Table of contents
What Is TV Advertising?
Television is one of the mass media. Every day, individual TV stations are watched by millions of people. Commercials have been with people for a long time and accompany them between films or news broadcasts. It is impossible not to notice them. The average ad time is typically 30 seconds. TV advertising includes advertising spots, teleshopping and so-called advertising boards. What are the pros and cons of TV advertising and when should you choose it?
Today, practically everything is saturated with TV commercials. Most of the definitions of advertising say that it is an impersonal, paid advertising addressed to the recipient, presenting the advertiser’s offer. The advertisement, therefore, specifies information that supports the sale offered by the advertiser. Thanks to TV advertising, each brand can build its image and achieve higher profits. TV advertising is one of the most popular forms of marketing for large brands, but it’s also worth remembering that it is also the most expensive outreach option we can imagine. Companies choose TV advertising because it allows them to compete with other producers. In some cases, advertising is even a piece of art, because a team of specialists and visionaries work on it. They care about the catchiness and its consistency with a given product or service. Here are the pros and cons of TV commercial:
Pros and Cons of TV Advertising
Pros of TV advertising
One of the most important advantages is shaping social attitudes and trends. TV commercials have a very big influence on that. Another advantage of TV advertising is its wide reach, which covers the whole country, and even the world because most people own a television set. Theoretically, TV advertising offers a low cost of reaching one recipient, although its scale makes it still the most expensive medium when it comes to advertising. TV commercials are also much more interesting than, for example, radio or press advertisements, because they combine image and sound – the more stimuli, the better for the recipient. There is also movement in the ads that catches the eye of the potential viewer. Advertisements shown on television also evoke emotions (not necessarily positive) and as a result the product remains in the viewer’s mind for much longer. In short, the advantages of TV advertising are:
- shaping social attitudes and trends,
- wide reach,
- low cost per viewer,
- remaining in the recipient’s mind for longer,
- greater efficiency thanks to the use of sound, image and movement,
- nationwide or even global reach.
Cons of TV advertising
Unfortunately, TV advertising does not only have advantages. There are surprisingly many disadvantages. The first and most important disadvantage is the costs that the advertiser has to incur to create a given advertisement. The team of graphic designers, sound engineers, filmmakers and other advertising creators is just a drop in the ocean. There are also the costs of broadcasting the commercial. Not many companies can afford it. Additional factor that has an influence on the costs is the appearance of celebrities i n the commercials to increase persuasiveness. Another downside is the growing awareness of viewers. They notice that they are bombarded with a number of TV commercials, which are often exaggerated and have nothing in common with the reality. Commercials also do not always evoke positive emotions in the recipients. Some creators aim to shock the audience, but the effectiveness of such a controversial advertisement depends on the beliefs and age of people. Another disadvantage is the short time of broadcasting – 30 seconds is very often not enough to fully show the advantages of a given product and explain why it is worth choosing. In many cases, the frequency of broadcasting a commercial is so annoying that the recipient immediately changes the channel. Besides, now, despite a hypothetically high viewership, television has become a “background medium”. This means that the TV is often simply turned on when we are in other rooms or talking on the couch. We are used to its noise, but we do not pay much attention to what is happening on the screen. In addition, it is difficult to measure the specific effects and actual reach of the commercial. With such a large expense, it is often an argument for shifting the advertising budget allocated to television broadcasts to other channels – eg. Youtube, which offers great analytics and an even better price-display ratio. In short, the disadvantages of TV advertising are:
- high costs of creating and broadcasting commercials,
- increasing consumer awareness,
- short broadcasting time, which makes it impossible to show all the advantages of the product
- discouraging viewers who feel compelled to watch,
- evoking negative emotions with controversial ads,,
- ignoring commercials that are repeated frequently,
- TV as a background medium,
- alternative channels also based on video, offering better analytics and better cost-performance ratio.
So, above we have the advantages and disadvantages of TV advertising.
Tips for Creating Effective TV Advertising
The advantages and disadvantages of TV advertising are one thing, and its effectiveness is another. Marketers more and more often create advertisements that are not adapted to the age and education of the recipients. Some advertisements are only dedicated to adolescents, and some only to older people. It is extremely difficult to create an advertisement that will appeal to everyone. It is therefore worth considering the age range, and then creating ads in such a way that it does not conflict with the political views and attitudes of viewers. Advertising should therefore be apolitical and subtle – it only presents the advantages of the product, and does not persuade consumers to buy using the created slogans. The time and place of broadcasting are also crucial in terms of the target group.
When is advertising most profitable?
Experts say TV commercials are most profitable when they are broadcast with high frequency over a given period of time and slightly less frequently after the given period of time. Generally, however, frequency is the key to success, but it means that the entire campaign can cost several millions. This is an insurmountable barrier for most companies on the market.
