Striking the Balance Between Digital and Non-Digital Marketing and Advertising for Startups

Lloyd Tronco at the Restaurant Engagement Conference

In a symposium conducted last 2016, Jay Bautista, General Manager of Kantar Media made an impromptu survey among the audience. He asked who sourced their regular dose of information from TV and radio. Those who raised their arms were aged 40 years old and above. Again, another question, who were those who sourced it from the internet. Most belonging to 40 years old and below raised their arms. One final question, who would rather have their smartphones with internet connectivity than TV during an entire day. The answer was surprising, most raised their hands and they cut among the generations present.

Fast forward to 2017. Tech startups are gaining not only traction but momentum. The same is not only experienced in the National Capital Region (NCR) but also in urban centers nationwide. The growth can be referred to as multi-regional driven. This is because of the increasing number of highly educated and skilled urban dwellers that need employment and livelihood opportunities.

The target market for these startups is those that need solutions to everyday problems ranging from healthcare to food and nourishment and everything in between. The idea is to make the target market aware of the available services and technology solutions developed to serve that know niche and to create demand for the niche.

In the Restaurant Engagement Conference held last August 12 – 13, 2017, the focus was on those startup restaurants, those that still belong to the small to medium classifications in the industry. It was only logical that not having the resources of big fastfood and restaurant chains, these startup restaurants would need to have an opportunity to make their products and services known to a wide market as possible.

The conference speakers represented resource speakers that discussed subjects that varied from SEO enhancements, Chatbots, Digital Promotions among others.

Recently, the seeming trend was to go digital in marketing, advertising, and promotion since it is less costly and more efficient in reaching out to most everybody. That was the perception. But the reality is that since it is more efficient, it is easier to do in the long run but that such method saturates cyberspace and thus reduces the “dwell time” of the audience to a mere 4 seconds. 

Lloyd Tronco of philCOuRSe represented the Non-Digital Channels for marketing and advertising. Citing examples found in the US and Europe where restaurants and food services are thriving and using outdoor advertising in conjunction with digital marketing techniques. It was pointed out that a combination of both was a potent mix as a tool for the promotion of these restaurants and is also applicable for tech startups.

According to Mr. Tronco, there is a need for clarity in measuring the efficacy of both digital and non-digital methods in marketing and advertising with regards to startups and restaurants. A so called “sweet spot” must be found by each enterprise that will suit their targets with regards to market penetration share and brand awareness. 

The writer, Lloyd Tronco, is an Out-Of-Home Media Strategist.  He is a constant subject matter expert on matters pertaining to Out-Of-Home Media and Digital Signage.  He is also the industry journalist for OOH in the Philippines.