3 Reasons Your Clients Should Use Traditional Ads

BY Rachel Cagle
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Have your clients shifted most, if not all, of their marketing budget to digital? It’s a common trend since digital marketing has been shooting up in popularity over the past 10 years. And with COVID-​19 shutting everyone in their homes for the past few years, digital has grown even more. However, a recent article by Harvard Business Review tells marketers not to give up on traditional ads just yet.

Why Your Clients Shouldn’t Sleep on Traditional Ads

This year, Harvard Business Review predicts that business-​to-​consumer service companies will increase their traditional ad spend by 10.2%. Additionally, business-​to-​consumer product companies will increase their traditional ad spend by 4.9%. The most shocking part: “Companies that earn 100% of their sales through the internet are leading this inflection,” says Harvard Business Review, “predicting an 11.7% increase in traditional advertising spending over the next 12 months.” Why? Harvard Business Review lists a few reasons.

Digital Has Become Cluttered

When every organization switches their ads to the digital realm, it becomes more difficult to stand out to consumers. Pair that with the fact that consumers spend hours scrolling through digital content every day and you’re left with consumers who aren’t overly enthused by digital ads. Not only are consumers not very receptive to digital ads anymore, they’re frustrated by the ads. “They report frustration and negative brand association with digital advertising clutter that prevents them from reading an article, watching a video, or browsing a website,” reports Harvard Business Review. Consumers associate digital with speed. So, when ads slow them down, they’re not happy.

On the slip side, research shows that more consumers often or always:

  • Watch traditional TV ads
  • Read print ads they receive in the mail (as long as the ads are from companies they recognize and are happy with)

Overall, Harvard Business Review says that traditional ads (primarily TV, radio and print ads) outperform digital ads in reach, attention and engagement compared to their cost. It helps that the prices of digital ads are increasing while the cost of traditional ads continues to decrease.

Consumers Trust Traditional Ads

Harvard Business Review says a MarketingSherpa survey found that the ad types that consumers trust the most are ALL traditional! On top of that, traditional ads also sway consumers to make purchasing decisions:

  • Print: 82% of consumers trust it enough to make buying decisions
  • TV: 80%
  • Direct Mail: 76%
  • Radio: 71%

Your Clients Can Get the Best of Both Worlds

If your clients want to make their digital ads stick out, they should pair those ads with traditional ads. An example Harvard Business Review gives is combining digital with direct mail. The direct mail ads will get consumers to open the ad. If your client places a QR code within the mail, the customer can scan it to take advantage of your client’s digital resources to learn more and make purchases from home. Finding ways to combine the more trustworthy and convincing traditional ads with digital resources is the key to mastering both markets.

Targeting Your Client’s Target Audience

There are many approaches you can take to reaching your client’s target audience with traditional ads. So, which should you use? Check out your client’s target audience’s profile on AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel to find out. There, you can access research on:

  • The types of programs/​stations they prefer on TV and radio
  • Which types of print media they’re most likely to pick up
    • And which sections of each they’ll focus on
  • Their attitude toward direct mail ads
  • How often they’ve taken action based on different types of traditional ads within the last year
  • And much more!

Photo by Jamie Street


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