Traditional Marketing: Still Part of the Mix

The traditional marketing mix is still an important part of your overall marketing strategy. These methods can be argued as necessary to build the foundation of brand recognition. Depending on your target audience, certain aspects of traditional media will be more relevant to your ad campaigns than others. And though we get it – some papers you just must be in for your community or board, which is completely fine, you should approach traditional with a strategic mindset, not just doing it because that is what has always been done. So here are a few of the pros and cons that we see to traditional media:  

Pros of Traditional Marketing:

Harder to ignore – You can surround prospects with your brand and message via a multi-media campaign including billboards, commercials, or public transportation.  

Poses less potential risk for your brand – Offline, you can control how your message is displayed, and displays brand stability and longevity for some audiences.  

Better at reaching certain audiences – Older banking consumer demographics continue to utilize traditional marketing as their primary source of information.  

Able to deliver specific offers for specific people - Direct mail is still one of the best ways to truly target specific people with specific offers. 

Cons of Traditional Marketing:

Can be more expensive than digital marketing – the cost can begin to add up when you factor in production and media buys.  

Not as measurable as digital marketing – unlike digital media, impressions can usually only be measured as estimates, and don’t even ask about ROI from these efforts if you’re not using any means to track it back, such as a QR or promo codes. 

Can take longer to execute and refine than digital campaigns – producing printed campaigns takes time and once it's printed you cannot fix a color or make a spelling correction so it must be done right the first time.  

Gradually losing its audience – When designing a traditional campaign, keep in mind the audience you are trying to appeal to.  

It is imperative that marketers learn new methods and adopt new marketing channels, however, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Traditional marketing should always have a place in your advertising plan. Take into consideration what has worked for you in the past, while also ensuring you continue to move forward and adapt to the ever-changing media landscape.