Babies and Bathwater

There is an old saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater."

My interpretation of this saying is that as you are getting rid of things you don't want, or no longer need (in this case the bathwater), be careful that you don't also get rid of something valuable (i.e. the baby).

In our current media and communication milieu, many companies are throwing out the bathwater of their traditional PR plans.  With tools like Twitter and Facebook, the thinking often goes, who needs newspapers (or radio or TV)?  With websites and e-newsletters and video conferencing, who would ever again pay to place a print ad or struggle to get their message into 30 seconds with music?

But here's the thing:  very similar things were said about newspapers and magazines more than 100 years ago when commercial radio became popular and the same thing about radio (and newspapers and magazines) when television joined the media fracas.  And newspapers and magazines and radio are still around and by most accounts, doing OK.

More importantly, those "traditional media" are still delivering visibility and audiences for those advertisers who use them wisely.

You see, I think new media tends to be additive, not replacing, in nature.  Each new media adds something new to the customer experience, but most don't really replace the old.  And even if it does replace those experiences for some, there are still many many many people who cling to their newspapers or radio programs with strength and conviction.

Traditional media also evolves.  Radio stations we have today are remarkably different than the first radio networks, but no less vibrant or vital of a media.  

So, when you are thinking of throwing "traditional media" out the window with that bathwater, you really need to calculate if you really can do without all of those customers who don't have access to new media, who don't care to have access, or that want access, but can't figure out how to use it, so they don't.