8 Advantages of TV Advertising 

TV advertising is one of the oldest and most traditional forms of advertising, dating back to the early days of television. It remains a popular advertising medium today because of its ability to reach a large audience and build brand awareness. 

If you’re marketing for your big box or mom-and-pop shop, a national brand, or if you’re loved at a local level, TV advertising can be a highly effective and powerful tool you can use to bring in real results, whether that’s building brand awareness, bringing in foot-traffic to your brick-and-mortar location, or getting the phones to ring to set up appointments. 

TV advertising is still effective for a number of reasons, and it’s definitely worth considering as part of your overall marketing strategy and media planning.  

What is TV Advertising? 

TV advertising often consists of a 30-second commercial promoting a brand’s product, service, or idea. Reaching a large audience, these commercials are designed to capture the attention of viewers through a variety of creative elements, such as music, sound effects, visual effects, and a voiceover or on-screen text. TV advertising is usually bought on a cost-per-thousand (CPM) basis, meaning that advertisers pay a fixed amount for every thousand views or impressions of their ad. Advertisers can also choose to target specific demographics or geographic areas in order to reach a more targeted audience. 

However, TV advertising isn’t limited to 30-second commercials. There are many types that brands can consider, such as infomercials, product placements, lifestyle show appearances, content sponsorships, and more.  

The Benefits of TV Advertising 

TV advertising offers a number of benefits for businesses that are looking to promote their products or services to a wide audience. But what do the numbers say? Here’s a quick flash sheet with industry stats that prove just how valuable TV advertising is.   

• Hours of Screen Time: According to CivicScience, 55% of Americans spend one to four hours watching TV, while 22% watch four or more hours every day. Additionally, finding that “TV remains a media mainstay,” Nielsen notes that each average American home has at least two TVs.
  
  
• High Viewership for Live Events: Did you know Super Bowl LVII brought in more than 113 million viewers? What about the 12.55 million viewers who tuned into the 2023 Grammy Awards? As we’ve seen in the past, live events continue to generate significant audiences for advertisers to get in front of.
• Engaging, Memorable & Convincing: CivicScience found that a quarter of US adults pay the most attention to TV commercials, making them the top ad format. Meanwhile, MediaScience finds that viewers are more likely to remember TV ads than mobile ads by 40%. Additionally, another survey finds that 25% of millennials and 13% of Gen Z find ads on linear TV to be very effective in convincing people to buy a product or service. 

• Credibility & Trust. TVB found that local broadcast news is the most trusted platform for viewers – and that trust halo extends to brands that advertise alongside this trusted content. Additional studies have shown that consumers are more likely to trust – and buy from – brands that advertise alongside sources of information they trust, such as local TV news stations.
• Community Connection: ZenoGroup found that 94% of global consumers feel engaging with brands with a vital purpose is essential. On top of that, 76% of consumers say that when a company leads with a purpose, they are more likely to trust and be loyal to that company. Local TV advertising – including sponsorships and partnering with local TV stations for community events – allows brands to showcase their commitment to the community, which in turn helps to generate trust and further build brand awareness.
• Specific Targeting. TV advertising can also be highly targeted, allowing you to reach specific demographics or geographic areas. This helps ensure that your advertising efforts are reaching the right audience. Better yet, 28% of Americans surveyed feel positive about having ads targeted to them based on their personal information.
• Emotional Connections. When audiences become captivated and emotionally connected to an ad, it improves brand awareness and ad recall and increases purchase intent. Therefore, compelling emotional or humorous storytelling in TV advertising can be a key sales driver. In fact, research cited in Psychology Today shows that an emotional response to an ad will increase purchase intent — “by a factor of 3-to-1 for television commercials.”
• Decreased Competition. TV Ad recall could be better on larger screens because there’s limited competition. Instead of being placed in the middle of a social media news feed that could easily be scrolled over, ads on TV are aired one at a time and aren’t necessarily able to be skipped or fast-forwarded. The study from MediaScience found that the “TV environment generated more visual attention as participants watched 71% of the ad, compared to just 30% of digital mobile ads — likely a result of the full-screen viewing experience versus the distractions inherent with the digital experience.” 

Final Thoughts 

TV advertising has worked and driven tangible results for thousands of our partners, helping to make TV the second-most profitable advertising medium in the United States. Advertising, especially alongside trusted local news broadcasts, reaffirms a brand’s place in the community and showcases that your brand can also be trusted with the right amount of frequency and exposure to target audiences. By aligning with the unique content opportunities that TEGNA offers, your brand has an opportunity to be the talk of the town.  

About TEGNA 

TEGNA delivers proven results through simplified multi-platform advertising solutions that connect your business to the audiences that matter most via Broadcast TV, OTT Advertising, and Digital Solutions, including Targeted Display & Retargeting,​ as well as campaign measurement ​and optimization with ​TEGNA Attribution. ​TEGNA stations also offer a variety of customizable content sponsorships, as illustrated above.  

Let’s get in touch if you’re thinking of amplifying your brand’s TV efforts or joining TEGNA affiliates to serve the greater good of our communities.