Old School Marketing Comebacks

Every inbox is full. Every feed is busy. And more and more of what people see online was made by a machine. So it’s no surprise that some of marketing’s oldest tools are growing again in the UK.

The figures back it up. In the first three months of 2026, UK spend on outdoor advertising grew 15%, direct mail 7.9% and radio 4.2%, with online radio up 22%. But this isn’t a trip back to the 1990s. The old channels that are growing are the ones that data and digital have made easier to target and measure. And they all have one big thing in common: people trust them.

The short version

Direct mail, radio, billboards, TV, jingles and mascots, and PR are all growing in the UK.
Their biggest advantage is trust, and trust sells: 74% of people will spend more with brands they trust.
They work best alongside digital. The old channel gets you noticed, and search, social or email captures the response.
Every one of them can be tracked, with QR codes, offer codes and postcode tests.

Why trust is behind the comeback

Trust has become hard to earn online. The Harris Poll found that 70% of UK consumers trust ads made by people. That drops to 40% when AI helps make them, and to just 20% when AI makes them entirely. Two in three people feel AI-generated ads are less authentic.

71%of people trust mail, more than twice as much as digital (Royal Mail Marketreach)

87%of UK adults listen to the radio every week, a record 51.1 million people (RAJAR)

70%of UK consumers trust ads made by people. Only 20% trust fully AI-made ads (Harris Poll UK)

That matters, because trust drives sales. Royal Mail Marketreach’s Trust Factor study of more than 4,000 UK consumers found that 92% will act when they trust an organisation, and 74% will spend more with brands they trust.

Old school channels earn trust in ways a feed can’t. A letter is something you can hold. A familiar voice on the radio feels like a local recommendation. A billboard or a TV ad shows you’re a real business that’s here to stay. Here are the six that are growing, and how each one can help your business.

1. Direct mail and door drops

Post is having a moment. Direct mail spend rose 7.9% in early 2026, and more and more, it’s what sends people online. In the first quarter of 2026, 9.4% of mail prompted a website visit, a record, and 56% of the purchases it drove were completed online.

The returns are strong, too. JICMAIL tracks thousands of UK mail campaigns. It found mail to existing customers averaged a 7.2% response rate and £9 back for every £1 spent, while mail to new prospects and door drops to whole streets returned around £3. And in its latest update, response rates for retail mail rose again: up 26% for existing customers and 21% for new prospects.

How it builds trust: It’s physical, it’s addressed to the reader, and it sticks around. Direct mail stays in the home for almost eight days on average. There’s a practical plus, too. Post isn’t covered by the UK’s electronic marketing rules, so you can usually send it under “legitimate interests” rather than needing consent, as you would for most marketing emails.

Pair it with: a QR code or short web address, so readers can act straight away. Or try triggered mail: Royal Mail can post a personalised piece within about 24 hours of someone leaving items in their basket. When JD Williams added post to its basket reminder emails, abandoned baskets fell by 14% and average order value rose by 8%.

2. Radio

Radio’s audience is at a record high. 51.1 million UK adults, 87% of the population, tune in every week, and commercial radio reaches a record 40.2 million of them. Spend on online radio advertising grew 22% in early 2026.

Radio sends people online, too. A 2026 Radiocentre study of eight brands found radio lifted daily website visits by 16% on average. Most of that happened hours after the ad, not minutes, so it’s easy to miss if you only look at last-click reports.

How it builds trust: Radio is a voice in someone’s kitchen, car or van, often a presenter they’ve listened to for years. Hearing your business on their station feels like a recommendation, and it makes you a familiar name before they ever search for you.

Pair it with: search ads on your business name, to catch the people radio sends online. Digital audio can also be targeted by location and time of day.

3. Billboards and digital screens

Outdoor advertising had its best year ever in 2025, with UK revenue reaching £1.44bn. Two-thirds of that is now digital screens, and spend grew another 15% in early 2026.

It’s also a key channel for food and drink brands. Since 5 January 2026, ads for less healthy food and drink have been banned on TV between 5.30am and 9pm and in paid online ads. Billboards aren’t part of that ban, but they have rules of their own. The UK advertising code bars these ads from any site where under-16s make up more than 25% of the audience, so many media owners keep them at least 100 metres from schools. Transport for London and 25 local authorities also restrict them on the sites they own. Planned around those rules, outdoor keeps food brands visible, and they raised their outdoor spend by 28% between 2021 and 2024 ahead of the TV and online ban.

How it builds trust: You can’t scroll past a billboard or block it. Being seen out in the real world, at scale, tells people you’re an established business they can rely on.

