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Adam's Advice: TV or No TV?

TV is obviously one of the best ways to reach the greatest number of people with a single message. But it's also one of the most expensive ways, and if it's not done right, you may end up wasting a lot of money with no results to show for it.

Because of the sheer cost of television advertising, it's not right for everyone. But if you do have the budget for it, it's at least worth looking into. So, let's take a look as some of the pros and cons of TV.

Advantages of TV Advertising:

1. Show and tell. A picture is worth a thousand words, and television is a visual medium where you can show a creative demonstration of your services.
   
2. Geographic market selectivity. You can reach a local or national audience, depending on the reach of your agency.
   
3. Creative impact on the viewer. In addition to the visual elements of sight and color, television also uses sound and emotion, which elicits a greater level of involvement with your audience.
   
4. Influential. Image is everything, and the simple fact that you are on TV can make you appear more important, exciting and interesting to your audience.
   

Disadvantages of TV Advertising:

1. Expensive. Although your "cost per viewer" is low with TV (because you reach so many people), the overall cost to produce and continue to run television advertisements is very expensive; sometimes prohibitively expensive if your agency is small or midsize.
   
2. Clutter. Television suffers from a high level of commercial clutter, so your ad has to compete with many other ads in a short time period. Therefore, your message has a good chance of being forgotten or missed completely. Plus with TiVo(r) and similar recording technology these days, viewers may simply choose to skip all commercials and never see your ad.
   
3. Nonselective audience. Viewers aren't selecting to view your ad, they are simply exposed to it while watching a program. And although networks attempt to profile viewers, there is often little assurance that the appropriate audience will be viewing your commercial. If you're hitting the wrong audience, your ad will fail, no matter how great it is.
   
4. Inflexibility. Television suffers from a lack of flexibility in scheduling. Most network television is purchased far in advance, leaving you with limited time slots to choose from. Plus, it can also be difficult or impossible to make last-minute adjustments, compared to other media.
   
5. Perishable message. Repetition is key, so unless your budget allows for running a consistent advertising schedule, your message will be quickly forgotten.