commonly referred to as junk mail

Digital marketing refers to all forms of marketing that take place online.² This includes the ads that play before YouTube videos, sponsored Facebook posts, banner ads and email newsletters. Even the fun listicle articles you forward to your friends and that helpful blog post on how to change your car’s oil often fall into this category.

The following four digital marketing channels constitute some of the most commonly utilized ways to engage with potential customers online.

This is a form of advertising in which marketers bid on select keywords and phrases. The website displays the winner's ad, and the marketer only pays for each user’s click on it.

Email marketing is essentially direct mail marketing for the digital age. Marketers send emails to prospective customers to raise awareness, drive engagement or accomplish other goals of the marketing campaign.

Content marketing is a less direct approach that lets brands engage with consumers by providing value, usually in the form of education. It often takes the form of an informative blog post or video.

SEO is the practice of applying methods to websites and web pages so they appear higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). SEO is often used in conjunction with content marketing to drive organic search traffic to the content.

In the past three decades, traditional methods of marketing have lost ground to digital marketing. According to a survey by Gartner, on average businesses devote 28% of their marketing budget to traditional forms of marketing.³ Prior to 1990, traditional marketing methods accounted for 100% of business marketing budgets since digital marketing did not exist. The rapid move toward digital marketing reflects a shift away from traditional marketing outlets.

With the popularity of smartphones and internet consumption reaching ubiquitous status across the developed world, it is imperative to meet consumers in the digital landscape. However, that doesn’t fully explain why marketers have shifted most of their time and energy toward digital marketing.

Digital marketing offers multiple advantages over traditional marketing methods. The most prominent ones include:

In the past, demographic targeting was a blunt instrument. There simply wasn’t an effective way to directly target specific audiences. At best, you could narrow your audience down somewhat using market research. If you primarily sold to women aged 25 to 34 with a college degree and an interest in cosmetics, you might rely on demographic surveys to identify a TV show or magazine that reached a large number of these individuals.

However, you’d invariably end up wasting a significant portion of your advertising budget getting your ad in front of people outside your target market or group. PPC advertising tools enable you to create an audience that perfectly matches your ideal customer.² Social media platforms, like Facebook, for example, let you filter who will see your ads by demographic markers and stated interests. Amazon and Google display ads to individuals who search for your selected keywords.

Historically, marketing as a field suffered from a lack of solid data. Marketing pioneer John Wanamaker famously remarked, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.” ⁵ With the widespread availability of detailed reporting with analytic tools and user-friendly dashboards, advertisers are now highly aware of the efficacy of each spent cent. Digital marketing has turned the advertising field into an increasingly metric-heavy, efficiency-driven arena.

A recent albeit modest reversal in the trend toward more spending on digital advertising suggests we may have reached an equilibrium point.³ Consumers are still watching television, viewing print ads, opening the mail and glancing up at billboards on their drive to work. Marketing professionals who ignore traditional marketing methods do so at their own peril.

Based on current trends, it appears that digital marketing will continue to predominate, although traditional marketing methods should hold ground.³ As the field turns increasingly data heavy, successful marketers will need to hone their number-crunching skills more so than in the past. Emergent digital advertising strategies like PPC campaigns and SEO content writing will become increasingly competitive.

Are you a marketing maven ready to move up in your career? Build on your experience with an Online Master of Science in Marketing (MSM) from William & Mary. The online master's in marketing lets you:

• Learn more industry-specific skills than you’d get with a general MBA degree
• Ensure you’re ready to go with our Jump Start Course
• Enhance your earning potential
• Finish in as short as 15 months

The Online MSM is a personally tailored experience for working professionals, designed to help you achieve your specific career goals. In this program, you’ll develop unique analytical, strategic and creative skills that comprise your first step toward a dynamic new career trajectory. William & Mary’s world-class faculty provide an unparalleled education that trains you not only in the tools and techniques successful marketers use, but the mindset required for strategic, effective, empathetic leadership. At William & Mary, you’ll prepare to thrive in an ever-changing field, build a culture of openness on your marketing team, and view challenges not as obstacles, but opportunities.

Speak with an Admissions Outreach Advisor today to learn more. Schedule a call.