Why TV?

Posted September 1, 2019

Television evolves and embraces the digital age.

Of all media, television is by far the most watched screen, and the one that consumers continue to prefer for learning about new products and services.

Advances in digital technology have created an era of unprecedented complexity... and a wealth of marketing opportunity for businesses big and small.

Television today is anything but "traditional," with evolving technical formats, a whole new set of delivery platforms, and increased interactivity. Through this new era, we continue to define - and redefine - the role of a media agency.

Television advertising is targeted advertising. Businesses can air just about anywhere, locally or nationwide, on specific channels, selected times of day, and during their customer's favorite shows.

One big thing hasn't changed: the appeal of TV among consumers as the most preferred screen for entertainment and information.

The latest data reveals that television commercials continue to be the most engaging and memorable advertising medium for small, local, medium sized, and start-up businesses. 

Despite the tales of cable TV "cord-cutters," according to the Video Advertising Bureau 83% of households subscribe to cable, for 98 million homes in the U.S., and 71% have both cable and broadband service.

The average American household watches almost 6 hours of television per day. People actually still spend way more time with TV than any other screen, according to Neilsen Media Research.

This means your business really needs to be on TV.

Video has exploded in recent years.

With new technology and content options, consumers expect sharp, clear video to be available instantly, wherever they are. Regardless of all the choices, viewers still overwhelming rely on one source for entertainment: television. Comprising over 90% of video time, television is still the leading video option. Television’s vast array of original programming dominates buzz-worthy programming of all types. This buzz carries over into second-screen platforms like streamed programming. Viewer passion for TV-originated content comes through in vibrant discussion of popular and fan favorite TV programs through social media.[1]

CONSUMERS SPEND THE MOST TIME WITH TV - Despite all the self-congratulatory noise you hear from the web marketers, people still spend WAY MORE TIME WATCHING TV than they do with any other media, including online video. Statistics also show that the consumers of tomorrow will still favor TV over other media by a similarly wide margin.

Television Advertising Offers MORE to Businesses

• Target Audience - It's easy to reach people by age, gender, geographic location, income level, interests, and combinations of these demographics.
• Great bargain - Reach thousands of viewers with EACH airing.
• Dominate the screen - Your story, full-motion, full-screen. No competitors lurking in the margins.
• Strong viewership - Everybody's watching! Despite what you may have heard, TV makes up the largest part of most people's day. Not the internet, not a smart phone. (Are we delusional? Keep on reading, and judge for yourself.)
• TV is the ORIGINAL "social media" - When viewers get excited about a great TV show or breaking news on TV, they talk about it with friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. The online social media world lights up, too. TV advertising ignites social media, which has become the new companion to the TV experience.

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TV is "The King of Media"

Nielsen reported in 2015 that U.S. TV households (households where TV is viewed) number 113.3 million. About 98% of U.S. homes have at least 1 television. Many have more than one.

The Video Advertising Bureau reports in 2015 that in a study of the effects of TV advertising on website traffic, 82% of brands show a direct correlation between TV ads and web traffic. Of the 85 brands that registered increases in traffic, 87% had increased their TV adertising. On average, spending was up 22%, and web visitors went up 24%.

 

Effectiveness of TV: The Screen of Choice

CONSUMERS VOTED TV: MOST PERSUASIVE & MOST EXCITING - Consumers say TV is where they are the MOST likely to learn about products they want to buy, and where they preferred to learn about new products.

Advertising agencies know that TV wins by a wide margin over other media for being influential and exciting. Consumers voted TV most influential by 78%, more than newspapers, radio, magazines and internet combined. TV also wins in the Most Authoritative, Most Persuasive, and Most Exciting categories, by a wide margin. A resounding 74% of the viewing public says TV commercials are a fair price to pay for being able to watch TV.

In spite of the proliferation of various video screens, time spent with TV continues to dominate viewing, and increases year-over-year. On average, viewers spend over 32 hours (1,920 minutes) per week with Television, versus only 27 minutes/week with Internet Video and 7 min./week with Mobile Video (as of 2011, per Nielsen).

Television Viewership vs. Internet and Mobile - Not an "Either/Or" Question Any More

You may have heard that TV viewing is somehow dropping off rapidly and being supplanted by internet and mobile use. Numerous studies indicate that assumption is just plain wrong.

A 2011 Nielsen report indicates that 62% of U.S. adults have watched TV and used the internet at the same time, and 38% of connected device (mobile) owners looked up product information while watching TV on their devices.

