What is traditional advertising? A plain guide for small firms

Key takeaways

Traditional advertising is paid promotion in media that existed before the internet, such as print, radio, television, mail, outdoor posters and events. It is bought as a fixed space or slot, seen by everyone the medium reaches, and cannot be changed once it has run.

• 8 main types are within reach of a UK small business.
• You buy space or airtime in advance, usually with a minimum spend.
• Audiences are estimated by industry bodies, not counted per advert.
• Response has to be tracked by you: a code, a number or a question.

What counts as traditional advertising?

Traditional advertising, also called offline advertising, covers any paid message carried by print, broadcast, post or a physical site. The common thread is that the advertiser rents attention from a publisher, a broadcaster or a site owner, and the message travels one way. The audience cannot reply, share or click.

• Social media marketing vs traditional advertising: what works better for SMEs?

What are the main types of traditional advertising?

A small business can realistically buy eight types. Each has a different job, and most firms only ever need one or two of them.

• Print: local newspapers, magazines and trade titles.
• Radio: spot adverts and sponsorship on local stations.
• Television: regional or addressable campaigns.
• Door drops: unaddressed leaflets delivered to households.
• Direct mail: addressed letters and postcards.
• Outdoor: billboards, bus sides, shelters and signs.
• Directories: printed and listed directories of suppliers.
• Events and sponsorship: shows, fairs and local clubs.

• Social media vs print advertising: which earns its place?
• Leaflets vs social media ads: which wins local customers?
• Billboards vs social media ads: is outdoor worth it?

How is traditional advertising bought?

Traditional advertising is bought from a rate card, in advance, for a set size, length or number of deliveries. You pay for the space and separately for making the advert. Rate cards are a starting price, not a fixed one, and late or repeat bookings are often discounted. Expect a minimum order in most media.

• How to negotiate advertising rates as a small business
• The hidden costs of traditional advertising

How is the audience measured?

Audiences are estimated by industry measurement bodies, not counted for your advert. RAJAR measures radio listening, BARB measures television viewing and JICMAIL measures how people handle mail and door drops. These figures tell you roughly how many people could see or hear an advert. They do not tell you how many noticed yours.

• CPM explained: comparing the cost of reaching 1,000 people

How does it differ from social media marketing?

Traditional advertising is fixed, broad and one-way. Social media marketing is adjustable, targeted and two-way. A printed advert cannot be corrected after it runs, while a post can be edited in a minute. On the other hand, a printed advert is not competing with a friend's holiday photos one swipe away.

• Traditional: booked in advance, fixed once run.
• Social: started and stopped the same day.
• Traditional: audience defined by place or title.
• Social: audience defined by location, age and interests.

• Traditional vs digital marketing: where social media fits
• Pros and cons of traditional advertising for small businesses

What does traditional advertising cost?

Costs run from under £100 for a small local advert to many thousands for television. As indicative UK ranges, a leaflet drop costs roughly 6p to 15p per household, a local newspaper advert £150 to £1,000 an insertion and a week of local radio £500 to £2,500 plus production. Prices depend on area, season and how late you book, so ask for three quotes.

• How much does advertising cost a UK small business?

What rules apply?

All UK advertising must be legal, decent, honest and truthful. Print, posters, leaflets and mail fall under the CAP Code, and television and radio under the BCAP Code, both enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority. Broadcast adverts are checked before they air. Outdoor signs can need consent from the council.

• Offline advertising rules in the UK: what small firms must know

When is traditional advertising the wrong choice?

It is the wrong choice when you can only afford to run it once, because most traditional media work through repetition. It is also a poor fit when your buyers are spread thinly across the country, or when you have no method of tracking who responded. In those cases a small, measurable test elsewhere will teach you more.

• How to test an advertising channel in six weeks

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see with established local firms: the word advertising means the three things the business has always bought. When each is written down with its yearly cost and the enquiries it can be shown to have produced, one usually stands out as worth keeping and one as worth replacing. The exercise takes an afternoon.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Traditional advertising checklist

• Name the audience and the area before choosing a medium.
• Ask for the audience figures and who measured them.
• Get the total cost, including design or production.
• Check you can afford at least three appearances.
• Add a tracking code, number or web address.
• Set a date to review the response.

Next step

Write down every traditional advert you paid for in the last year and its total cost. Beside each, note whether you could prove a single enquiry came from it.