Traditional Advertising Is Still Alive
We've all heard it before: "traditional advertising is dead." But if that were true, why are we still seeing commercials on TV, hearing ads on the radio, and seeing billboards on the highway during our morning commute?
Because it's not true! Traditional advertising is still very much alive and used by some of the largest companies worldwide. You see traditional advertising in a variety of mediums:
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• Print (magazines, newspapers, etc.)
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• Broadcast (TV, radio, etc.)
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• Direct Mail (catalogues, postcards, etc.)
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• Outdoor (billboards, fliers, etc.)
With all the buzz around digital advertising, you may ask yourself why traditional advertising hasn't found its way out of marketing plans and strategies. Traditional ads reach thousands, sometimes millions, of people at a time. With one ad placement, you can get your message in front of a very large crowd.
Traditional advertising is even adapting to the new digital world. Think of apps like Pandora, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and Hulu. The way users are engaging with traditional media may have expanded, but it's all still traditional media at its core.
What types of traditional media are still effective?
The short answer? All of them. People are still watching TV, listening to the radio, and reading newspapers.
In fact, more than 256 million Americans are listening to radio for an average of 14.5 hours each week. Out of those 256 million people, 63% of drivers over age 18 use traditional AM/FM radio to find and keep up with new music.1 The Infinite Dial 2017
Should digital and traditional advertising be used together?
Absolutely! Advertising works best when you get your message in front of your target audience through a variety of mediums and outlets. The best strategies are typically a mixture of traditional and digital strategies. The key is to understand your target market: advertise on the mediums they use most and develop messaging that will make them want to learn more. The more they see your study name or site name, the more likely they will be to act on that advertisement.
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