While traditional advertising was once dominated by national TV and print ads, changes in media consumption and increased advertising clutter have led companies to supplement traditional approaches with non-traditional marketing techniques. Non-traditional marketing includes tactics like guerrilla marketing, viral marketing, and social media marketing that are typically less expensive than traditional media and allow companies to engage consumers in a more direct way. As marketers shift spending to non-traditional approaches, firms that help plan and execute these alternative programs have seen significant growth.

1. From Mad Men to Guerrillas Though non-traditional marketing techniques were first adopted by small and medium sized companies, today they have moved into the mainstream. Many Fortune 500 Companies have supplemented traditional advertising with alternative approaches. Back in the days of "Mad Men," the acclaimed TV series about a fictional advertising agency set in the 1960's, marketing was a pretty simple and straightforward proposition. A media mix of national TV and print advertising was all you needed to promote your brand. Clutter Much has changed over the intervening decades. Media fragmentation, advertising clutter and changing consumer habits have rendered the old advertising practices incomplete. The rapid integration of interactive digital media (like the Internet) into the media landscape has further altered the old paradigm. All of these factors have contributed to the rise of alternative, "non-traditional" marketing disciplines. Non-traditional marketing is an umbrella term, generally applied to marketing efforts that don't involve buying media from traditional outlets. A Broad Range Non-traditional marketing encompasses a broad range of tactics. There is overlap between some forms of non-traditional marketing and distinct boundaries between one kind and another may be hard to identify (e.g. a viral marketing campaign may employ guerrilla marketing and social network marketing to generate word of mouth). While acknowledging the overlap, we've provided a quick rundown of some of the main types of non-traditional marketing below in the left column. Most types of non-traditional marketing share three qualities. They: 1) are typically less expensive that traditional media, 2) reach consumers in a less cluttered environment, and 3) engage the consumer in a more direct and interactive way. Marketing companies are increasingly drawn to non-traditional marketing services for those reasons. That helps to explain why Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a leading private equity firm dedicated the media industries forecasts a 12.6% compound annual growth rate from 2008-2013 for alternative marketing services, while predicting a 3.3% decline for traditional advertising. As marketers are increasingly turning to non-traditional marketing programs, PromoAid , which helps companies identify and evaluate marketing service vendors, is uniquely positioned to help both marketers and their agencies find the right marketing supplier to plan and execute non-traditional marketing programs.