Long before when the digital wave and smartphones had hit the marketing ecosystem, the most preferred format of marketing means for the renowned brands used to be the television, newspaper, brochures, billboard and radio. The brands used powerful jingles, punchlines, and rhyming to showcase their brand’s purpose in the media. Any medium of marketing that involves mediums such as print, broadcast, phone, billboards, radio, flyers, and pamphlets excluding online medium is termed as traditional marketing. Traditional businesses identify their audience based on their density in a particular region where they can see, hear or interact with it online. Although in the digital era brands are implementing technologies for target-based marketing traditional marketing plays an important role in reaching local communities. Advertisements in the traditional medium have a higher recall value since they can be accessed without an internet connection. Traditional marketing is easier to comprehend as companies do not have to change their messaging to various age groups and targets a broader section.
Traditional Marketing Mediums Relevant in the Digital Age
Though we are engulfed by the digital revolution, small and medium-sized businesses still find traditional marketing to be an effective and affordable medium to get the messages out. Below are some of the traditional marketing mediums that are yet relevant in the digital era.
‘‘
Any medium of marketing that involves mediums such as print, broadcast, phone, billboards, radio, flyers, and pamphlets excluding online medium is termed as traditional marketing.
Signages
Signages are no more stationary prints on walls. With time, signage has undergone a transformation that now comprises digital photos with background lighting that can be placed on mobile taxis, buildings, shopfronts, etc. thus reaching increasing visibility.
Billboards
Billboards can never go obsolete owing to their wider reach across social classes and geographies. Be it hand-painted or printed they are still prevalent. Any information written in bold on the billboards makes it visible from highways, residential areas, streets, etc. which acts as a great medium for raising brand awareness.
Face to Face interaction
Face-to-face interaction can never go obsolete in industry verticals like real estate and automobile, where we need human interactions to close sales. In such verticals, we need humans to answer all queries to a customer. Since purchasing real estate and automobiles involves high involvement.
Newspaper Print ads
Newspaper prints ads till date stand as the most credible source of information that has reached every household.
Pamphlets and flyers
Bakery shops or new retail shops that have just opened in your neighbourhood yet depend on pamphlets to let their customers know of attractive discounts and offers. With a phone number printed on the pamphlets, consumers will look for the local or convenience stores for impulse buying.
Developing a traditional Marketing plan
The first step in developing a traditional marketing plan to decide the means such as print, broadcasting, billboard, or telemarketing. The choice of the medium entirely depends on budget and the marketing message which the business owners wish to be conveyed. To choose print and broadcasting mediums, business owners first should arrange to purchase the advertising space. The time to purchase the ad space depends on the lead time i.e., booking the ad space in advance.
What is in for the startups?
Traditional marketing is easier to decode for the customers since its businesses do not require much effort to talk about the benefits of the product or service. If the business is targeting a local audience, it still prefers traditional marketing. Professionals like lawyers and dentists still depend on traditional marketing strategies because their clients base their search on their location or when they need their services.
