Should You Advertise on TV?
When people discover my background in advertising, the questions
flow. One of the most frequent questions is "Should I advertise
on TV?"
I can't answer that questions until I ask a number of questions
first.
Do you have an advertising plan?
Are you working on a firm budget?
What are you trying to accomplish with your advertising?
Where are you spending your money now?
Usually by the 4th question the happy face becomes one of
disappointment.
Contractors don't build a building without a plan, and you
shouldn't advertise without a plan. The first action is to
determine what you want your advertising to do. Most small and
medium businesses do not have the bucks for long term image, so
they focus on a call to action or proclaiming benefits (not
features).
Can TV do that? Probably. Can you afford it? Probably not. Local
TV ads even in the smallest of television markets are expensive.
You can buy cheap ads, but the cost is factored to the number of
viewers. The cheaper the ads, the fewer the viewers. How many
folks do you know are glued to the tube at 5:45 AM?
You can get on TV by using the Cable TV in your market. With
Cable, you can buy a package that's spread over 15 or more cable
channels. Beware the number of viewers and the shoddy
production. Get my article "Cable Ads 5 Bucks" by sending a
blank eMail to MailTo:CableAds@BigIdeasGroup.com
Some people in business believe you haven't "arrived" until your
business is on TV or on a billboard, or both. Funny, I know of
hundreds of businesses making big bucks that don't use either.