There was a time when receiving a FedEx envelope meant something mattered. It cut through the noise. Ironically, it may again. As digital channels become saturated, some “old” tactics are starting to feel new again and even more effective. Not because they’ve changed, but because everything around them has.
I was reminded of that recently while working on a campaign for Burpee. The goal was to reach a broad national audience ahead of the spring planting season. The challenge was that planting guidance is not one size fits all. It varies by geography, climate, and growing zone. That made a traditional national media pitching strategy time consuming and inefficient at best. Then an old idea resurfaced. A satellite media tour.
In just six hours, we were able to reach local TV and radio stations across the country, tailoring messaging to different regions. What felt like a dated tactic turned out to be exactly the right solution for a fragmented audience. The results were nothing short of amazing. We reached 151 of the 200 U.S. DMAs with 542 airings, and an audience of 79 million consumers. It worked because it was not just highly efficient but also highly effective in delivering the “Seeds That Grow” Burpee message.
That is what got me thinking. As audiences grow numb to endless social posts, influencer content, and AI generated everything, the tactics we once moved away from may now stand out precisely because they are different. This is not an argument to abandon these other tools. Social and AI driven content still play a critical role. But they are no longer the only silver-bullet differentiators.
The opportunity may lie in rebalancing. Pair today’s tools with strategies that feel less crowded, more intentional, and harder to ignore. Not every old tactic deserves a comeback. But the ones that solve a real problem and cut through the noise are worth another look. Because in a landscape where everything is instant and infinite, the unexpected still gets our attention.
Devine + Partners is a Philadelphia public relations agency. We offer a full range of communications services – from message and content development and media relations to issues management and employee and community engagement.
