Traditional advertising methods include print ads, TV and radio commercials, billboards, direct mail, and in-person events. TV advertising can be expensive, while radio advertising is cheaper and reaches a national or local audience. Print advertising is effective with distinctive pictures and concise headline messages.
10 Traditional Advertising Methods
Advertising on Television and Cable
Advertising on TV and Cable is a very effective medium to inform people about products/services, although this medium is expensive. In developed countries, and even in many developing countries, many small business owners use television/cable to advertise their products.
However, Television/Cable is the most important medium to advertise business products in the market. Entrepreneurs have to be prepared to advertise their products/services on television.
So, they need to take the time to learn how to present themselves on television to make effective use of the incredible power of this medium. With television, they need to be concise and controlled; speaking in soundbites to ensure their point gets across the way they want it to and isn’t edited out.
Moreover, network television advertising remains the most costly advertising investment.
Within this top tier, the highest price for commercial time is still the Super Bowl. Network prime follows in rank-order, followed by non-prime time networks buys.
In spite of the recent growth of national cable television, network television advertising still has the power to create brands in a way that few other advertising alternatives can.
Google street business view is a recent advertising tool that enhances viewing business names from outside of the stores. Passersby can get information about the business by viewing the street business view pictures.
Cable Advertising and Local Opportunities
Cable advertising, especially national cable advertising, can be as costly as network television programming, but local cable television offers rates that may be affordable for even very small businesses.
Social entrepreneurs, green entrepreneurs might think to use local cable television to advertise their products and services and inform the public.
Radio Advertising
Radio advertising offers small businesses an opportunity to reach a national or local audience with rate schedules far below television advertising.
Radio advertisements can reach entrepreneurs’ target market during business hours as well as personal time, during commute time, and mid-day programming. Community business owners can put an ad in the community radio ad program.
Print Advertising
Business marketing research provides entrepreneurs with information about newspapers, magazines, periodicals, and professional or trade journals that are of interest to entrepreneurs’ target market.
Print ads are most effective when they have a distinctive picture and an explicit headline message of nine words or fewer.
Print media refers to paper publications circulated in the form of physical editions of books, magazines, journals, and newsletters. The print media industry is associated with the printing and distribution of news through newspapers and magazines.
Print media is a medium that disseminates printed materials. In other words, print medium is a means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information. Print media is responsible for gathering and publishing news in the form of newspapers or magazines.
Press Releases
A simple press release, preferably one page, accompanied by a photo, can gain more visibility for a business than an advertisement if the newspapers pick it up.
However, the press releases should be interesting, newsworthy, concise, and sent to the right person.
Watch the newspapers carefully to determine who the correct contact for the press release is. Press kits can also be helpful. Entrepreneurs can prepare their own press kit or hire a marketing consultant to help them out. An entrepreneur’s press kit should build their credibility as an expert in their field or profession.
The Business Editor generally receives a huge number of releases, so send the business stories to the Daily Newspapers. Wire Services seek up-to-the-second news items, so move quickly if the business has a lot of items to report.
Magazines
Magazines attract the attention of both mobile and sedentary customers. A guest spot can boost an entrepreneur into a whole new spectrum.
An entrepreneur’s biography short on LinkedIn is very significant to reach the online community today. An entrepreneur’s biography with a photo (headshot, 8X10, or 5X7) on social media like LinkedIn can assist the business in reaching out to people.
Business Brochure
Usually, micro, small, medium, and large businesses all have their business brochures where entrepreneurs put firsthand short information on the brochures. Customers know about the special character of the business by reading the brochure.
More or less, all hawkers prepare their business brochures with attractive pictures and information and distribute brochures to traveling people and crowded areas; customers read the brochures and know about the business.
Passersby reading the brochures are instantly motivated to buy the products of the hawkers that he is campaigning. However, in Bangladesh, few micro and small business owners print their business brochures; they think their businesses are in their neighborhoods.
So people know about the business and business products. But remember business competitions are increasing. Days are changing; now maximum Bangladeshi people can read. So it is better to print business brochures and distribute them to people.
Entrepreneur Articles Quoted
This is a sophisticated way to spread business information to people. Collect copies of articles that have quoted or featured the entrepreneur or the business and display those documents in the shop or reprint them and distribute them to customers. Social business published articles are very valuable for fund-seeking organizations from funding organizations.
Exploring Extreme Advertising Methods
Extreme advertising includes billboards, bus wraps, blimps, and any other form of oversize outdoor ads. Extreme advertising is most effective when the message is straightforward and simple, without complex graphics and extended narratives.
Banner Ads
Banner ads are a popular form of online advertising. New standards for online ads, which include a more advertiser-friendly format that closely resembles a traditional print ad and a new form of sidebar, have breathed new life into banner ads.
Interactive Television and Advertising
Interactive advertising or advertising on “smart television” has evolved from the need to engage consumers in new and different ways to make an impact. Interactive television units are expected to increase worldwide in the next five years to over 81 million units, accompanied by an increase in interactive advertising.
Interactive advertising is most effective when it is completely innovative, entertaining, and provides interesting content in a creative way.
Long-term Sponsorships
Sponsorships can be designed to meet the marketing goals of any company. Long-term sponsorships offer the benefit of helping to strengthen brand awareness in niche markets.
In both the online and offline areas, long-term sponsorship helps to build strong relationships with a business or organization and its direct market, offering opportunities to co-brand multiple events, functions, advertisements, and more, providing high visibility for the advertiser.
Co-branding can be set up as an exclusive arrangement or as joint sponsorship among several complementary companies.
Public Relations
The primary difference between advertising and public relations is that entrepreneurs always pay for advertising space, while press coverage from public relations efforts is “free.” Activities that demonstrate entrepreneurs’ strengths and the terrific qualities of the business in a newsworthy way can be of more value in the long run than the most expensive advertising campaign.
Public relations campaigns strive to build credibility in the marketplace through routes that are more discreet than direct advertising.
