Groupon is a modern brand. In two short years, they’ve burst upon the marketing landscape with staggering impact.  The mighty Google bid six billion to buy them a month ago. And was rebuffed.

But today, Ad Age reports that this brand has chosen a shocking media vehicle to build awareness quickly–

Super Bowl TV ads.

Everyone realizes the marketing world has changed. The deep consumer engagement that digital channels make possible are definitely a powerful asset. But all of that engagement is meaningless when your brand’s growth challenge is awareness.

That is why Groupon’s media investment in high-profile TV advertising makes so much sense.  And yet this kind of wise, strategic thinking flies in the face of the prevailing conventional wisdom as spouted by the web’s loudest ad pundits, many of whom earn attention by loudly and repeatedly tap dancing on the grave of TV.

TV is far from dead; it remains the single most dependable medium for generating broad awareness.  Writing it off may be fashionable, but it’s also irresponsible. Because for every task, there is a right tool.

Despite what some other tools may claim.
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By Dennis Ryan, CCO, Element 79
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