To promote a new product or service what do you think is the best way to market it for sales? Stop thinking as a marketer for a minute and become a customer. What form of advertisement influenced your last purchase? Was it from a T.V. commercial, flyer/business card, radio ad etc. (Old School), or was it from a ad online, a youtube video, hearing about it on a social network etc. (New School)? Which form of marketing/promotion do you think is more effective and why?
Television ads help build trust and confidence for some reason. If you want to do it online, make sure your advertising is targeted, it makes no sense to advertise a hosting company for example on a youtube video of "cash for clunkers".
I agree with you in regards to T.V. ads. I think it makes a company appear successful, and gives you an incentive to do biz with them.
T.V. ads can contain a lot more humor than banner/text ads usually do on the web, though some Youtube campaigns are about as close as you can get to a cross between the two "schools" -- it is video, acts like TV, but can be viewed at will and can go viral in a second.
I totally agree with paradigmad. Some product like online games work effective with online ads and some still work best in offline marketing. With online marketing, the best result i get is from "Pre-sell" page. Writing a pre-sell page and state the pros and cons of a particular product will DEFINITELY increase your conversion rates as people still like 2nd opinion.
YouTube is close to T.V. ads but some videos get very few views if they're unfamiliar with you. Also, I think what paradigmad said is true too. It really depends on your target market. Ysk, do you think placing a pre-sell page on another site works better than testimonials on your own site?
There are pros and cons in every approach. Depending on your budget you can invest in both. Surely a tv ad will do very good, but it is VERY expensive.
Above the line promotions like TV, radio, etc. are good but I personally have purchased more products recently from more subtle marketing methods that I was less aware that promotion was even taking place. Sponsorships, endorsements, product placement, public relations, and other forms of below the line promotions.
I was lastly influenced by online marketing. Not so much advertisment, but moreso just finding my product online through reviews and things. However, I'm an internet junkie. I think in general you really have to go to where your audience is. That's what marketing is all about. This is why you see so many commercials of upcoming television shows on TV. Their audience is already sitting in front of a television, they know that whoever is watching TV at that moment probably watches it on a consistent basis, and therefore, might be interested in their upcoming show. You probably won't see those shows advertised on a billboard in deep dark africa where there are no televisions. Old school marketing still applies for the things that Old School marketing has always been successful for. There are new media outlets that opened the door for new types of products. Someone else I beleive already made this point, but there is a good reason why most hosting companies (GoDaddy would be the exception) do not advertise on TV.
You made some great points PHPGator. It seems it's all about creating ads that make it easy for a potential customer to follow through.
I think that it does help to have the customer in mind and get inside their heads, but internet marketing is a lot different than radio or tv advertising, and is also quite different than many other forms of offline advertising. However, what makes people "tick" is the same, so if you can get inside the mind of your customer, your chances of making the sale increase significantly.
A couple of months back I saw a Moonpig.com commercial on TV. 3 days ago I made my first purchase, international. Great service! So yes, TV rules them all.
Great points PHPGator, depends on what you are selling and who the audiance is moonpig will do well on tv as it has a wider market, everybody sends cards and there are plenty of occasions too, however for internet based products new school would be better and cheaper.
This really depends on what you are selling or what service you are offering and just who your target demographic is! If its young children then radio isn't going to be the best! Likewise older people wont respond or even maybe see social marketing or even youtube videos etc etc! The best strategy varys for each niche, product, service etc etc etc! Tom Brite
I agree with what Getagrip said about getting into your customers minds. This is the only way any marketing can truly be effective in my opinion. Also, it seems like Old School marketing might stay in your mind longer since it was a couple months before mjreb2 made a purchase. It also could be familiarity with what moonpig offered before seeing the commercial. As StudentMotion stated, I think New School marketing may work better for fast money. On the net you can close a sale in minutes, and if it's a service, the consumer gets a feeling of instant gratification.