Whether TV advertising is worth it depends on a number of different factors, such as your target audience, advertising budget, business goals, and the nature of your product or service. For some businesses, TV advertising works wonders and can be incredibly effective, while for others, it might not be as suitable.

Here are some considerations to help you determine if TV advertising is worth it for your business:

  1. Marketing budget
  2. Target audience
  3. Business goals
  4. Message complexity
  5. Return on investment estimation

1. Marketing Budget

First things first, you need to evaluate your advertising budget to see if you could actually afford to advertise your business on television.

If you’re looking to have a TV advert during prime time slots (8-11pm) or on popular channels, it can be pretty expensive, so work out if the cost of this type of advertising fits within your overall marketing budget.

That said, you do not have to get prime time spots to have a successful TV advertisement, and TV ads can actually be relatively cheap to film when you choose an experienced media production company to work with.

Here at Buffoon Media, we work to keep costs affordable so small businesses can make it onto the small screen too.

Is TV Advertising Worth It?

TV advertising is famous for its ability to reach a huge audience in a short amount of time.

2. Target Audience

Another important thing to consider is who your target audience are and whether they regularly watch TV. Identify audience demographics such as age, gender, location, and interests to determine whether TV advertising is worth it for your business.

For example, research by Statista shows that older audiences tend to consume traditional TV more than the younger generation, with people aged 50 years and over watching TV more than 5 hours on a daily basis, compared to less than an hour among 16 to-24-year-olds.

Therefore, if your product or service is valuable to adults, then TV adverts are a great way to share your message as many adults still favour TV over other forms of media.

Is TV Advertising Worth It

Another important thing to consider is whether your competitors are using TV advertising. If you find out that they are, this might be a good indication that TV is effective in your industry. That said, it might also mean that there’s more competition for airtime, so make sure you do your research.

3. Business Goals

You should also consider your business goals and what you actually want to achieve from your advertising efforts. TV advertising can be effective for a variety of business goals, but some objectives are especially well-suited to TV advertising.

For example, TV advertising is famous for its ability to reach a huge audience in a short amount of time, so if your main objective is to increase brand awareness and make your business known to a large number of people, TV ads can help achieve this.

Being featured on reputable TV channels can also significantly enhance your brand’s reputation and give your brand a sense of legitimacy and trustworthiness. So if you’re looking to build some credibility around your brand, TV adverts are a great place to do so.

TV ads are also a fantastic place to introduce a new product or service to the market as you can effectively showcase the features, benefits, and unique selling points of your new offering.

Also, if you have a local business, local TV advertising can massively strengthen your presence within your community and attract local customers to your business.

Is TV Advertising Worth It

Being featured on reputable TV channels can also significantly enhance your brand’s reputation and give your brand a sense of legitimacy and trustworthiness.

4. Message Complexity

Considering message complexity is crucial when deciding if TV advertising is worth it. This is because TV ads have limited time to convey a message effectively (typically 30 seconds to a minute long), meaning that your message must be concise, clear, and easily understood by viewers.

This is especially important as TV viewers have a limited attention span, especially when ads interrupt their programme and a complex message might not have enough time to capture and hold their attention, leading to a lack of engagement and message comprehension.

5. Return on Investment Estimation

Last but not least, estimate the potential ROI based on factors such as reach customer acquisition costs and work out how many conversions and sales needed to justify the investment in TV advertising.

Remember to factor in the cost of creating the TV ad itself, as professional production is necessary for TV ads to meet the quality standards of television. That said, creating a TV ad doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg if you choose an affordable yet high quality video production company.

Here at Buffoon Media, we work hard to keep costs affordable so small businesses can make it onto the small screen too. We even offer split payments over twelve months to help spread the cost. You can find out more about our services here.

And there we have it! We hope you have a better understanding of whether TV advertising is worth it for your business.

We’re Buffoon Media: a bilingual media production company based in Port Talbot and London, producing and live-streaming content across the globe. Learn more about our TV advertising services, as well as the other services we provide on our website.

Written by Kate Jones for Buffoon Media.