Targeted Traditional Marketing

Why Smart Retailers Still Win with Print, Mail, Radio, and TV

By Alan Miklofsky | December 20, 2025

For years now, retailers have been told the same story: Traditional advertising is dead.

Newspapers are dying. Direct mail is a waste. Radio is background noise. TV is only for giants with seven-figure budgets.

So what did everyone do?

They walked away.

And in doing so, many retailers also walked away from one of the most powerful advantages they still have: deep, emotional loyalty to specific brands among their best customers.

This article isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about profit. And about using traditional marketing in a targeted, intelligent, brand-driven way that works hand-in-hand with digital tools.

The Myth: Digital Replaced Traditional

Email blasts. Social media posts. Paid search. Retargeting ads.

They’re fast. They’re cheap. They’re measurable.

They’re also… crowded.

Your customer’s inbox looks like a clearance bin after Black Friday. Social feeds are an endless parade of puppies, politics, and 20% off everything somewhere else.

Digital works. But alone, it’s often:

·         Ignored

·         Filtered

·         Forgotten

·         Or drowned out by noise

Meanwhile, a physical postcard lands in a mailbox.

A newspaper ad sits next to morning coffee.

A radio voice rides along during a commute.

These don’t disappear with a swipe.

They linger.

The Untapped Gold: Brand-Loyal Customers

Every shoe store, apparel shop, or specialty retailer knows this customer:

“I only wear Brand X.” 

“Let me know when you get the new Brand Y.” 

“I’ll wait for that brand to go on sale.”

These customers aren’t browsing.

They’re committed.

Yet most retailers blast the same generic message to everyone:

“Big Sale!” 

“New Arrivals!” 

“Don’t Miss Out!”

That’s shouting into the wind.

Targeted traditional marketing flips the script.

It whispers directly to the people who already care.

Two Lists, One Strategy: Why Both Matter

Retailers should be building and maintaining two parallel customer lists:

1. E-commerce and email list 

Fast. Cheap. Instant. Great for frequency and reminders.

2. Physical mailing list 

Addresses. Households. Real mailboxes. Real paper.

Each list alone can be profitable.

Together, they become exponentially more powerful.

Why?

Because when a customer:

·         Sees your email

·         Scrolls past your post

·         And then finds a postcard in their mailbox

…your message feels bigger than life.

It feels important.

It feels intentional.

That’s not duplication.

That’s reinforcement.

Small Runs. Big Impact. The Postcard Advantage

Forget massive, untargeted mail drops.

That’s not the game anymore.

The new model is:

Small runs. Hyper-targeted. Brand-specific.

Pull a list of customers who bought, asked about, or repeatedly try on a brand.

Now print 200–500 postcards, not 10,000.

That postcard doesn’t feel like advertising.

It feels like a favor.

ROI math gets friendly when printing is modest, postage is controlled, response is high, and tickets are strong.

A handful of purchases can pay for the whole campaign.

Everything after that is gravy.

Newspaper Ads: Not Dead. Just Misused.

In some markets, newspapers still land on thousands of doorsteps.

The mistake retailers make is thinking: bigger ad equals better ad.

Wrong.

The smarter play:

·         Smaller, consistent placements

·         Brand-focused messages

·         Hard rate negotiation

·         Testing before scaling

A clean, well-designed ad can outperform a giant “STOREWIDE SALE!!!” that everyone ignores.

In the right towns, newspapers still work.

You just can’t be lazy about it.

Radio and TV: The Art of Customer Farming

Radio and TV don’t work when you treat them like coupons.

They work when you treat them like relationship builders.

Think in terms of farming, not hunting:

·         Repetition

·         Consistency

·         Familiar voices

·         Brand stories

·         Long-term presence

You’re not trying to drive everyone in today.

You’re trying to be remembered tomorrow.

That’s Top of Mind Awareness.

Digital Plus Traditional Equals the Real Win

This isn’t either/or.

It’s and.

Each channel does what it does best.

Together, they surround the customer.

How to Start Without Blowing the Budget

·         Clean your data

·         Build both lists

·         Pick one brand to test

·         Do a small postcard run

·         Support it digitally

·         Measure honestly

·         Refine and repeat

No heroics. No giant bets.

Just smart, steady testing.

The Bottom Line

Retailers who abandon traditional marketing completely aren’t being modern.

They’re being short-sighted.

Because while everyone else fights for attention in inboxes and feeds, you can still:

·         Land in a mailbox

·         Sit on a kitchen table

·         Ride along in a car

·         Show up during the evening news

And speak directly to customers who already love the brands you carry.

That’s not old-school.

That’s Targeted Traditional Marketing.