Companies are always searching for new ways to market their business.With the advent of digital marketing, the advertising landscape has become vast and difficult to navigate, making the options abundant and the learning curve steep. In a time of choices that can be difficult to leverage, one of the best and most proven platforms to get your message to the masses is TV. Though digital content consumption is growing in popularity making advertising in that space a must, TV still reigns supreme with a large audience that's worth targeting with commercials. As of 2020, there were around 120.6 million TV homes in the U.S. If you're not reaching this market, that's millions of potential customers you're neglecting, many of whom may not spend as much time online as specific segments of your digital audience.
While a business may benefit from a comprehensive digital campaign, there may also be an audience segment that spends more time watching TV that you want to reach. If you want to appear in front of these audiences, along with those who watch TV and regularly browse, TV can be an invaluable asset.
Here are some of the top reasons to advertise on TV if you want to maximize your reach and connect with a larger audience.
1. TV is Dependable
TV has been around for over half a century, and it's brought many businesses plenty of success. From America’s biggest sporting events to award shows, some of the world’s most watched programming air’s on broadcast television making it a sought after, proven and trusted medium by both viewers and advertisers alike. Running carefully targeted, highly creative commercials can boost your brand’s exposure in a way that no other platform can.
2. TV Advertising Gives Businesses a Creative Opportunity
Through TV advertising, your brand has a chance to flex its creativity. You can identify your target audience and gear your commercials' messaging, tone, and focus based on their preferences. In addition to commercials, you can try to make appearances on local TV shows where you'll have the chance to showcase your products or services creatively. There’s also the opportunity to partner with local stations to sponsor special events, programs and/or community outreach campaigns to help create an emotional connection between you and your consumers.
3. You Can Demonstrate Your Product on TV
One of the most challenging aspects of marketing a product or service is educating the potential users on it’s features and benefits. Obviously this is very difficult to do in a social media post, banner ad or traditional 30-second commercial, but TV offers other options to tackle this problem with ease. Long-form commercial content (1 to 2 minute commercials) and segments on local lifestyle shows, you can display your products and services to show their value clearly. For instance, there may be a specific feature that a segment of your audience may want to see on a particular station, which you can effectively highlight in your ads.
4. TV Advertising is Great for Brand Awareness
If your marketing goal is to increase brand awareness, TV is by far the best method to get it done. Of all the marketing mediums, TV is the most effective at reaching large audiences with your message when, where and how often you need to. Through television commercials, you can creatively and effectively demonstrate what your brand is all about, who is behind it, and the value it brings to your audience.
5. TV Advertising is a Trusted Medium
Building trust in your brand is key in establishing your business, and TV is arguably one of the most effective advertising mediums to accomplish the task. Given the highly regulated nature of television, being closely monitored by government agencies (e.g. Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Congress), viewers are extended a metaphorical blanket of assurance knowing that someone is looking out for their safety and best interests.
For example, The Federal Communication Commission has several regulations in place for TV ads that govern everything from the volume of commercials all the way to what content and how often a company can deliver messaging to children. These regulations help instill a sense of security in consumers effectively making the trust building process easier than it might be on other mediums.
6. Everyone Watches TV
As we mentioned, millions of people are watching TV, and those audiences include just about every demographic. From young students to older professionals, there are plenty of people tuning in regularly who may see your ads.
7. TV Can Be Integrated with Digital Campaigns
While TV alone can be beneficial in many ways, using them together with digital can make your brand unstoppable. You can easily integrate TV with online campaigns in several ways. For example, you could encourage people to visit your website at the end of a TV ad, increasing traffic and conversions or even leading them to an email marketing campaign. People who visit your website may also not make a purchase right away, in which case you could try to bring them back with retargeting ads that follow them to other websites.
Many people may also be quick to research your online presence after seeing a TV ad. One study from Facebook determined that around 94% of TV viewers have a smartphone at the ready while watching TV. Add to that Nielsen and the Center for Research Excellence found that second-screen usage increases by 50% when TV ads are playing. If you're not taking advantage of both platforms, you could be losing out on a chance to engage with many viewers.
Use TV to Your Advantage in a Complete Ad Campaign
Without TV advertising, you could be holding your business back in several ways. You may be failing to meet your marketing goals with digital ads alone, or you might merely be neglecting a potentially massive audience of viable prospects. In any case, it's best to implement a robust TV ad campaign along with digital to improve your brand's performance and get the most from your marketing budget to maximize ROI.
