Branding vs. Traditional Marketing

We’ve been talking about the difference between brand marketing and other forms of promotion. Last week we discussed how advertising was different and this week, it’s traditional marketing’s turn.

Traditional marketing is a targeted approach to promotion. In keeping in line with the shotgun reference for advertising, traditional marketing is like a rifle that takes a single shot at a known target. Traditional marketing works even better with niche markets; envision a high powered rifle with a scope.

Marketing’s direct nature allows it to be a cost-effective solution if you have set targets or verticals you work with such as healthcare or education. Niche marketing would be more like urgent care centers or even college football stadiums. Marketing cuts through the clutter and hits the people that need/want your service/product whereas advertising is good for getting your information out to the masses. If you build schools, who do you talk to normally – principals, school board, teachers? Even if that answer varies here and there, you still know you’re talking to people in education and not the general public. Niche marketing is powerful because you know your specific audience and probably know their pain points, even better than they do sometimes. If you build college football stadiums, you can send a $50 package to the 250 Division I universities across the country giving you a bigger impact and a better chance to be remembered. Because of your niche, you can bundle your marketing & advertising dollars and hit your target with something big and memorable.

What do you think would have more impact selling your stadium construction – those $50 packages to 250 known prospects or a nationwide television campaign? That $50 package would cost you $12,500. I guarantee one 30-second TV spot during the NCAA national championship game would cost you more than that and you’d probably not hit all of your targets? Why won’t you hit all of your targets in the game of the year (especially LSU vs. Alabama part deux)? It’s actually simple, many of them will be at the game and not watching TV, some will be busy that night, and a few might just stand up to get a refill or use the bathroom.

On the flipside, Coke wouldn’t do direct marketing because they sell to the masses. It is actually cheaper for them to run multiple Super Bowl commercials costing millions of dollars compared to sending a single postcard to every America. Imagine sending a postcard with a 32¢ stamp to 300 million people. That is $96,000,000 just in postage alone!

What is the best method for your company to grow and generate more sales? Most likely if you’re in construction, advertising is not an option (see our last post). Traditional marketing is probably your best bet, but the best marketers use a bit of everything including advertising, traditional marketing, brand marketing, and even public relations.