Digital is different, a brave new world, a new paradigm. Well, not exactly.
As the trend of spend switching from traditional to digital marketing channels shows no sign of slowing and as digital marketing solutions jostle for position, it's easy to think that "digital" and "new media" are, well, different from "old" media.
As advertisers evaluate digital marketing solutions, they should do so with a mindset that is far from new, and that dates from the earliest days of using mainframe computers to solve marketing problems. Although the offline direct response industry is now declining, it grew substantially and had a lifespan of many decades precisely because marketers were able to operate at large scale efficiently and measure their results so well.
Direct response media such as direct mail, telemarketing and Direct Response TV delivered clear understanding about customer segments, products, media and offers that made money and those that didn't; about what could be tested and measured in order to increase response; and about finding the segment/product/media/offer combination that would outperform and become the "control" against which all else was tested.
As advertisers hunt for the green shoots of recovery from this recession, they would do well to buy those digital marketing solutions that offer the same tried and true measurability and predictability of direct response, and that make setting and meeting business objectives so much easier.
Chris Enticknap
UK Sales Manager
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