Television Advertising Looking Good for 2018

As more and more companies are deciding how best to spend their advertising budgets, television advertising continues to be a marketing mainstay. In fact, traditional TV advertising is expected to grow 7.8% to nearly $20 billion, according to a report from BIA/Kelsey. Even prominent businesses such as Google, Facebook, Netflix, and Amazon are getting in on this perpetually growing trend, increasing their TV ad spend by hundreds of millions of dollars each quarter.

What is it about television advertising that consistently makes even the most modern businesses realize its worth? Simply put, television advertising boasts assets that proves its value over and over again.

Television Advertising Has a Solid Presence

A recent study by Nielsen predicts the number of homes in the US with television sets will grow by 1% this year. While this may not seem like a great amount, it is actually nearly 120 million households. Television remains a solid past time of most Americans, with adults watching an average of four hours per day in 2017. Millennials, who have purportedly “rejected” television, still watch more than 15 hours of it per week.

And loyal fans of sports teams and specific shows make “appointment” television still very relevant in this streaming age. Finally, the upcoming Winter Olympic Games and elections will most likely have a major impact on TV advertising this year. These events have proven to be a boon for television marketing in years past. All of these facts put together means TV advertising stands a solid chance of reaching an impressive amount of consumers.

Television Advertising Stimulates Strong Reactions

While television’s reach is great, savvy businesses know truly great television advertising is about both reach AND response. Advertisers need to guarantee their commercials are actually motivating people to take action. One way it can accomplish this is by taking advantage of the fact that the vast majority of people use a second screen device while watching TV.

This means an advertisement that intrigues someone will prompt them to search for more information about that brand online. Studies show a 15 second ad can lead to a 223% increase in web activity the minute after the ad airs. Another way is by using an easy-to-recall vanity number in advertising. This is especially useful when it comes to goods or services that someone may not need right away. A vanity number will help ensure someone remembers how to reach a business days, weeks, even months after a commercial airs, making it incredibly effective.

Television advertising may have a higher price tag than digital, but the results are well worth it. The SVP of Global Brand Marketing and Communications at American Express states that two weeks of digital advertising is needed to reach the effects they see from just one day of TV advertising. Digital may be the flashy new trend, but television has lasting substance.