22-May-11 10:00 AM CST

Radio Advertising Thoughts: Tying Traditional and Social Media Together

The death of traditional media won’t happen on May 21^st, 2011, even if the world comes to an abrupt end, (and that is highly unlikely). The death of traditional media will happen when every ad person forgets that one media platform builds on another, and another, and another. Some of the biggest and best social media success stories have been built on the traditional media platform. Gary Vaynerchuk, in his book “The Thank You Economy”, gives great examples of how traditional and social can benefit the outcome, and how one advertiser missed an opportunity to turn a free product giveaway into a goldmine of customer love. Denny’s created a date with their consumer base during the 2010 Super Bowl, inviting viewers to drop by for a free Grand Slam Breakfast. Great spots, but Vaynerchuk says, why didn’t they tie in a Facebook aspect. Instead of just giving away a bunch of high calorie, artery clogging, but so tasty breakfasts, they could have as Gary puts is, “extended the conversation” with an offer for a free OJ in exchange for a ton of usable marketing material. Traditional media is not going away anytime soon. It will take agencies and advertisers that are smart enough to recognize that brand engagement is the way.