Businesses use promotion methods to make customers aware of their products and services. Promotion methods are highly competitive and usually expensive.
Traditional advertising uses media and formats that have been around for a long time:
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Can reach wide geographical audience | Very expensive |
| Demonstrations can be shown | Viewers may not watch when adverts come on |
| The best advertising campaigns can be memorable | --- |
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Can reach a wide geographical audience | Only sound, no products or demonstrations can be shown |
| Cheaper to advertise than on TV | Listeners can 'tune out' during the adverts |
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| A captive audience | Limited audience |
| Adverts can be matched to audiences that represent market segments | --- |
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Can target market segments through choice of newspaper or special interest magazines | Adverts can be expensive |
| Readers often keep magazines for reference and will see adverts many times | No demonstrations can be made |
| -- | Easy to ignore and turn the page |
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Usually in busy locations | May be ignored by passers-by |
| Can be cheaper than other forms of advertising | Can only include limited information |
| Potential customers will see the advert repeatedly over a long period | No demonstration can be made |
| Can promote business in a specific geographical area | Only reaches a specific geographical area |