Theoretically, if I'm specifically looking for something then consulting a resource about those things makes sense. Like a catalog.
But that isn't how advertising and marketing work is it? No, even your example is spamming people and hoping they give a shit. You're forcing them to deal with your bullshit so you can make a profit and that's detrimental to society.
I've been looking for a great local baker for months. I don't think Americans realize just how bad most baked goods are here. And yes, even the stuff made by your local grocery store or bakery is probably quite bad. I was looking over the vendors from the local farmer's market, which hasn't opened yet this year, and noticed a baker. I checked out their website and found that during the offseason they take orders online and have about a dozen pickup locations on Saturdays. After checking out the small number of reviews I could find online, as well as the photos and descriptions on their website, I placed a small order. Their stuff it amazing and is exactly what I've been looking for.
I bought some art last month after discovering the artist by seeing their art on the cover of a sci-fi/fantasy magazine.
After watching a lot of content about digital music creation and explanations and reviews of various equipment, I bought a midi controller that I'm very happy with.
I own several pieces of Made In cookware, and Made In no doubt gave away a lot of cookware to YT cooking channels, but I only bought it after seeing several people I trust use it and give honest reviews of it. The reviews were never the focus of the videos. Arguably there is not a lot of difference between an ad and a plug in a video, other than the source and context of the plug. I think it boils down to the fact that I neither care nor trust what companies think of their own products.
For retail stores, it has always been known that physical location is everything. In a dense (for the US) city like Chicago, a new bakery would be discovered by everyone in the neighborhood. Even out in the suburbs this is how I discover new places, like the new dispensary that opened this year.
I don't know how the financials would work, but I much rather receive a small weekly flyer from someone I trust pointing out good local businesses. I absolutely do not want all of the flyers I currently receive that were paid for by the businesses they are promoting.
Therein lies the rub. There is not enough of you who would pay for such a flyer. So your local guy asks the businesses to help him out with the print and mailing costs and says in return I'll print your business' name in bold. At that point arguably we crossed the threshold into advertising.
The problem is that as soon as it becomes about who is willing to pay, it becomes useless. I'd rather have nothing than the current situation.
You can find services that manage to make this work. I subscribe to America's Test Kitchen. They have been around for over 20 years now. In addition to recipes they are well known for their equipment reviews. Many people subscribe to Consumer Reports, but for some reason I don't find their reviews very useful.
How do you scale something fast enough through just word of mouth to get out of the red?
If I open a new bakery, is it predatory to send a pamphlet to the nearby houses? Should I just sit quietly and hope that enough people notice?