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A Guide To Successful TV Advertisement

guideMany small business owners believe that the cost of advertising on TV is extremely high, and hence they avoid using it to promote their businesses. In fact, what they do not understand is how this method is highly effective, since the returns are huge. However, due to technological advancement, new online marketing platforms like Facebook and Google have been invented, and the cost of advertising through them is lower than on TV. Online marketing is suitable for entities that operate under tight budget, since it’s very easy to create and place an ad on these platforms. This is a detailed guide that will help you in using television as a medium of advertising for your established small business.

Cost of Advertising on TV

The cost of advertising on TV is priced based on Cost per Thousand (CPM). The CPM is the advertising cost, estimating that it would be watched by 1000 individuals. This cost depends on various factors that make it different from one city to another, and this is what would determine the number of people to watch your ad and the amount to be paid. Potential advertisers would consider certain factors that influence desirability of the targeted audience, and they include:

Targeted population: Advertisers prefer to target the population that has money and they’re will to spend it. Those who fall under this category are adults aged between 25-54 years.

TV channel/program: When ads are aired during popular shows, it’s expected that large number of viewers have the opportunity to watch it, and hence CPM rate would be relatively high.

Live shows/programs: Many advertisers are ready to be charged more when their ads are aired during programs that are aired live. This is the major reason why ads aired during live sports event like football matches are very expensive.

Time of airing the ads: Most ads aired in the evening during the time of popular show, and when most people are expected to be in their homes watching TV.

Geographical area: Many advertisers target airing their commercials in large cities, implying that advertising cost in a place like NYC would be extremely high compared to a small town.

Season of the year: During the last quarter of the year, the competition rate in the market is very high, since businesses target to increase their sales during the holiday season. This is the reason why the cost of advertising would be very high during this season.

National or local political events: When people are contesting for political seats, it’s highly likely will be ready to ad costs than it’s normally charged.

Broadcast vs. cable ads: Broadcast entails affiliate of local TV stations like CBS, ABC, or NBC, whereas cable entails stations like MTV, TLC etc with wider coverage of audience as well as wealthier population. It’s relatively cheap to advertise on local broadcast than it is on cable stations.

Television vs. Other Means of Advertising

advertisingIn respect to a report generated by Small Business Administration, a single TV ad aired during prime hours (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.) can cost up to 30 times what is spent during drive time on one radio spot, or entire ad page on a print media (newspaper). For online ads, it’s possible to use as low as $5/day for your small business.

The best strategy a small business can apply is to first use other modes of advertising like radio, local newspaper and online platforms like Facebook and Google. Since these mediums are inexpensive compared to TV advertisement, it’s advisable to test which ad messages deliver better results using those mediums. After this test, you can apply what you’ve learnt from those ads to create an excellent TV ad campaign for your small business.

Merits of TV Advertisement

Television ads use both the sight and sound to deliver the message. This is a combination of the power of newspaper and radio.

The audience is more attentive when watching television as their focus is on it. However, a relatively small percentage has been found to switch channels or leave the room during such ads.

Television ads have ability to reach audience from far and wide. Large number of people watch televisions every day, implying they too watch the commercials.

Advertising on TV is considered as highly effective, because it yields high rate of return on cost of advertisement.

Disadvantages of Television Ads

It’s extremely expensive to air ads on television, especially for small businesses that operates on tight budgets. Advertisers only speculate that the targeted audience is watching their ads, and cannot be specific as is the case of online platforms. In case there is a special promotion, it would be difficult, time consuming, and costly to produce new ads, or change the one airing to fit the occasion.

The Right Time to Advertise on Television

time managementThe time you choose to air your ad would largely determine the amount you pay as cost of advertisement. Therefore, it’s critical to choose the most convenient time to advertise depending on your budget. You can also decide your ads to be aired during specific shows. In this case, you’ll be required to pay additional cost in terms of premium to enable you secure inventory depending on the program. This advertising guide is very essential for small business owners, because it can change the way they view and approach TV as a medium of advertising.

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