Combining online and offline marketing

The power of combining online and offline marketing! Online marketing has become an indispensable part of our lives. As a result, offline marketing can sometimes seem to fade into the background — even though it is just as important. In this article, we highlight the strengths of both channels and how they can complement each other to achieve the best possible results.

The benefits of online marketing

We’re all familiar with the benefits of online marketing. Thanks to tools like Google Analytics, results are easy to measure. Once you’ve defined an online target audience, it becomes simple to actually reach them and create interaction, allowing a relationship to develop between an organisation/brand and its audience. Considering that the vast majority of people own a smartphone — and use it for an increasing number of purposes — more and more people find themselves in an online environment. By advertising in the places where the target audience is present, the brand becomes visible and brand awareness increases.

Offline campain and offline marketing

Offline marketing is often seen as intangible, but it is fundamentally important in a campaign. Here, we focus on our offline specialty: outdoor advertising. Despite the many developments in the media landscape, outdoor advertising has only become more valuable. The fact that we spend more and more time outside the home is a well-known trend. By using outdoor advertising, you get very close to your target audience.

We live in a “popup” world. It’s all about being present at the moment when the target audience is there in large numbers. Online, this is leveraged through social media — and in many offline campaigns, this is no different. The ultimate popup product perfectly suited for offline marketing is the Trotter. This mobile billboard makes an impact on passers-by and can be effectively used across various sectors. Several national supermarket chains in the Netherlands successfully use the Trotter in offline campaigns to increase visitor numbers and boost the sales of specific products.
The major advantage of outdoor advertising is that it is visible 24/7, cannot be switched off or skipped, and therefore builds reach quickly. Since most people travel the same routes repeatedly each day, it is highly likely that they encounter the advertisement frequently — and it will (consciously or subconsciously) stick in their minds.

By using outdoor advertising at Point-of-Sale locations, you seize the final moment of contact with the target audience just before they make a purchase. This offers the perfect opportunity to influence that purchase. Especially when you consider that 40% of all shoppers come into contact with outdoor advertising in the 30 minutes before making their purchase. This was shown in the study “The Last Window Influence”, conducted by Outsmart UK.
McDonald’s Schiphol taps into this by placing window decals at the entrance featuring an appealing image of the Maestro Burger. Model launches at car dealerships are also always promoted through both online and offline campaigns by importers. By using the same campaign visuals online and offline, uniformity is created and…

Combining online and offline marketing

To achieve success, online and offline marketing must primarily exist side by side. In this way, they reinforce each other. The challenge lies in ensuring that both online and offline marketing benefit from one another. It is, however, essential that the brand identity presents the same face in both forms. Recognition is key here! By placing temporary outdoor advertising at a physical location, you create a mental connection for passers-by. At that moment, they consciously or even unconsciously form a psychological association with your brand during the offline campaign. The seed is planted, and later it will bloom online.

Balance

When balancing online and offline advertising, it is important to use different communication channels. For example, include your website or social media in your offline advertising as a business card that directs people to your online channels and the other way around. The advantage of using multiple channels is that your reach increases significantly. Perhaps part of your target audience does not use social media or even have internet access at all. You can still reach this group with an offline campaign. Or perhaps passers by are not aware that you are active online. Their journey to your online channels is then sparked by your offline advertising.

Why combine online and offline marketing?

Companies that succeed in combining their online and offline advertising in a healthy way that works for the customer are the winners and see their results grow. For example, companies that combined online and offline channels in 2018 achieved a total revenue increase of 19 percent (source De Nationale Franchise Gids).

The answer

The point is clear: offline advertising strengthens your online activities. But which form of offline advertising should you use? There is no ready made answer to that. The ideal mix depends on many factors: your product or service, your goal, your budget and your target audience. What matters most is to think from the perspective of your customers. This way you align the channels with what your customers need, which in turn leads to higher sales.

Tailored advice!

Image Building can help you with this. We are happy to create tailored advice that is fully aligned with your wishes, your budget, the message you want to communicate and of course the physical location where your offline advertising needs to be visible. With the diversity of our products we have a solution for every request. Feel free to get in touch with us, the team is ready for all your questions.

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Trotter; 10 times more than just the campaign board for elections

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Combining online and offline marketing
General

Combining online and offline marketing

Read blog