I am old. Older than most, at least. Maybe older than you. I've circled the sun 56 times. I remember some of those trips. For some, getting older is scary, as the world changes faster and faster around them.
For me, it all seems vaguely familiar. Look deeper and you'll see it too.
I am old enough to remember my family having three fuzzy TV channels and two options: Either watch the commercial, or get up off the couch and change the channel. We watched the commercials. Today, my remote is in my hand and I swear I watch more commercials than programs!
I'm old enough to remember one newspaper, read everyday by everyone in the family. I remember cutting out sports pages and sticking them away. Yes, the ads came, too. Today, try as I might, I can't figure out how to get rid of those pesky pop up ads on the websites. They are sticky, too.
My Dad would hate TikTok if he were alive today. But he loved America's Funniest Home Videos on ABC.
I know for a fact that we were using Social Media on the party line at home, sharing secrets with the neighbors, even though they said they weren't listening.
And yes, the rumors are true. There WAS a thing called the Yellow Pages. I think Google pays them rights fees.
The point is, nothing has changed but the playing field.
If you used to run radio ads on the local station, now you run them on Spotify.
You can still advertise on tv, but now you pick your audience on YouTube.
You can still run print ads, you just choose your Social Media audience instead of newspapers making you you choose theirs.
Solid marketing will never change. Telling stories, creating new ideas, asking for engagement, thanking your audience for their support is what makes memorable advertising. Embrace the new options that today's marketplace provides. They are very familiar, if you just look close enough.
Bryan Lefelhoc is a 32 year marketing veteran, owner of Bryan Media Strategies. Bryan Media Strategies is a "company of one' marketing firm designed to serve small businesses with back to basics brand awareness marketing. For Brand Building Strategies, done "On Target, On Budget, and On Purpose", schedule some time to talk.