TV commercials vary widely in cost.
Business owners have a wide array of advertising options, but television commercials offer wide distribution of both audio and visual messages. Costs can vary significantly based on a number of factors, and business owners should develop an advertising strategy before investing in TV advertising.
Cost
The cost of producing and airing a television commercial varies significantly based on the audience, distribution and production quality. According to Gary Davis Media, January 2011 production costs for a TV commercial ranged from as little as $500 for a local and fairly simple advertisement to more than a half million dollars for a professionally produced spot designed for nationwide distribution. Similarly, the cost of getting a commercial aired varies by a wide margin. A 30-second spot during daytime programming in a local market could cost as little as $50 as of January 2011, but airing an advertisement of the same length during a popular weekly segment on a national network can cost nearly $500,000. A 30-second television commercial during the 2010 Super Bowl, according to Gary Davis Media, cost around $2.6 million.
Reach
Television commercials can reach a large number of customers from diverse backgrounds, according to the television website Think Box. Local station ads can reach a few hundred to several thousands of customers, and ad spots on national networks can reach tens or even hundreds of millions. The reach of a TV ad depends on a number of factors that include the time of day, the popularity of the program during which the ad spot airs, the choice of local or national networks and competing programming on other networks.
Strategy
Advertising professionals on Think Box recommend preparing an advertising strategy before deploying television commercials. Because a single commercial spot limits the ad's reach to viewers at the particular time of airing, Think Box recommends running a commercial spot at least three times to reach as many potential customers as possible. Advertising experts on the Media Biz Bloggers website also recommend targeting distribution of the commercial by geography, and simultaneously running the spot on multiple channels for maximum reach. Gary Davis Media notes that some business owners may feel tempted to save costs by producing advertisements themselves, but hiring a professional production company can boost credibility and increase returns. In addition, business owners should select the type of message to deliver before producing the spot: Informational tips work well for service-based businesses while "instant action" messages, or those that urge customers to take action right away, work best for retail and sales-oriented businesses.
Benefits
The moving pictures and audio content of television commercials allow businesses to convey significantly more information than in print ads, according to the business website Business Town. This advertising medium has the potential to capture an audience's attention and drive home the intended message. In addition, the broad reach of television commercials can deliver the business' message to a wider array of customers than targeted online advertising,
Tags: television commercials, Davis Media, Gary Davis, Gary Davis Media, advertising strategy