In today’s advertising, you may be asking yourself, “Is traditional advertising still effective?” We’re here to tell you it is and that traditional and digital advertising can be friends, even teammates! Read on for a few tips on how to make conventional media work for dealership and how to tie it into your existing digital marketing efforts.
What Works
Before the world of Facebook advertising and email marketing there were TV commercials, print ads, billboards, radio and postal mailers (just to name a few). We’re here to tell you that these methods are still effective and how!
Newspaper ads can offer a high reach, for a low cost, and allows for immediate delivery of a message, whether it’s advertising for new and used vehicles or service specials, it’s a quick way to show what your dealership has to offer. Newspaper can also be a great way of reaching an older demographic that may not be involved in the digital world.
⇒ Television
Television also allows advertisers to reach large audience groups. The advantage to television is that it’s highly visual and can offer a high impact on a potential customer. This is great for both branding and special offers. Since television advertising has developed from what it once was, it’s now possible to be more selective in who sees a particular message using streaming devices or pre-roll advertising
⇒ Billboards
Billboards probably see the most traffic , especially if they are strategically placed. Today’s technology has also evolved the billboard, from what once had to be a message that would last as long as a vinyl, to now have the option of a digital billboard where messages can be changed on a regular basis. Digital billboards now enable you to instantly put up an offer and change it the next day, if need be.
⇒ Radio
Radio can be very useful when working with a tight budget. With its selective format, you can target a specific audience based on making a buy on particular stations.
⇒ Direct Mail
Direct mail is probably the method that can reach the most specific targeted audience based on lists from your CRM or conquest lists you can purchase. Choose which group of customers should receive this information and when they should receive it. You can also follow up direct mail pieces, to the same database, with an email that reiterates information in your mailer
Be Consistent In Your Messages
While you can do branding pieces with conventional media, you still want to tie ALL of your advertising together and make sure that you are putting out a consistent message. Whatever campaign creative you decide on for your digital creative, you’ll want to be sure that it also appears on your conventional media. Consistent messaging creates familiarity for a potential customer which can lead to more sales and you can see that traditional advertising is still effective.
Once your messaging is in place, you can add a method of tracking to your traditional campaigns as well. To learn more about tracking traditional and bridging the gap between traditional and digital advertising, download our guide. We hope that after reading this, you’ll be ready to create a more synchronized marketing approach with your traditional and digital advertising.

Kristen has 11 years of experience within the creative side of advertising as an Art Director and Photographer. She is multi-faceted in her experiences and skills in both traditional and digital spaces, primarily for automotive marketing.