Whether promoting products or pitching services, every business needs to advertise in order to establish connections with new, paying customers. When it comes to spending their marketing dollars, the possibilities are abundant and range from traditional print media to digital advertising.

This blog made the argument that online advertisement outperforms traditional ads. While I agree with the some of the advantages the writer mentioned that online advertising has over traditional methods, I believe that reading online may not be as effective or rewarding as the printed word.

One such study, published in 2008 in the Journal of Research in Reading, reveals that Physical manipulation (such as scrolling) distracts our focus from what we are reading, and the lack of physical dimension also seems to interfere. Print advertising is absorbed in a linear and user-controlled manner. People usually spend less time on each page when reading on tablets and computers comparing to when reading on printed materials. People using digital devices tend to tap, mouse, scroll, and swipe as they skip from screen to screen fairly rapidly.

                                                          Furthermore, unlike Internet and Television advertisements, which flash before our eyes and disappear in 15 to 30 seconds, printed advertisements stay on the page. This allows people who are interested in the advertisement to take a second look at the content of the ads and therefore increases the probability for them to actually make a purchase. A single ad in a single magazine may promote a product or service for months or even years before someone places the magazine in the trash. No other advertising method provides that much potential longevity from a single investment.

Original Blog:  http://www.examiner.com/article/how-online-advertising-is-outperforming-traditional-ads