Local Advertising

by Shawn Lackie

Time to take a trip back in time. You know the saying, “What goes around comes around?” Well how about a return to old time advertising and the benefits which come with it?

Since 1996 we have been taken over by, what was then referred to as, this new thing called, the Internet. Many said it was just a trend and wouldn’t last. Really? Here we are 30 years later looking at the newest trend called AI. Many are saying that won’t last either.

I guess what I am trying to say is, “life goes in trends.” It always has and always. will. Do you need proof? There was a time when music was shared on these things called records. LP albums to be precise or 45s. That became passe, so out came the cassette. A little before that was this thing called the 8-Track. Then, all of a sudden we had these things called CDs.

Everyone was overjoyed at this development. Except the consumer who now had to replace their album collection with these newfangled CDs. In the middle of that development was something, Phillips tried to perfect, called the Laser Disc. All this technology in such a short span of time.

The question is... did it make the audio experience any better? In some ways yes. In some ways not so much. Yet it was still called progress. Funny thing, in the last few years guess what’s been making a comeback? Yup, the good old vinyl album.

Many are saying you can’t replace the rich texture of the music on a true stereo system: forget iPods or downloads.

Back to advertising. In the 60s through to the 90s, if you wanted to find a great home in Real Estate, you looked in your local paper. Right up until a few years ago, pretty much all of them had a section strictly devoted to buying and selling.

It was THE place to go. The really good agents advertised often and in good supply with obvious results. You know what they say – everyone loves a winner and that attracts more business. The local newspaper had a whole section devoted to these listings and buyers had at their fingertips all the latest local listings available. THAT is the key, LOCAL.

I know this may sound self serving but, work with me here. I can’t stress enough how much local news and information sharing matters. One of the main reasons is, AI and the BS which comes with that. Just go on the internet and you don’t know what to believe any more, a lot of it is pure fiction, and AI is subject to that cyclical information flow. So when we have a group who is dedicated to local news and informing the local people of that news, well, that’s very special. I have been reading the local paper for over 50 years. It has been entertaining, informative and, more than anything, it really gives me a sense of community. The Real Estate ads offer much more and continue to show just who the real players are. As much as it is a throwback to the past, it could also be the way of the future. What goes around comes around. I hope that never changes.

Feel free to check out this story and more on my blog site, at https://slackie14.wixsite.com/buy-sell-and-more