The Epic Bullshit: Traditional vs Digital

The easiest and superficial way to solve complex problems is to label them. Because labelling is easy, and it is like sweeping issues under the carpet. It does not require deep insight or intellectual effort.

When internet and digital media evolves, marketing industry quickly labeled the new advertising world: The distinction was clear (al least for them): Traditional advertising vs digital advertising. To me this was a hopeless and futureless distinction to overcome the complexity of tremendously changing landscape.

Coming to present, It is crystal clear that this kind of distinction is useless and it is just for lazy marketers and advertisers who are willing to survive by doing mediocre business. Now it is time to take the challenge and build a real holistic approach to marketing ecosystem. And this new era is about digital, screens, experiences and of course creativity.

Since we live in digital, and consume media through screens, it is pointless to name it as digital. It is just advertising. It is digital by default. Don’t even bother to name the obvious.

Media consumption has fundamentally changed. Today 90% of media interactions occur through screens. In a new multi-screen and connected world there are different devices, platforms, channels. So both media and advertising is about living in digital and screens.

By the way, TV also became digital via evolving device complexities, hardware technologies and user behavior. TV can also be interactive through user interface and user experience. For instance we watch Apple TV with a user experience with it. We can choose which content to view, when to view, in which device to view, etc. Other example is Netflix. We watch content on TV as an on demand media with internet streaming. We can interact with content, interface, or even play games within TV. The difference between PC mouse and TV remote is narrowing! I call TV the largest screen.

On the contrary, only 10% of media interactions are non-screen, which are mainly radio, outdoor and print. That means people should stop the debate of traditional vs digital. Rather than that, we have to focus on building stories and experiences which can Iive among multiple screens and change human behavior. We have to solve not only “business problems” of our clients but also “experience problems.”

This is what advertising stands for in this era. It is not traditional nor digital. It is what it is. 

Tayfun