Branding
The Elvis Presley of advertising and King of the World for over fifty years, television advertising has generated billions and billions and billions of dollars in profits for advertisers (and television stations)! The most common TV ads are 15- and 30-second spots. In most markets, you can buy spots from local network affiliates like CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, ION, or MYTV. If you are in a top 20 market, your spots will be delivered to well over a million households in the area, and pricing depends on several different factors, including station audience size and the program the ad will run during.
The benefit of broadcast television is that you have the potential to reach a large number of people with just one spot. For many years, broadcast stations had the lion’s share of viewership and the programming used to draw enormous audiences on a regular basis. So, if you wanted to be “King Kong” (and you had enough money), you could run your ad on a broadcast television station, and almost everyone could see it. Hence the term “broad” “cast.” That fact is no longer true.
These days, over 75% of the homes in the US are hooked up to cable television. Local cable providers give you the opportunity to insert your commercials on stations like TNT, TBS, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, HGTV, and Discovery. The benefits of cable advertising are Geographic, Demographic, and Psychographic, what we call the GDP.
Geographic
Cable systems have the advantage of controlling the geographical areas where your commercials can be seen. If you are a small business owner and most of your customers live within a few miles of your business, it’s probably not cost effective for you to run your commercials on a station that reaches households that are 100 miles away. Most cable providers break their systems up into advertising zones that allow advertisers the benefit of reaching a smaller geographic area. In most cases, cable rates are lower than broadcast, which allows the advertiser to afford more frequency.
Demographic
Most cable channels target their programming to attract a specific demographic. For example, if you’re trying to reach a female audience, you would consider advertising on channels like Lifetime, OWN, or WE. If you’re trying to reach more males, you would advertise on channels like ESPN, SPEED or SPIKE TV.
Psychographic
If you really want to fine-tune your target audience, you can even break your schedule down to reach a specific psyche or “type” of viewer. Want to reach a hardcore right wing conservative audience? Try a little FOX NEWS Channel. Want to reach young male “gamers?” Try the G4 Network or FUEL.
Targeting options of cable TV advertising are seemingly endless, but don’t try to over think it. We have seen advertisers spend days discussing the merits of one cable channel over another. Use the GDP as a guide, not a rule. And remember, you should be spending most of your time and effort on good creative. A great ad will work on any network!
Direct Response
More commonly known as infomercials, Direct Response Television spots are the ones that contain a strong call to action at the end and are usually accompanied by a blue background with graphics, credit card logos, a phone number, and a web address. When done right, infomercials will give you the greatest return on your advertising investment. There are many reasons that we are such strong believers in Direct Response Television, and here are just a few.
- Infomercials are proven to build brand awareness.
- Infomercials give consumers the opportunity to respond immediately to your offer and to buy your product on impulse.
- Infomercials give you the opportunity to track your results instantly and to make adjustments to your offer and/ or creative to achieve your desired ROI.
- Good media buyers can usually get a better rate on Direct Response Television avails.
- For the twenty plus years we have been involved in all types of advertising, when done right, Infomercials and Direct Response ads have consistently delivered better results for our clients.
