What is Tradigital Marketing and Advertising?

At Digital Relativity, we refer to ourselves as a tradigital marketing and advertising agency. Usually met with some funny looks, which always provides the opportunity to answer the question, “What is tradigital?”

Is it a word we made up? No, not really. But sorta, kinda. The credit for coining the term ‘tradigital’ belongs to Judith Moncreef, who first used the reference in the 1990s while serving as an instructor at the Pacific Northwest College of Art.

“Moncrieff used the term “tradigital media” to describe this merging of traditional and digital tools and “tradigitalism” as a name for this emerging movement.”

Her approach was not about marketing but rather the collision of digital and traditional forms of media.

“The school held a competition between Moncrieff’s students, who used the medium to electronically combine everything from photographs of costumes to stills from videotapes of performing dancers.”

I love the creativity behind the concept of combining things to build something richer. Nuanced. Dare I say, better?

Tradigital Marketing and Advertising
In reference to marketing and advertising, the meaning of ‘tradigital’ is simply the convergence of traditional marketing and advertising tactics with digital forms that have the luxury of detailed targeting, tracking and accountability. In the context of modern marketing and advertising strategy, it makes perfect sense. Yet some have been (and still are!) reluctant to adopt the mindset and adapt to the outcomes.  

It is surprising to see so many agencies that are stand-offish in accepting the concept, often appeasing their clients by merely acknowledging and outsourcing, with no attempt to understand the concepts or how to apply them. It only becomes another service that can be offered, with a mark-up for the agency, instead of building efficiencies and informing other components of your marketing. 

Those of us that embraced digital early on often found ourselves labeled as “the geeks,” “the techies,” and other equally infuriating descriptions used by those that failed (or refused?) to grasp how the marketing landscape was changing. We also learned some tough lessons early on and learned from experiences rather than tutorials. Today, everything you need to become knowledgeable about digital marketing is available to you.

Is digital a savior for your marketing efforts? No. Please stop it. Is “print dead“? No. Please stop it. I would also like to point out that no form of marketing or advertising, digital or traditional, will solve an underlying business problem. Are you looking for silver bullets? You’re f’ed. Looking to make smarter marketing decisions? The answers are in front of you.

Gather Your Data!
At Digital Relativity, our approach to work is from the perspective of data and analytics. Please give us as much information as you have. And yes, we mean everything. 

When asked about data or information that you don’t think anyone wouldn’t care about or doesn’t mean much, know that it does. Uncover and connect as many data sources as possible. Mash it up, sift it, sort it, make inferences, make mistakes and learn how all the different components of your marketing can inform and improve each other.

Using information learned from trackable sources to improve your traditional media placements can help ensure that you make the most of your precious marketing and advertising budgets.

The Tradigital Approach Isn’t a Fad
I find it quite painful to have conversations with those who only espouse digital benefits when many traditional tactics are viable and proven effective. How do you track that? Look at your trackable, measurable tactics. Look at your bottom line and look for patterns in the data to help you understand how your marketing and advertising have an impact (or lack thereof) on your business.

Get Started in Tradigital Marketing
There are countless ways to implement tradigital strategies; here are just two tactics for your tradigital marketing strategy.

Call Tracking Numbers
Gone are the days of setting up multiple landlines with roll-overs and limited tracking. Call Tracking platforms like CallTrackingMetrics provide opportunities to track straightforward ways, including dynamic number insertion on your website. 

The flexibility in implementation and the data you receive can be invaluable in optimizing and evaluating campaigns. 

SMS and MMS
Turn-key self-service platforms make using SMS and MMS messaging not only accessible to all businesses but very easy to implement. Choose your keyword, set up your lists and replies, and you are ready.

These can be great to help drive engagement and build lists from print ads and publications, in-store signage and presentations. It is a medium that everyone is comfortable with, and as an opt-in inbound tactic, it creates high-interest leads and lists.

QR Codes
Many of us have an on-again, off-again relationship with QR Codes. They have been around since the early 1990s but only in the last few years have they become more accessible as iOS and Android phones began to bake a scanner into the native camera.

QR codes show up in a variety of locations on things like consumer packaging, beer labels, signs and in this example, a print publication. 

The West Virginia State Parks sought to consolidate more than XX pieces of individual collateral into a comprehensive interactive guide to showcase the outstanding parks, lodges and state forests in West Virginia.

Throughout the guide, QR Codes present and invite the reader to scan the code for additional unique content.

“As you flip through the pages of this guide, simply hover your camera over the QR codes to unlock exclusive content. With a quick scan, watch the pages come alive and view West Virginia’s state parks and forests through a unique interactive experience.”

This layer of interactivity, or an otherwise stagnant medium, further enhances the high-quality content and imagery to inspire travel to West Virginia.

Why Tradigital?
Gaining the attention of your prospects and potential customers is more complicated than ever. Media consumption continues to fragment in ways that require more significant detail to strategy and planning. Ensuring that your efforts in all mediums work together is imperative for the success of your marketing and advertising efforts. 

Can you track everything? No. Can you do more to connect the dots between your digital and traditional advertising and marketing? Yes.

Need help with implementing a Tradigital marketing strategy? We can help.