It’s a big question. Many of the older generations would undoubtedly disagree with this statement. But, having grown up on radio, newspaper and television advertising, it is unlikely that they would start to make the switch now.
However, as new generations spring into life, a multi-billion-dollar digital marketing marketplace has made people extremely wealthy.
Given the digital revolution’s impact on other industries, it has been a worrying time for traditional print advertising and radio for at least two decades. Television, newspaper and radio have seen their audiences shrink worldwide. With that audience shrinking, the advertising revenue declines.
You only need to look at book companies or casino operators. Before the internet, both industries operated entirely from physical locations. Since the internet created waves, bookstores have struggled to stay open. Many gamblers have begun moving toward digital casinos, which are often considered more convenient and accessible.
Digital casinos have many games available that you can’t find in physical casinos. For example, classic table-based games such as poker, blackjack and roulette operate similarly. However, generally, you should know that roulette odds don’t change. This is because the table is purely based on mathematical probability.
Still, you can find other games which implement the latest technology that you can’t find in a casino.
Advertising Glory Years
TV shows like Mad Men depict how much money was involved in big advertising half a century ago. Then, newspapers were yesterday’s social media; newspapers would shift millions of copies daily, turning media giants and moguls into wealthy men.
Rupert Murdoch’s empire was solely built on the advertising revenue his huge papers generated in the United Kingdom and the United States. However, he also furthered his grip by branching out into television and, later on, the internet. His net worth is over $15 billion, and he is among the world’s wealthiest men.
However, it was in traditional media that he truly made his name. Shifting millions of copies of newspapers daily for decades in the UK and the US, once he leapt to digital broadcasting, his grip on sports in both countries also allowed him to generate colossal revenue.
Other media tycoons at the time included Robert Maxwell and, in Canada, Conrad Black.
The Growth Of The Internet
The rise of the internet was very much a black swan event for traditional media. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, the money made at the top of the media industry by several billionaires was genuinely astonishing.
Having dominated the market for three to four decades, media moguls must have thought the good times would never end.
However, as the 1990s progressed, the internet became a more significant feature. As computers became more affordable and mobile phones grew in sophistication, the traditional advertising world struggled to keep a stranglehold on its colossal revenue.
Small businesses would use the internet for advertising their products and services. It led to the rise of message boards which completely replaced sections in the newspaper that people would use to promote second-hand products they were trying to sell.
The 21st Century
This technology continued to accelerate in sophistication, mobile phones soon had access to the internet, and social media started to take over as the number one form of news and advertising.
Even newspapers that used to be colossal had to completely switch their focus to digital services to ensure that their business model stayed relevant and that their businesses could stay afloat.
Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspaper, The Sun, used to be the biggest-selling newspaper in the UK. However, since the rise of the internet, a tidal wave of criminal investigations into the newspaper, which includes phone hacking scandals, the paper is widely expected to disappear by the end of this decade.
YouTubers are a new generation of entertainers who have been able to become multi-millionaires by growing their content organically from their homes and then advertising to their millions of subscribers. Mr Beast is the most prominent YouTuber, and his advertising base is more significant than every newspaper circulation in the United States.
Conclusion
As a new generation of young people grows up solely on the internet, with no interest in newspapers, radio or television, the future isn’t suitable for traditional advertising. Many companies use social media for advertising themselves for free.
Although some social media and internet advertising can cost money, it is minuscule compared to the budgets that some businesses would have to fork out just to get their names in a local newspaper.
They now have a global market available quickly and aren’t hindered to a local area. So they have millions more people they can reach.
By 2050, who knows whether the traditional form of advertising will still be with us? Outside of huge events such as the Super Bowl, it’s likely that newspaper, television and radio advertisements will disappear completely.
