Go where your target goes
One of the keys to being successful in advertising is to go where your target goes. If the demographic that you’re going after spends a lot of time listening to the radio, you invest in radio ads; if another medium is more popular, then you advertise there and so on and so forth. But while traditional media used to be the heavy hitters in the advertising industry, reports show that Google takes in more ad dollars than the entire U.S. print media combined. With this finding, advertisers have a hard sell justifying going with print ads versus online.
The media shift: what it means for professionals
Although the report compares U.S. media to Google, which operates globally, it’s astounding to see the company has brought in more $20 billion in ad revenue in the first six months of 2012 versus the less than $20 billion that U.S. print media have generated all together. Trends show Google ad revenue is growing year-over-year, so what does this mean for business owners?
One needs only to look at the readership numbers of print media to know that fewer readers are ingesting news and ads in traditional print form. More people are accessing news, social updates and other content on the web, therefore a business owner’s best chance of getting an ad in front of the people that matter is by investing in Google ads or other forms of online advertising. It does no good to be stubborn and insist the majority of ad placement go to print media if your target isn’t there. That’s not to say you should do away with it entirely, but implement a ratio that best reflects where your demographic will likely access your content.
The takeaway
Lewis DVorkin said it best: just because the dynamic is shifting from print to digital, doesn’t mean advertisers should bow out and bemoan the way things used to be done. Google ads are performing well and are a smart investment for business owners looking to gain awareness in their respective markets and target demographics. Once things are boiled down to the essentials, it’s best to go where the odds are in your favor – and numbers show an advertiser’s best bet is the web.
