With all the hype around social media and one-on-one marketing, you might think that advertising is old-school. Far from it. Ads – whether in trade magazines, on targeted websites, in digital newsletters or in smartphones – are often very cost-effective. They can also be efficient ways to start building the familiarity that personal marketing can then turn into a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship.

If you are a B2 marketer, advertising used to mean trade or business press. And, if you're in consumer goods marketing, it was all about dailies, magazines or TV. Now it can just as well be about Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.