Is Traditional Advertising Something to be Considered these days?
Offline Advertising v.s. Online Advertising
Advertising has been a part of our lives for a long time. Traditional advertising was the most common form of advertising in the past.
It was mostly used by the big companies and startups were not much aware of this kind of advertisement.
However, with the emergence of newer technologies in the market, startups are now considering digital advertising as a means to promote their brand.
However, there are some marketing gurus who believe that startups should not waste their money on digital advertising. Let’s have a look at both perspectives.
Traditional Advertising
The earlier generation of advertisements was different from what we see today.
Instead of focusing on the product, they focused more on the brand which people will remember even after years.
This is called branding and something which has been very popular for a long time.
Branding actually involves creating a good reputation in people’s minds about your brand and business. This was achieved by various means including TVC, Print Ads, etc.
With the emergence of new technologies, we can now reach out to our audiences better, and hence, startups should consider this option as well to reach out to their audience via traditional advertising.
It is believed that traditional advertising is one of the most cost-effective approaches for startups to create awareness among their potential customers.
For example, you can place an ad in your local newspaper or radio at a very affordable price and it will be seen by many people around you.
It is believed that this kind of advertising costs you less than $1 per person reached out to via advertising (CPM).
Traditional advertising is considered inexpensive when compared to digital advertising.
Digital Advertising
As the name suggests, digital advertising is all about advertising through digital media such as the internet, social media, mobile, and even some other forms of digital media.
It is believed that digital ads are more effective than traditional ads and hence, it can be said that startups should consider this option to promote their business among the masses.
A good example of a digital ad is the Google Adword and it costs you about $1 per click for your ad to be clicked.
The cost may vary depending on your industry and location but it still remains one of the cheapest options when you compare with traditional advertising.
So, are you still thinking about why startups should not waste their money on digital advertising?
Well, there are some marketers who believe that startups should not waste their money on such advertisements because startups do not have much money to invest in such advertisements.
It is believed that startups should focus more on product development rather than spending money on marketing or advertisement of their brand to promote their brand or business.
This way they can keep extra cash in their pocket which could be used for other purposes like investing back in the business or creating a better product for customers.
Conclusion
The answer lies somewhere in between. It is true that startups should not waste their money on advertisements but they should also not forget the fact that advertising is one of the most effective tools to promote your brand and products.
In other words, startups can consider this option as well but it may depend on a few factors such as industry, location of your business, and how much you are willing to spend for the advertisement of your brand.
For example, if you are a popular company in your area and you have many customers visiting your store every day then traditional ads may work well for you.
On the other hand, if you are still a startup with limited funds and you don’t have many customers who visit your store daily then digital ads could be considered by you.
It can be said that both digital and traditional ads have their own merits and demerits but it all depends on the type of product/service that you offer to customers.
The key is to analyze what kind of product/service do you offer to customers and how much money do they spend on a particular product or service offered by your business.
Also, it all depends on how much people know about your business in the first place which can be achieved by investing in a digital or traditional advertisement or both of them if you have the money.
About the Author
I am the Founder of Cudy Technologies (www.cudy.co), a full-stack EdTech startup helping teachers and students teach and learn better. I am also a mentor and angel investor in other Startups of my other interests (Proptech, Fintech, HRtech, Ride-hailing, C2C marketplaces and SaaS). You can also find me on Cudy for early-stage Startup Founder mentorship and advice.
You can connect with me on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderlhk) and let me know that you are a reader of my Medium posts in your invitation message.
