Why you should advertise on TV
TV advertising is a big investment, but it continues to be one of the most effective advertising channels, even in the digital era. In this article we’ll look at why that is and go through some of the best reasons to advertise on TV.
Online channels are naturally some of the strongest competitors to TV advertising, so a lot of what you’re about to read will compare TV and digital advertising. This isn’t because we’re anti-online, but rather to show how TV advertising can co-exist with and indeed compliment its digital cousins.
TV advertising is cost-effective
There’s no shying away from the fact that TV advertising can be expensive.
However, there is a reason so many brands continue to advertise on TV – nothing else beats the ROI that TV advertising generates for them.
There are also some economies of scale available to regular TV advertisers – signing longer deals with channels, for example, can bring the cost down a fair bit once proof of concept has been established. TV advertising budgets and timeslots can be tweaked and optimised in line with data insights to generate greater ROI over time. Creative assets generated by one TV advertising campaign can also be reused, updated or refreshed for the next.
Advertising on TV helps diversify channels
Wise investors diversify their portfolio to spread their risk, and so do wise marketers. Whilst you do hear of brands going ‘all in’ on one or two channels, this approach is vulnerable to change. One example of this is GDPR, which made a lot of ‘data-heavy’ marketing channels less cost-effective than they had been previously. Another is the effect of policy changes by the big networks (Google, Facebook Meta, Microsoft et al.) which can render whole advertising strategies unviable.
TV advertising of course is not immune to change, although the regulation around it is perhaps more ‘settled’ than that around online channels, for the time being. The point is that a diverse range of marketing channels, including both TV advertising and online, helps limit your brand’s exposure to any unwelcome shocks or events.
TV advertising can target different audiences
Older age groups? Check. Parents? Check. Die-hard fans of First Dates? Check.
Whilst targeting may be the biggest lure of online, it has become much harder in recent times due to the big networks tightening their policies. Try placing an ad relating to credit, employment or housing on Facebook and you’ll find your targeting options limited, for example.
By contrast, targeting adverts on TV can be a highly effective way to reach certain groups. TV channels invest heavily in audience research and can provide detailed, accurate information on who watches which programs, when. This enables interests and time of day to be used to target TV adverts at certain demographics by proxy, whilst still staying within the letter and spirit of advertising regulation.
TV adverts support other channels
We know from working with advertisers that TV advertising can cause online activity such as website visits, brand searches and social media engagement to spike. It can also lead to an uplift in footfall to physical stores and calls to freephone numbers. In fact, this is something that TV advertising consistently does really well – driving viewers to take useful actions on your other channels. Investing in TV advertising therefore has a double benefit – an immediate increase in awareness and sales, plus a long-term boost to audience numbers for other channels in the future.
TV advertising builds reputation and recall
Advertising a product on TV creates extra validation for both that product and the brand as a whole.
Intuitively, it’s not hard to understand why. “As seen on Channel 4” simply has a better ring to it than “as seen on YouTube”. Whilst trust in traditional media may be decreasing, many still see TV as an authoritative source of information, especially compared to print and online media. TV advertising can leverage that existing trust to enhance a brand’s reputation and cement it in the public consciousness.
Your TV adverts aren’t affected by ad blockers!
There is a constant cat and mouse game between the big advertising networks and the developers of ad blocking extensions. So far, the result seems to be a draw – which you might say is a win for the mouse!
Somewhere between 25% and 45% of internet users have adblockers installed – meaning your ads won’t be served at all to a sizeable proportion of your intended audience. Also, it is unclear to what extent online advertisers get charged for ads which are caught in ad blockers – the tech giants may say not, but many advertisers suspect otherwise.
Of course, advertising on TV has its own issues with audience ad avoidance. TV viewers have developed sophisticated tactics too – such as putting the kettle on during the break. However, this avoidance has already been priced into advertising rates over the years, meaning the cost of advertising space on TV should be a fairer reflection of the reach it generates for advertisers.
Ready to advertise on TV?
If we’ve piqued your interest and you’d like to discuss a TV advertising campaign, drop us an email on info@hhour.co.uk or get in touch via our contact form.
