Old-School Marketing Methods That Still Work

Every industry is inundated with (and yes, riddled by) new technology. Advertising and marketing are no different. Many

of the classic marketing methods have gone by the wayside.

Of course there’s much to be said for the Internet and social media and their vast contributions to one’s marketing efforts. After all, it’s essential to target advertising to those digital natives, otherwise know as the millennials. 

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) promises a shiny space-aged future with automated programs and robots that will rocket advertising/marketing to new heights. (All the while rendering our jobs - and eventually us - obsolete.) 

Yep. Marketing and advertising continue to move forward. Big wheels keep on turning.

Even so, there still remain several wheels that need no reinventing.

Classic Marketing Methods That Continue to Be Effective 

Obviously, advertisers need to be cognizant of generational wants and needs. And yeah, they want to appeal to the younger generation by being trustworthy rather than just aw brand.

But they also know when a good thing works - no matter how outdated. 

It’s like your great great uncle who insists that his divining rod puts “your gall-danged BPS to shame” when it comes to locating water. Obviously he meant GPS. But it doesn’t matter because that divining rod still does a bang-up job at finding those underground water sources. Certainly better than your GPS.

And the following marketing methods still work their magic too:

Jingles

If you’re over 40, you can probably sing a jingle from your childhood on command. It could for some huge and looming corporate entity. Or it might be for Crazy Eddie’s Chair Emporium. But we bet something’s going through your head right now.

The jingle, as well as its melodically-challenged cousin the slogan, relies on human psychology and our shared capacity for language. And that’s why it’s still effective. 

Some catchy tune or phrase can seed itself in your brain and thrive there - leaving you, for example, with the eternal knowledge that Nationwide is, in fact, on your side. 

Promotional Gifts 

Picture it. Milan, Italy. 1470.

A young and enterprising Leonardo da Vinci decides to set up shop selling portraits. But since he’s relatively unknown, he decides to offer a  promotional hilarious caricature for each person who sits for him. It’s an extra expense for him in terms of time, paper and charcoal but those Renaissance folks sure do love a good laugh! Who’d have guessed? Soon, word gets out about Leo. 

Until one day, Lisa Gherardini walks in and, well, the rest is

history. 

Yeah, okay. That didn’t really happen. 

But there’s something to be said for adding in a little “thank you” gift to someone who is purchasing your product or service - like a free baseball with the purchase of a bat, or a free bat house with the purchase of the other kind of bat. Either way, it’s cost-effective and makes a lasting impression on a potential customer. 

Mailers and Coupons

The big plus of these is the ability to target specific demographics in certain zip codes and/or neighborhoods. 

Mailers and coupons are especially effective for service companies. That’s why you’re far more likely to find a coupon in your mailbox or on your front porch for roofing services if you live in a house rather than an apartment. Or a yurt. 

And if the service company specializes in a single service - such as high-end garage repair or lining pools with gold - being able to identify and target their best potential customers means no wasted money on sending out a mass mailing to places with, say, regular garages and inflatable pools. 

Sign Spinning

We’re not talking about those slowly turning signs that were popular in the 1950s-70s. We’re referring to the folks to whom Justin Timberlake so poignantly paid tribute in his role on SNL as a singing and dancing slab of tofu. 

It’s the woman who stands in the sun on a 90-degree day and dances around, spinning a sign for the car wash or nail salon in the strip mall. Or it’s the man who dons the Statue of Liberty garb each year in January and stands in the bitter cold waving his fireless torch while spinning a sign in front of the tax preparation place. 

These are the real heroes of advertising. Or maybe they just really need the extra money (which isn’t much). Because that’s some pretty grueling and thankless work for them.

But not for the businesses for whom they perform. It turns out that this specific brand of theatricality does manage to catch the eyes of those passing by and pull in people who would have otherwise drifted past.  

Humans are suckers for a good show. Or at least a strange one.

Human Nature Dictates Old School Marketing 

And that’s the main reason these old methods still work. They mostly rely on human nature. 

So unless we quickly become cyborgs in a robot nation, it seems unlikely these methods are going any where any time soon. 

Which, if nothing else, is comforting.