Some five centuries after Gutenberg’s breathtaking invention of the printing press, the world is once again in the midst of a media revolution that is changing the way we think, work, learn, communicate and act forever. A change that is also radically influencing the established balance of power in society. The trigger behind this is the global shift from mass media to social media, from analogue to digital communications channels. This has far-reaching consequences for marketers frenetically trying to sell their products. Are we to completely rule out traditional, unidirectional media channels to promote our products and services or should marketers, PR and communication professionals opt for a multichannel approach guiding their brand towards everlasting success and unconditional brand loyalty?
Mass media: unidirectional and one-fits-all communication strategies
Mass media or traditional media have been an integral part of the marketing mix ever since advertising was still in its infancy. Traditional media heavily rely on the one-fits-all paradigm and the classic unidirectional communications model: the brand creates a message and launches a generic message to the masses through broadcast, print, radio, or signage. In mass media, content marketing consists of messages that are carefully planned and executed by teams of highly trained professionals. The brand spends huge amounts of money crafting these messages and much more distributing them. (Source:
http://www.hausmanmarketingletter.com/social-media-versus-traditional-media/)
The traditional communications model used to be much appreciated and trusted by consumers and has proven to be extremely successful to market products. Yet with the non-stoppable rise to fame of social networks, times they are a’changing. Consumers no longer want to be bombarded with messages that are none of their concern and which lack credibility coming directly from the company or brand. Let’s face it: drawing the attention of today’s consumers has become an incredibly daunting task…
Social Media: bidirectional and one-on-one communication strategies
Some 25 years after the World Wide Web first came into being; the Internet has become a widespread communication tool for billions of people from around the world.
