Gone are the days where Yellow Pages and newspaper advertisements drove individuals to certain services. Within this technologically advanced world it is difficult to get away from mobile devices, computers equipped with internet, and paid advertisements. There has even been a surge of applying digital media to offline platforms (i.e. television, radio, newspapers) to leverage conversions across two unique platforms. While traditional media is on a downswing, it is still an important avenue to market within when return on investment (ROI) can be adequately tracked. Research has shown that online digital marketing strategies must be meticulously planned in order to drive offline media conversions and vice versa.

Strategies for bridging the gap between digital and offline media have taken years to develop. As digital forms of communication and internet usage continue to grow, companies must begin to co-brand across different media platforms to maintain relevance. Relating digital advertising within offline marketing has been shown to be an effective way to drive brand awareness within a targeted audiences; think Twitter hashtags during a television show. Depending on the target audience, different co-branding options are available to businesses through digital media.

Digital marketing experts are learning to drive conversions by bridging this digital-offline gap. Television shows, radio advertisements, and commercials are all sporting hashtags and  coupon codes that drive traffic back to a specific online source. Digital marketing experts also track specific company-relevant keywords and phrases across online and offline media platforms. They do this by tracking customer clicks and conversions and collecting short surveys. Complicated analytical models will run all of the information that is gathered through this research to come up with the most valuable offline media avenues. Long term data will need to be compiled; rate of change, change in clicks, change in conversion rate, etc. over time to show the efficacy of offline media and co-brand advertising.

A complete digital marketing plan should involve the use of digital advertisements, search engine optimization, and traditional (offline) media advertising. All of the research points to co-branding across multiple platforms. The companies that put their names, services, and information across digital and offline sources are climbing the ladder at a much faster rate than those who market on only one platform. Bridge the digital-offline gap to drive visibility, clicks, and conversions.