How New Media Differs From Traditional Media

While most of us recognize Print, Radio, and TV as Traditional Media, the burgeoning category of "New Media" is more ambiguous. Just what is New Media and how does it differ from Traditional? There are many forms of New Media, most of which are generally regarded as Alternative means of reaching a given consumer audience. In the context of Outdoor Advertising, New Media can refer to  anything from Street Teams to Wrapped Vehicles to Billboards or Signage towed behind Watercraft. In the case of Radius Mobile Media, our form of New Media is the Mobile Billboard. The most obvious Traditional comparable of the Mobile Billboard is the Static Billboard positioned alongside roadways. So is the difference between these Traditional and New media then that one is fixed and the other is mobile? Or that one displays static content while the other is dynamic? Yes, these are differences, but these would be better classified as feature differences that distinguish the means and methods used to communicate the advertisers message. We have to look deeper to understand why New Media is so attractive and why advertisers are increasingly turning to it.

So what are the fundamental differences that warrant such distinction? In my mind, there are two to be aware of:

First - New Media is Active. What does that mean? In the case of Radius Mobile Media, it means we do not rely on an active consumer audience to generate impressions. Instead WE are the active element. We take a client's brand directly out onto the streets and display it hundreds of times each day all across the local area. An Active medium is significant in that it affords the advertiser new ways to reach a consumer audience that is increasingly distracted and disinterested otherwise disinclined to receive advertising. Even when distributed throughout or alongside compelling content, advertisers utilizing Traditional Media rely on the audience to actively engage in the medium. With Radio, for example, the advertiser relies on the audience listening in. With Print, the audience must engage in reading, or at least reviewing, the newspaper or magazine in order to discover the advertiser's message. Coupled with the clear trend of consumer's increasing gravitation to new sources and channels for consumption of news, entertainment and social interaction, many advertisers have experienced diminished effectiveness in reaching their audience. New Media by contrast re-assigns the Active element back to the medium and therefore back to the advertiser. This translates into new and interesting ways to effectively reach an audience.

Second - Not only does New Media give the advertiser more options, it shifts control of delivery away from the consumer. Control of delivery is hugely important because concurrent with the above mentioned shift to alternative channels, consumers are increasingly armed with various technologies that allow them to skip over or avoid advertising messages altogether. DVR's, email spam filters, automated call blockers, etc. empower consumers to easily avoid promotional attempts altogether. But if you consider Mobile Billboards from this perspective, it's clear how little control consumers have over delivery. There is no channel to change, no fast forward button, no delete key. This represents a huge shift in power back to advertisers and translates directly into renewed effectiveness. The metrics clearly bear this out. In direct mail campaigns a 3% response rate is considered a huge success. Studies of the effectiveness of Mobile Billboards, however, have routinely measured awareness and recognition rates exceeding 90%. The difference in effectiveness is why New Media is growing, even in this challenging economy.

To summarize, it's not Traditional Media is no longer effective or viable for advertisers. That simply isn't true - Traditional Media continues to play a major role in any media mix. New Media, though, is a response to social trends which are negatively impacting the effectiveness of Traditional Media, and New Media offers advertisers new opportunities to effectively reach their consumer audience.