In 2012 the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau shared its findings that use of new video devices (i.e., tablets and phones) has fed, not cannibalized, TV viewing (source: CAB Custom Study, "Which Screen - Every Screen").

CONCLUSION: While people are engaging more screens nowadays, it's often as an enhancement to their TV experience - looking up products they've seen on TV. TV is the place to be, if you want to capture the attention of your customers and get your phone ringing.

Online Businesses: Think Outside the Browser

Is your web advertising driving you nuts? Did you spend hours and dollars optimizing your website for the latest SEO recommendations, only to have your efforts trashed by the latest major search engine algorithm "updates"?

Are you working hard to win the hearts and minds of your social media audience, only to have competitors zoom past you by buying fake "likes," "views," and "followers"?

You're spending thousands of dollars on keywords, but is it getting more and more expensive and less and less effective?

The best door into your online business is from the outside.

Television is proven to bring customers to shop at online stores and to order services. With TV advertising, your cost per viewer can be pennies on the dollar compared to online, especially if you've been buying high-ranking keywords to keep up with competitors.

Television Delivers a Premium Consumer Experience

Television advertising provides an exciting, audio + video experience that presents your business in a dynamic, persuasive way -- and gets people to your door who wouldn't have even known to search for you before.

Television advertising has earned an excellent, consistent, successful track record of promoting products and services for over half a century. TV advertising has many advantages for local, regional, and nationwide businesses. Brick and mortar... OR online.

In today's competitor-trampling economic climate, you can't afford NOT to advertise on TV... and Cheap TV Spots® are the real media deal!

TVs ARE GETTING BIGGER - The average home has a larger TV now than in past years, and many homes own several. People aren't giving up the home entertainment center any time soon; your message can be right there.

TV IS JUST MORE FUN - TV moves. TV has music. It's as BIG as your customer's television screen, up-close and personal. You can share TV viewing at home with family and friends, or you can catch it in a club, sports bar, or restaurant -- even in your mechanic's waiting room! Nothing moves like TV!

REACH CUSTOMERS, WITHOUT SPAMMING - With TV, you can pinpoint exactly the type of customer to you want to reach, by airing when and where your customer is watching. We make it easy. We can help you find the best networks and times to air your TV spot. Because we help you locate where and when your prospective customers are watching, you can send your message directly to your customers without "spamming" them.

BOOST YOUR CAMPAIGN - You don't need to give up your online adwords keyword ads, mobile campaign, social mecia, print ads or other ad campaigns to take advantage of TV advertising. Cheap TV Spots carefully designs your TV spot to complement your current campaign slogans, images, and overall tone. You get extra mileage out of your coupons, promotions, and offers, PLUS you get the many benefits of TV - its targeted reach, its persuasive power, its memorability, and its overall appeal.

TV is the Easy Going, Non-Invasive, Yet Targeted Advertising Medium

TV TELLS CUSTOMERS YOU'RE SERIOUS AND SUCCESSFUL - Advertising on TV tells your customers that your business is legitimate, substantial, and stable. It says you are proud of your business and want the world to know about it. TV advertisers gain positive notoriety in the communities they serve, and being seen on TV builds the community's trust in you. TV advertising places a business in a class with the most successful businesses in the community. Television conveys "stardom" upon advertisers in a way that no other media can.

BUILD YOUR BRAND - In the customer's mind, TV advertising creates awareness of your product, service, company, and most importantly, your BRAND. In this world of constant media messages, it has never been more important to separate your company from the rest of the pack, and TV advertising makes the most vivid impression at a bargain "cost per impression."

SEE IT, HEAR IT, REMEMBER IT - Studies on learning and memory reveal that repetition with both sound and visual input is the best way to ensure that a concept (such as your product) is remembered. TV advertising consistently offers both full motion images and stereo sound, on the biggest screen in the household.

MEASURABLE RESULTS - They've been measuring TV viewership since the dawn of television. Thanks to the Nielsen Ratings, Arbitron, and other TV viewership measurement agencies, TV offers excellent methods for understanding audience demographics. The age, sex, income and interests of TV viewers are easily tracked without collecting the personal details required for online metrics... and customers can be reached more cheaply with TV advertising. LET US SHOW YOU HOW. 

Resources:

• [1] Video Advertising Bureau, "Why TV Brands"
• Television audience data source: Nielsen Media Research, The Nielsen Company.
• Television Bureau of Advertising, Inc. (TVB), not-for-profit U.S. commercial broadcast television industry trade association.