Recently, many high tech and Internet-based companies, such as Facebook, PayPal and even the popular newcomer to the mobile banking arena Square, have launched new advertising campaigns through not only their usual digital channels but through more conventional media as well.

While it may seem like a trip back to the exciting but over-the-top dot-com boom when fast-growing technology start-ups flooded mainstream communication channels with advertisements attempting to reach a wide range of prospects, this time things are different. Advertisers are reaching out to an audience that is already using their services or is likely to use them in the near future. Some of these audiences are:

• -The one billion people using Facebook
• -The businesses that use Square to process more than $2 billion in payments a year (which even includes Starbucks)
• -The 117 million active registered accounts PayPal has in 190 markets

This new movement is completely unlike the dot-com era when young companies were trying to use TV advertising to gain new customers and were spending heaps of money to target a much less receptive audience. Today’s high tech companies take fewer risks and are putting ad dollars where there will be a sure return on this investment. And with this return to traditional media outlets, we might just see more and more of our favorite high tech companies following the footsteps of Google and Amazon to show up on our living room screens.