Building a Multi-Channel Advertising Strategy: TV, Radio, and Digital

And Digital Date: October 2022 # Building a Multi-Channel Advertising Strategy: TV, Radio, and Digital It's October 2022, and the marketing landscape is more fragmented than ever. Our customers are constantly moving between devices, platforms, and even media types. They might hear a radio ad on their morning commute, see a related digital banner ad while browsing news at lunch, and then catch a full TV spot during their evening streaming session. The challenge isn't just being everywhere; it's being everywhere cohesively. A multi-channel strategy is no longer a luxury-it's the baseline for survival. But a truly effective strategy requires moving beyond simply having a presence on multiple channels to building a fully Integrated Campaign that treats every touchpoint as part of a single, seamless conversation. ## The Omnichannel Imperative: Moving Beyond Multi-Channel Let's be clear about the terminology. Many companies believe they have a multi-channel strategy because they run ads on Google, Facebook, and maybe a local radio station. That's a good start, but it's not enough. Multi-channel is about distribution. Omnichannel is about integration and the customer experience. In an omnichannel approach, the customer is at the center, and the channels-TV, radio, and digital-work together, sharing data and reinforcing the same core message. For example, a digital retargeting campaign should be informed by who was exposed to the TV or radio spot, allowing for a more personalized and cost-effective follow-up. The true power of omnichannel lies in its ability to manage the entire customer journey, not just individual touchpoints. For my clients, this means ensuring that the messaging they see on a billboard (traditional) is perfectly mirrored in the search ad they click (digital), and the follow-up email they receive (digital). This seamless experience is what differentiates a good marketing strategy from a great one in 2022. ## The Traditional Media Comeback: When TV and Radio Still Work In the rush to embrace all things digital, many marketers prematurely wrote off traditional media. But I've seen firsthand, particularly with my clients, that the Traditional Media Comeback is real, provided it's used strategically. ### Television: The Trust and Reach Multiplier In 2022, TV is not just linear broadcast anymore. The rise of Connected TV (CTV) and streaming services has given us the best of both worlds: the massive reach and emotional impact of television, combined with the targeting and measurement capabilities of digital. For a client in the B2B space, we used linear TV for broad brand awareness in key markets, focusing on the top-of-funnel message. We then used CTV platforms to target specific, high-income demographics with a more direct-response message. The linear TV ad built the trust and familiarity, and the CTV ad drove the action. This is a powerful one-two punch that digital-only campaigns often struggle to replicate. The sheer scale and emotional resonance of a well-produced TV spot-even a short one-can create a brand impression that is difficult to achieve through a small banner ad or a quick social media scroll. We're leveraging the credibility that traditional media still holds, but applying modern targeting and measurement to it. ### Radio: The Frequency and Local Powerhouse Radio is often overlooked, but it remains a powerhouse for frequency and local relevance. People listen to the radio in their cars, at work, and on smart speakers. It's a highly habitual medium. For a Law Firm Marketing client in the Houston area, we leveraged local radio spots to drive immediate, localized traffic. The radio ad didn't just mention the firm's name; it included a unique, easy-to-remember vanity URL or a specific call-to-action that was only used on the radio. This simple tactic allowed us to bridge the gap between the audio ad and the digital conversion path, making the radio spend directly measurable. When you can measure it, you can optimize it-and that's the key to proving that traditional media still works. ## Coordinating the Trio: A Practical Playbook The real magic happens when you treat TV, radio, and digital not as separate silos, but as instruments in a single orchestra. Here is a simple framework I use with my clients to ensure coordination: ### 1. Unified Messaging and Creative This is non-negotiable. Every piece of creative-whether a 30-second TV spot, a 15-second radio jingle, or a digital banner-must share the same visual identity, tone, and core value proposition. The customer should feel like they are encountering the same brand, regardless of the channel. In one case, a client's radio ad used a specific, memorable sound effect that we then incorporated into the opening of their YouTube pre-roll ads. The auditory cue instantly connected the two experiences. ### 2. Sequential Targeting Use the strengths of one channel to inform the next.

