Blurred Marketing
There's this notion that some people have about marketing. Specifically, online marketing. Many online marketers are looking for the next killer online marketing strategy, only they seem to forget that most of their target market lives in the offline world. In other words, they completely ignore offline marketing or do it very sparingly.
Of course, the same can be said for some brick and mortar businesses in the offline world, especially more established and conservative smaller businesses. Either they don't have the budget, they reason, to market online. Or they don't have the technical skills, they figure. Or they are downright Luddite in nature about changes in technology.
These folks seem to forget that it shouldn't be about them or their marketing preferences. They need to go where their market's at, and if they can't get there on their own, well, then that's when they need to bring in help. After all, the Internet, rich in content as it is, is still just another type of marketing media.
My friend Yanik Silver is a perfect example of doing what it takes to get online and start selling. Although Yanik sells online to a variety of niche markets, he still doesn't know how to create his own web page. But Yanik also doesn't restrict himself to online marketing only.
And that's what this post is about. On the one hand you have staunch offline marketers, refusing to dip their toes into the online world. And at the other end of the spectrum are the strictly online marketers, who refuse (or don't know any better) to invest any time or capital into any other advertising media than the Internet. After all, "email is free!"
And then you have what I call "blurred marketing," which is really just another term for smart marketing. Here you have those individuals and businesses that understand the benefits of marketing offline and online. To them, there is no "offline marketing" or "online marketing." There is only marketing.
Dan Kennedy talks about the message to market match. Furthermore, he identifies the three components that make up marketing:
1) The message
2) The market
3) The media
So when we talk about offline versus online marketing, we're really just talking about a difference in #3, the media. And the only valid reason for a marketer to favor one media over another can be summed up in one word: results.
Let's say that for every dollar I spend advertising in People magazine for a particular product, I make back $10. And let's also say that for every dollar I spend advertising online, I make back $4.
Where do you think I'm going to want to concentrate on spending my advertising budget?
Of course, that's a rather simplistic example, because there are many places to advertise online as well, so perhaps a fairer comparison would be to compare advertising in the Wall Street Journal online, for example, to People Magazine. Or advertising online compared to offline in general. But I think you get the point I'm trying to make, which is this: you go where you can get your biggest return on investment (ROI).
So we test. And tweak. And test some more. We're always trying to beat our control, the ad that's so far giving us our greatest ROI. And when we finally beat it, our ROI goes up even further. In this way we're slowly approaching the most efficient message to market match as possible. And some times it takes a long time to get there, if ever.
For example, the famous Wall Street Journal ad about two men was their best selling piece for decades. It was only recently that the "two men" control was finally beaten.
And for certain marketing campaigns, the blur is even more evident. For example, Subway Sandwiches recently did a scratch-off contest that revealed a code, and you had to go online and punch in the code to find out if you won. Would you call that offline marketing? Or online marketing?
Or how about this? David Garfinkel and Michel Fortin recently released their Breakthrough Copywriting package. They did online and offline JVs, but were primarily selling online. But then they held these teleseminars where they delivered great content and actual breakthrough copywriting techniques. And then they mentioned their course at the end of the call. In fact, I did one such call with them, and if you want, you can listen to it here. When you add in the teleseminar and other offline activity, they are certainly using blurred marketing.
Now, I know there are some people who market strictly online. Terry Dean and Jonathan Mizel come to mind. But they know if they marketed offline, they would make even more money. They just choose to stay online only because for them it's simpler. It's a lifestyle choice they've chosen to make. They don't want to deal with employees or postage, printing and labor and other offline expenses. So clearly there are always exceptions. But it should be a personal choice, and not one made out of ignorance.
So "blurred marketing," as I call it, is hardly a new concept. It amazes me that some businesses don't even test at all. They either blindly put out their own ads, hoping for a home run, or they put their trust in a big ad agency.
If that sounds like you, isn't it time to start finding out where the real money is?
Of course, the same can be said for some brick and mortar businesses in the offline world, especially more established and conservative smaller businesses. Either they don't have the budget, they reason, to market online. Or they don't have the technical skills, they figure. Or they are downright Luddite in nature about changes in technology.
These folks seem to forget that it shouldn't be about them or their marketing preferences. They need to go where their market's at, and if they can't get there on their own, well, then that's when they need to bring in help. After all, the Internet, rich in content as it is, is still just another type of marketing media.
My friend Yanik Silver is a perfect example of doing what it takes to get online and start selling. Although Yanik sells online to a variety of niche markets, he still doesn't know how to create his own web page. But Yanik also doesn't restrict himself to online marketing only.
And that's what this post is about. On the one hand you have staunch offline marketers, refusing to dip their toes into the online world. And at the other end of the spectrum are the strictly online marketers, who refuse (or don't know any better) to invest any time or capital into any other advertising media than the Internet. After all, "email is free!"
And then you have what I call "blurred marketing," which is really just another term for smart marketing. Here you have those individuals and businesses that understand the benefits of marketing offline and online. To them, there is no "offline marketing" or "online marketing." There is only marketing.
Dan Kennedy talks about the message to market match. Furthermore, he identifies the three components that make up marketing:
1) The message
2) The market
3) The media
So when we talk about offline versus online marketing, we're really just talking about a difference in #3, the media. And the only valid reason for a marketer to favor one media over another can be summed up in one word: results.
Let's say that for every dollar I spend advertising in People magazine for a particular product, I make back $10. And let's also say that for every dollar I spend advertising online, I make back $4.
Where do you think I'm going to want to concentrate on spending my advertising budget?
Of course, that's a rather simplistic example, because there are many places to advertise online as well, so perhaps a fairer comparison would be to compare advertising in the Wall Street Journal online, for example, to People Magazine. Or advertising online compared to offline in general. But I think you get the point I'm trying to make, which is this: you go where you can get your biggest return on investment (ROI).
So we test. And tweak. And test some more. We're always trying to beat our control, the ad that's so far giving us our greatest ROI. And when we finally beat it, our ROI goes up even further. In this way we're slowly approaching the most efficient message to market match as possible. And some times it takes a long time to get there, if ever.
For example, the famous Wall Street Journal ad about two men was their best selling piece for decades. It was only recently that the "two men" control was finally beaten.
And for certain marketing campaigns, the blur is even more evident. For example, Subway Sandwiches recently did a scratch-off contest that revealed a code, and you had to go online and punch in the code to find out if you won. Would you call that offline marketing? Or online marketing?
Or how about this? David Garfinkel and Michel Fortin recently released their Breakthrough Copywriting package. They did online and offline JVs, but were primarily selling online. But then they held these teleseminars where they delivered great content and actual breakthrough copywriting techniques. And then they mentioned their course at the end of the call. In fact, I did one such call with them, and if you want, you can listen to it here. When you add in the teleseminar and other offline activity, they are certainly using blurred marketing.
Now, I know there are some people who market strictly online. Terry Dean and Jonathan Mizel come to mind. But they know if they marketed offline, they would make even more money. They just choose to stay online only because for them it's simpler. It's a lifestyle choice they've chosen to make. They don't want to deal with employees or postage, printing and labor and other offline expenses. So clearly there are always exceptions. But it should be a personal choice, and not one made out of ignorance.
So "blurred marketing," as I call it, is hardly a new concept. It amazes me that some businesses don't even test at all. They either blindly put out their own ads, hoping for a home run, or they put their trust in a big ad agency.
If that sounds like you, isn't it time to start finding out where the real money is?
posted by John Ritskowitz at
11:33 AM
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