Pair it with: social ads aimed at the same area. Digital screens can now be booked by location, time of day and even the weather, in short bursts. Add a QR code where people have time to scan it, such as bus stops and stations.

4. TV, now within reach of smaller businesses

TV used to be for big brands only. Not any more. Targeted TV lets businesses show their ad only to households in the areas they serve, so a local or regional firm can pay for the audience it actually wants rather than the whole country. Spend on targeted TV grew 15.5% in early 2026.

How it builds trust: Being on TV still carries weight. It says you’re a serious business. With targeted TV, a local firm can earn that “as seen on TV” credibility in just the areas it serves.

Pair it with: search campaigns and a website that are ready for the extra interest. Then compare enquiries from the postcodes you targeted with similar ones you didn’t.

5. Jingles, mascots and famous taglines

Brands are raiding their archives. In 2026, Carling remade its 1990s Black Label squirrel ad, the Guardian remade its famous 1986 “Points of View” ad, and Carlsberg brought back “If Carlsberg did…” after ten years out of its ads. Carlsberg found people had used the phrase nearly 20,000 times on social media in a single year.

There’s good evidence behind it. Research by System1 shows brand characters deliver bigger, longer-lasting effects than celebrity endorsements. After Very introduced its flamingo characters, its retail sales grew 2.3%, against a market average of 0.5%.

How it builds trust: Familiarity builds trust. A jingle, character or line people recognise straight away feels like an old friend, and it makes every ad work harder, because people know it’s you before you say your name.

Pair it with: everything. You don’t need decades of history. Pick one sound, character or line and use it across radio, short-form video, social and billboards. Then give it time: System1 says characters take about three years to fully pay back.

6. Traditional PR, now for AI search

Getting written about is back in fashion, because AI assistants are reading. Meltwater tracked around 5.35 million citations across eight AI tools, including ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI Overviews. News and editorial coverage made up 39.5% of them. Press releases made up just 0.4%.

How it builds trust: Coverage in a publication people already trust lends some of that trust to you. And now it also shapes what AI tools say about you when customers ask them for a recommendation.

Pair it with: stories journalists will actually cover, like original data, expert comment and local angles. Then share the coverage on your website and social channels, and use it to support your SEO.

Where old school marketing could work for your business

The best results come from mixing old and new. Here’s how that could look for different kinds of business.

Solar · kitchens · roofing

Local trades

Door drops to your best postcodes, plus local radio. Back them up with your Google Business Profile and local search ads, a QR code to your quote form and a tracked phone number.

E-commerce

Online shops

Triggered mail for abandoned baskets and lapsed customers, working alongside your emails and retargeting ads. Mail to people who already know you is where post pays best.

Manufacturing · services · tech

B2B firms

A memorable mailer to named decision-makers at your target companies, with LinkedIn ads to the same list, so your name is already familiar when your sales team follows up.

Food and drink

Food and drink brands

Digital screens near stores, timed to the weather or time of day, backed by organic social. Outdoor isn’t covered by the TV and online ban, as long as sites meet the advertising code’s rules on children.

Car dealers · clinics · estate agents

Regional services

Targeted TV in the postcodes you serve, plus local radio, with search ads on your business name ready to catch the extra interest.

Hospitality · gyms · shops

Businesses with a front door

Local radio and digital screens near your premises, a door drop with an offer to the streets around you, and local search ads so people can find you when they’re ready.

Frequently asked questions

Why is old school marketing making a comeback?

Because it builds trust at a time when online ads are crowded and more of them are made by AI. New technology has also made traditional channels easier to target and measure, with QR codes, postcode-level TV and digital billboards that can be booked by the hour.

Is direct mail still effective in the UK?

Yes. JICMAIL found that mail to existing customers averaged a 7.2% response rate and £9 back for every £1 spent. In early 2026, 9.4% of mail prompted a website visit, a record.

Can small businesses advertise on TV in the UK?

Yes. Targeted TV lets businesses show their ad only to households in the areas they serve, so you don’t need a national budget. Spend on targeted TV in the UK grew 15.5% in early 2026.

Does radio advertising still work?

Yes. A record 51.1 million UK adults listen to the radio every week, and a 2026 Radiocentre study found radio lifted website visits by 16% on average.

Old school, new tricks

We’ve been buying media since 1999, from national TV to local and national publishers. We’ll help you choose the traditional channels that suit your customers, and connect them to your digital marketing so you can see exactly what’s working.

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Sources (checked 30 September 2026)