Traditional marketing – definition

Traditional marketing is a set of strategies, techniques and marketing tools used before the so-called "digital era", which is why it is often also called offline marketing. Compared to the Internet, traditional marketing has very limited possibilities of targeting its offers and monitoring the effects of undertaken activities, but it still successfully allows it to reach a mass audience.

Traditional marketing includes:

• direct marketing, e.g. product demonstrations, tastings, stands at fairs,
• outdoor advertising, i.e. billboards and posters on buildings, bus stops and public places,
• printed advertisements, e.g. leaflets, brochures, catalogues,
• advertising and sponsored materials in the press,
• advertising and sponsored materials on the radio,
• advertisements and sponsored materials on television.

Traditional marketing aims to reach the largest number of people. Its capabilities in building a brand on a mass scale cannot be overestimated. The materials used in traditional marketing are durable and guarantee continuous exposure in the selected space. Unfortunately, the costs associated with the use of some forms of promotion in traditional marketing are a significant obstacle that blocks the participation of small or debuting companies.

Traditional marketing – interesting facts

Traditional marketing talks to people, while online marketing talks to them. This is the fundamental difference between the world of mass media and the digital world. Effective marketing activities are not only about promoting and selling products or services, but also about building long-term relationships, which is rather impossible in the case of traditional marketing. On the other hand, the digital world is still inaccessible to part of society. Therefore, when designing a marketing strategy, it is definitely worth combining these two worlds.

Traditional marketing allows you to reach a mass audience, mainly representing the oldest generation, accustomed to traditional media, such as the press, radio or television. Despite the development of new media, traditional marketing still offers a number of interesting and original formats that successfully interact with the digital world and the possibilities of artificial intelligence.

What discourages advertisers from using the possibilities of traditional marketing are relatively high costs, lack of possibility to personalize and target the message, difficult measurement of real effects and low flexibility in modifying published messages.

Traditional marketing – information worth knowing

Traditional marketing dates back to the first half of the 20th century, when mass production and distribution of goods appeared. The most important goal then was to meet all the common needs of society without taking into account possible individual preferences. Traditional marketing was based primarily on using the possibilities of mass media - press, radio and television. Communication was one-way and the customer was only a passive recipient of marketing messages.

Nowadays, thanks to the development of modern technologies, customer relations are much more collaborative. And although the Internet is a key medium for many, many companies decide to strengthen the effectiveness of their campaigns through traditional marketing.

Although measuring the effectiveness of traditional marketing is limited, there are methods that allow you to estimate it. One of them is survey research conducted among advertising recipients. Questions may concern both the awareness of the presence of a given brand, the level of involvement in a given message, and purchase intentions that appeared after reading the advertisement.

Traditional marketing – summary

Despite the development of technology and the possibilities of the digital world, traditional marketing still plays a key role in building strong brands. Traditional media such as the press, radio, television or billboards still allow you to effectively reach mass audiences. Nowadays, the most effective solution is the combination of traditional marketing with the opportunities offered by the digital world and artificial intelligence.

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