What is Non-Traditional Media today?

Submitted by Mitch Seigel on Fri, 12/02/2011

It used to be that if you saw an airplane at the beach towing an ad for a business, that was non-traditional media. Then billboard companies started putting up messages on sides of buildings and that was non-traditional media. Then you started seeing street advertising, commonly known as guerilla marketing, popping up everywhere and that was non-traditional media.

How long do specific media need to be around before they are considered traditional media? Do media want to be known as traditional or non-traditional, or does that really matter?

The truth is that non-traditional media have been around just as long as traditional media. We may consider mass media such as radio, television or newspaper as traditional. Yet as more potential opportunities for exposure appear, the marketing pie keeps getting cut up and the word mass is no longer applicable.

For a company targeting a younger audience today, traditional media may mean where most of their time is spent, and that may be with the internet and mobile. The reverse may be true for a target of senior citizens. Much more important is the target ability of a medium toward the customer, and in the case of sampling or hands-on experiences, the accessibility to the same customers.

So the answer to the original question is that it lies in the eyes of the beholder. If you are using non-traditional media to get the message out about your product or service, then chances are that you are thinking outside the box and doing something different. This approach is almost a must today to give your company separation from the competition.

What are your challenges when it comes to determining media to buy? I look forward to hearing your comments. Until next time …