Why TV Advertising Is Still Relevant

Isn’t TV, like, so last year?

I mean, with YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime, do people even still watch it?

Well, yes…apparently.

In fact, the average American household watches about 8 hours of TV every single day!

Now, the debate about TV has major implications for advertisers. With set budgets and changing digital trends, it’s a constant battle for advertisers to allocate resources to the platforms that make most financial sense.

We live in a digital world of colossal social media use and massive online content consumption. Some argue that TV is no longer the best place to advertise.

But, clearly, there remains an enormous potential audience available. Surely there’s still room for TV ads too?

Keep on reading to discover exactly why TV remain relevant in today’s world of advertising.

1. TV Is Immensely Popular

Watching TV remains one of the most popular leisure activities around the country.

As we’ve seen, hour upon hour is watched daily in the average household.

That equates to the ability to reach a huge audience.

For instance, even though numbers have dropped off, around 100 million people watch the Super Bowl every year. Now, to get an ad on TV at that time requires many millions of dollars. Of course, that’s generally unattainable for anyone other than the largest businesses.

But this extreme example demonstrates the potential reach of ads on TV. Millions of people can be watching your ad at one given moment. Done right, and it can have a major impact on revenue.

2. The Audience Is Happy and Captive

Clearly, people love watching TV.
They’ll watch non-stop TV for as long as they can! In simple terms, you have a captive audience to target.

Consequently, unlike many other advertising platforms, people will generally stay tuned for your ad.

Compare that with magazines, newspapers, radios and even online advertising. It’s all too easy to skip over the paid advert that’s been placed there, or to change the radio station, or to install an ad blocker. The money you spend on these ads is effectively wasted.

The opposite is usually true of ads. People wait (patiently or not) for their show to recommence. That means you have a guaranteed set of eyes upon your ad.

3. Effective Targeting

Alternative online advertising platforms are often favored over TV for their targeting capabilities.

It’s possible to target a specific audience to an incredible degree of accuracy.

But we shouldn’t forget the ability of TV to do a similar thing. Through effective analysis of TV audiences, you can establish a solid impression of who watches a particular program or channel.

A particular demographic tunes in to Show X at Time Y every day. If it happens to match your target audience, then you can place an ad accordingly. All told, you have a highly targeted captive audience to display a product or service.

4. Consistency Against Adversity

It’s worth emphasizing the resilience of TV.

Indeed, it’s hard to overstate the potential disruption of changing trends in content consumption. As Netflix, YouTube and other online alternatives arise, it would be easy to predict the demise of TV. Many have, which is possibly why you’re reading this article!

However, all evidence indicates the sustained relevant of TV. Slight dips have been experienced. But all in all, people continue to watch vast amounts of TV each year.

Some countries, such as Spain, have even seen an increase in television consumption. It’s foolish to disregard the potential for TV ads.

5. The Results Say It All

It’s true that the popularity of TV could have nothing to do with advertising relevance.

Simply, the TV would be inarguably irrelevant if its viewers didn’t lead to campaign success. Fortunately, that isn’t the case.

TV ads work. It’s as simple as that.

Regardless of where you look in the world, TV advertising continues to generate top returns on investment. From Australia to the UK, to Germany and back to the US, television advertising generates sales, drives internet traffic, and boosts brand recall.

6. It’s Trustworthy

Why do TV ads have such an impact?

One reason is that people continue to trust them.

Indeed, that trust may be because these ads been around for so long. Most people have grown up with a TV in their lives. They’re used to watching adverts on them. That amounts to a level of trust for what they watch.

By contrast, internet ads are the new boys on the block. Human psychology stipulates that we have less trust for something we’re less au fait with.

Equally, the cost involved in TV advertising demands a level of quality in their delivery. The effort that goes into production commands a level of trust.

Compare that to internet ads from Joe Blogs- some random bloke, sat in his pajamas in the front room of his house, filming on his smartphone and trying to sell you his latest affiliate marketing idea.

It’s cheap and easy to advertise online. As a result, lots of people do it. And that makes it hard to trust what you see and hear.

7. TV Advert Properties

TV adverts remain impactful due to their properties too.

Think about it: sound, visuals, and motion are all intrinsic components. Footage can be from real-life or contain animations. Sound and image quality are both high. There’s no limit to the details and opportunities at your disposal. Ads can last for a range of time, depending on your budget.

Compare that to forms of ads.

Facebook, for example, often plays its videos on mute automatically. Viewers only get visuals and motion to enjoy, unless they actively opt for sound. Other forms of advertising (such as magazines) only offer print. It’s far harder to captivate and impact someone’s emotions this way.

Time to Create Some TV Ads

There you have it: exactly why TV ads remain relevant in 2019.

In a modern, digital world it’s easy to assume TV is a thing of the past. As we’ve seen though, that’s far from the truth of the matter.

Hopefully, the information above has persuaded you of the value TV continues to provide in advertising.

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