Question

Why are companies using less mass media and rather adding more specialized (including social media and public relations) and highly targeted media?

Reference

Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2016). Principles of Marketing (16th ed.).

Answer 1

Mass-media advertising has long been the cornerstone of most brand-building efforts. But that norm is threatening to become obsolete. Fragmentation and rising costs are already inhibiting marketing through traditional mass media like television. For many years mass media advertising was seen as the strongest form of creating awareness to a company’s brand. However, the 21st century brings with it the decline of traditional mass media. As humans are being exposed to more and more advertising on a large scale, it is only inevitable that the effectiveness of the mass communication will greatly diminish. Magazines and newspapers are losing readers, radio is losing listeners, and most importantly television is losing viewers. social media sites and online gaming, as well as more and more homes having access to broadband internet connectivity and its capability to provide an ever-growing and an ever-higher quality of video content. Marketers also face a general proliferation of media and distribution channels, with declining trust in advertising, multitasking by consumers, and digital technologies that give users more control over their media time. These trends are simultaneously fragmenting both the audience and the channels needed to reach them. The danger for marketers is that this change will render the time honoured way of getting messages to consumers through TV commercials less effective at best and a waste of time and money at worst. Therefore, companies must be intuitive in seeking alternative marketing communications to increase their brand awareness and therefore utilise this now wider scope of tools.

One of the main differences between mass marketing and Internet marketing is the level of specificity that advertisers are able to achieve. With mass marketing, advertisers typically send out a message to a large audience all at once. This results in some wasted resources, as many people see the ad who are not interested in it. With online advertising, it is possible to zero in on a specific audience. For example, with search engine ads, your ad is only shown when someone types in a specific keyword. Another difference between online advertising and mass media is the budget required to accomplish both. Online advertising need less budget depend on the mass media. online advertising is more effective than mass media at creating a brand image.That is why most of the companies using less mass media and rather adding more specialized (including social media and public relations) and highly targeted media.