• TV/Radio to Digital: Use geo-targeting to serve digital ads to households or devices that were in the vicinity of a TV or radio broadcast during the ad slot. This is a powerful way to capitalize on the initial brand exposure.
• Digital to TV/Radio: Use digital data (website visits, CRM lists) to create lookalike audiences for programmatic TV or digital radio buys. This ensures your high-impact traditional media spend is reaching people who have already shown some level of interest. ### 3. Budget Allocation as a Multiplier Don't think of your budget as three separate buckets. Think of it as a single pool where each dollar acts as a multiplier for the others. If your digital attribution data shows that users exposed to radio convert at a 20% higher rate, then your radio spend is actually making your digital spend more efficient. This holistic view is crucial for maximizing your overall ROI. ## The Attribution Conundrum: Tracking ROI Across Channels This is where the rubber meets the road, and frankly, it's the hardest part of any Integrated Campaign. How do you accurately track the return on investment (ROI) when a customer's journey involves a radio ad, a Google search, and a final conversion on a desktop? In 2022, with the continued pressure on third-party cookies and the impact of privacy changes like Apple's iOS 14.5, simple last-click attribution is a relic of the past. As a Fractional CMO, I push my clients toward more sophisticated methods: ### Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA) MTA models-such as linear, time-decay, or U-shaped-attempt to assign credit to every touchpoint in the customer journey. While imperfect, they provide a far more accurate picture than last-click. For example, a linear model gives equal credit to the radio ad (first touch), the Google search (middle touch), and the final digital ad (last touch). This helps justify the spend on those upper-funnel, brand-building channels like TV and radio. ### Geo-Testing and Lift Studies For traditional media, the most reliable method for tracking ROI is often a controlled experiment.
• Geo-Testing: Run your TV or radio campaign in a specific set of test markets, and compare the conversion rates (website traffic, store visits, calls) in those markets against a set of control markets where the campaign is not running. The difference is the "lift" attributable to the traditional media. This is a critical step for any Fractional CMO to take, as it moves the conversation from "Did the ad run?" to "Did the ad work?" It provides the hard data needed to justify continued investment in channels that might otherwise be dismissed as "untrackable." ### Vanity URLs and Call Tracking: Bridging the Gap * Vanity URLs and Call Tracking: Using unique, channel-specific tracking mechanisms (dedicated phone numbers, unique landing pages, or promo codes) is a simple, effective way to directly link an offline touchpoint to an online action. For instance, a radio ad might direct listeners to "MyFirm.com/Radio" while a TV ad directs them to "MyFirm.com/TV." These small, tactical differences allow for clean, first-party data collection that is invaluable in a privacy-first world. The key takeaway for attribution in this complex environment is this: Perfection is the enemy of progress. You will never have a 100% perfect view of the customer journey. The goal is to get a directional view that is accurate enough to make smart, data-driven decisions about where to allocate your next marketing dollar. The investment in robust attribution is not an expense; it's an insurance policy for your entire marketing budget. ## Final Thoughts for the Modern Marketer Building a successful multi-channel strategy in 2022 is about embracing complexity and demanding integration. It requires a shift in mindset-from viewing channels as competitors for budget to seeing them as collaborators in a unified customer experience. If you're struggling to connect your traditional media spend to your digital performance, or if your attribution model is giving you more questions than answers, it's time to re-evaluate. The future of marketing is not digital-only; it's integrated, measurable, and customer-centric. It's about using the massive reach of TV and radio to build trust, and the precision of digital to drive action, all while having a clear, albeit complex, system for tracking the ROI. --- About the AuthorJacovia Cartwright is a highly sought-after Fractional CMO and marketing leader based in Houston, Texas, specializing in building high-growth, integrated marketing strategies for businesses across various sectors, including professional services and Law Firm Marketing. With a focus on practical, data-driven execution and a deep understanding of both traditional and digital media, Jacovia helps companies achieve sustainable, measurable growth without the overhead of a full-time executive. Her consulting experience is rooted in real-world results and a commitment to demystifying complex marketing challenges.*