In the last three years, some of the most memorable ads were telecast on US television during the Super Bowl. From Budweiser’s Clydesdale puppy love to Volkswagen’s The Force or Snickers’ Betty White, the TV commercials have reached millions of people in a matter of a few seconds, impacting the advertisers’ revenues positively.
In the presence of OTT platforms and YouTube, it seems logical to assume that TV advertising may have run its course. Yet, this may be a fleeting assumption at best. Some fact-checking may put things in perspective. Statista reports –
- Television, despite the OTT boom, has remained a leading source of news and entertainment in the United States.
- During a span of a year, spending on new commercials oscillates between USD 107 million and USD 548 million.
- TV commercial production companies saw a positive 22.27% growth post-pandemic.
Here’s how TV advertising is still a preferred medium over others and how it differs from other media:
Visual experience of the product
TV advertising, since its inception in the late 1950s, has provided viewers with the advantage of seeing a product or service in action. There’s no better way to teach, memorize, or remember something than to showcase it visually. This principle has worked wonders for any product or service in TV advertising, and facts don’t lie. There’s a certain mental faculty that engages in print or radio advertising, but TV advertising provides the benefit of the engagement of all senses, which results in better product recall and loyalty.
Demands the full attention of the viewers
If you are able to engage your viewers in the first 20 seconds, you may have already won them. In terms of attention span, TV advertising is slightly similar to print advertising but differs in that the engagement is much deeper. Viewers are hooked and less likely to get distracted once they start to watch.
Cost and impact
TV commercials cost more than radio or print ads. But they also provide the freedom to place ads more smartly in front of the target audience for better ROI. For instance, you can place a Nike shoe commercial during the NBA or BPL, a fashion commercial or a Coca-Cola commercial during news and entertainment slots, and so on. This type of placement leverages the viewers’ feelings that run high or run in a certain direction while watching sports or a particular news program and works more positively for the impact of the ad’s messaging and call to action. Even small businesses can book regional sections or day times to sell specific products on television within their budget.
Relevant for OTT and YouTube
Earlier, when companies invested in TV ads, they only had the option of running those ads on television, reaching homes, hotels, airports, or transport stations. However, now that a company invests in a TV commercial, the same can be tweaked for OTT and YouTube ads at either the exact same production cost or at a lesser editing cost. Today, more and more production companies in NYC are conceptualizing TV commercials that are relevant for TV, OTT, YouTube, or any other visual medium.
Celebrity endorsements and authenticity
While print ads or radio ads also have celebrity endorsements, the idea works best with TV commercials when people watch celebrities using products or services or starring in conceptualized commercials. These have a deeper impact, as celebrity endorsements show that the company may have invested in the product enough to have roped in the credibility of a sports or cinema star.
Storytelling and its impact
TV commercials also have a more immersive way of storytelling than newspaper ads, radio ads, or billboards. People have beloved ads that they sit through despite the commercial breaks, and the storytelling strikes an emotional chord with them. Millennials and Gen-Zs have come to love good stories despite their commercial value or messaging, and they are likely to endorse products or services that manage to tell a good brand story.
Quick tips to get the best ROI from a TV commercial
Tip #1: Re-edit the TV campaign to optimize for other media.
Hire TV commercial production companies that are willing to create a TV commercial that speaks to television, OTT, and YouTube viewers all at the same time. Good TV commercial companies will be willing to make small changes in the same commercial in terms of time period or tweaks in content and provide you with a full package of TV commercials that are relevant for other media. If your TV ad is 30 seconds long, you may want to have 5 seconds and 15 seconds edit for YouTube and Facebook, where shorter content does much better, thanks to shortening attention spans for online content. On Facebook, people spend, on average, 1.7 seconds with a piece of content on mobile compared to 2.5 seconds on desktop.2
Tip #2: Know the best slots, times, and TV content.
Make sure you have information about the best time slots relevant to your product or service. For instance, loungewear ads may not need a prime TV slot; they can be run during afternoons when stay-at-home mothers or fathers, freelancers, or gig professionals working from home are likely to watch TV during certain periods of the day. In the same way, know the content where the ads will run—a news program, a telenovela, a sports event, or a certain TV series. This information will help you conceptualize and tweak your ad for relevance.
Tip #3: Use data to measure results and make decisions.
Unlike earlier, you now have data available about TV programs. You can know the exact TRP or viewership of certain slots, programs, sports events, and their impact. Today, specific data is available about what men, women, the LGBTQ+ community, children, or seniors are watching. Make use of this data to create informed TV commercials with high impact.
Tip #4: Leverage social media.
You can create a buzz around your television ad, just like a movie release, on your social media platforms and direct those viewers to watch your TV commercial when it is aired. This improves your reach, creates a solid brand buzz, and gets you the ROI you are expecting.
Final thoughts Sinema TV stands out among the Los Angeles production companies in more than one way. For instance, our company provides a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to creating ads that are relevant to your target demographic, age group, TV viewers, and other visual media viewers. Our ads are sleek and contain strong and clear messaging, combined with smart storytelling. If you are looking for a production agency to give you the impact that your brand deserves, give us a call.
