What is the Ideal Marketing Mix

Traditional Advertising, Online, Onsite or a Mix of all Three?

As I sit on my couch watching TV here in Israel, a calm rushes over me as I realize that my TV viewing experience is completely different than just three weeks ago in the Untied States.  It's amazing, yet somewhat surprising, that there are no advertisements between commercials of television shows here.  As a TV fan, I love the concept as I  no longer have to sit through the played-out GEICO commercials, or the local car dealership screaming at me tilling me why they'll get you the best deal!  But as a man who loves marketing, it makes me wonder, is it really best for the overall sale of a product?

Often in America we're taught in the marketing and advertising world that eyeballs = sales.  This is why you often see a bidding war for professional sports contracts in the United States, like ESPN's new deal to televise NCAA Football Playoffs, because the more eyeballs you have on your TV, the more expensive your ad space will become.  While this is great for TV networks, is it truly best for the brand themselves, or are we now entering an age where we don't truly know the best marketing mix?  Online has become the new medium of choice, which is why all we hear about now are acronyms like CPI, CPC, CTR, etc.  But again, do impressions really help sell new TV's, or just give you more information on what exactly you need to buy.

I personally believe you need a mixture of about 50% TV, 35% online and 15% onsite.  Each industry may be a bit different on this scale, but overall, it allows brands the opportunity to not only utilize all marketing mediums, but focus on different demographics as well.

So as much as it pains to me to say this, I think that it should be required for all TV stations to sell ad space during their primetime shows.  After all, isn't that why we created the DVR?