How TV continues to play a strong role in modern marketing

​Although many companies are moving towards social media, TV advertising remains an effective form of marketing. And with Netflix starting to roll out ads in several markets, they serve as a clear example to businesses that commercial ads are here to stay.

Did you know that to place an ad on the Superbowl, you would need to shell out roughly $5 million for just 30 seconds of air-time? Yet some of the biggest names in the business continue to do it yearly. It may seem counterintuitive in this era of social media madness, but TV advertising proves to be consistently relevant even today. This article will go in-depth into the enduring effect of TV marketing and how newer technologies can still leverage the same strategies in their campaigns. Netflix and other streaming services have since explored in-stream advertising, which has signaled marketers that commercial advertising is here to stay.

The media landscape has changed drastically since the turn of the century. TV once ruled the charts and transformed how marketing was done across different industries. For a good few decades, TV advertising took over the media landscape with large-name brands like Coca-cola and Nike launching iconic commercials to reach customers in a new and engaging way.

But the media’s nature is to continue to change, and it eventually transpired that TV’s dominion was to be challenged by new forms of media. This included internet media, user-generated content, and, most evidently, on-demand streaming. TV was once thought to be of a bygone era, but Netflix’s turn towards in-stream advertisements may signal a return to form and a reminder that TV remains a strong part of a marketer’s total strategy.

TV Advertising’s Continuing Allure

TV advertising’s climb to popularity was easy to anticipate due to the potential of its immense reach. The purpose of TV advertising was to reach a large audience with a short, attention-grabbing message. TV advertising remains an important part of most marketing strategies because it allows them to reach a wide audience, create a strong emotional response, and build brand awareness.

Breaking this down, TV’s reach was unparalleled, and to the surprise of some marketers, still does. According to a Nielsen report on the 2022 “State of Play”, the average American watches close to 3 hours of live TV daily, not counting connected experiences enabled by devices like Roku and Apple TV. This provides a great opportunity to reach potential customers with your message.

Second, TV advertising is effective. Research has shown that TV advertising can increase brand awareness, purchase intent, and recall. In addition, TV advertising can be targeted to specific demographics, which allows you to reach your target market more effectively and define your messaging accordingly.

Third, TV advertising is affordable. While the cost of TV advertising has been rising in recent years, it is still affordable for most businesses when looking at this from the perspective of the reach you gain. And, with the advent of new technology, there are now more ways to target specific audiences and control your costs.

For these reasons, TV advertising is an important part of your marketing strategy. By incorporating TV advertising into your overall marketing mix, you can reach a large audience with your message, effectively target your market, and control your costs.

Netflix’s Move Towards In-Stream Ads

Another signal that TV’s dominance continues is Netflix’s recent move to introduce an ad-supported subscription tier. Motivated by both the rise of cheaper competitive alternatives and the first quarter revenue loss in 2022, Netflix needed to turn towards new revenue models that can support the platform into the future.

Netflix has always been touted as a disruptor of the landscape, firing onto the scene with their on-demand streaming service right on time with the evolution of the technologies that would allow consumers access to their service. But as the market matured with the rise of competitors like Disney+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, Netflix needed to go beyond its differentiation strategy and lean into cost-saving initiatives to maintain its market leadership. Taking inspiration from the market it essentially looked to replace, Netflix introduced ads within its streaming services.

 

What This Means for TV Ads, Marketing, and More

With Netflix adopting the same strategies that once made TV such a powerhouse in the marketing world, there is a potential shift in the types of strategies companies will need to develop. TV advertising is a long-studied practice in marketing. Still, the current entertainment and media landscape will require managers to create new omnichannel strategies that work across platforms, understand the different metrics they will need to understand and adapt TV best practices toward new advertising channels.

 

New Opportunities for Strategies

Developing new strategies will require you to understand how audiences have changed throughout the introduction of different forms of media to consume. Moreover, with the introduction of the new lower subscription tier by Netflix, companies will need to balance how they split their different advertising efforts across platforms.

New subscription options will likely attract more users to Netflix, and competitors like Hulu and Disney+ will follow suit. While this might threaten how many viewers will be available on traditional TV, this also means that more eyes will have the opportunity to view potential advertisements more often.

Hence, the important thing for companies to understand is how to develop holistic omnichannel strategies that make the most out of each separate platform’s advertising possibilities. Rather than just repeat advertising across different channels, managers should attempt to understand different customer journeys and tailor their materials to better communicate to them at different stages.

 

New Metrics to Focus On

TV was once measured through different rating systems provided by marketing research companies to understand better how effective advertisements are throughout the year. Social media has since transformed that understanding of what data we can collect from customers.

Youtube is one of the earliest examples of how video advertisements work online. From 15 seconds to full-length commercials, Youtube allows advertisers to sell media placements based on different cost measurements such as cost-per-view and cost-per-click.

As such, Netflix’s introduction of a new subscription model will likely adopt some of these data measurements as part of its advertising model. In fact, they are working with Nielsen ratings to develop models that work well with advertisers.

Marketers then need to study industry metrics that best encapsulate omnichannel strategies or develop standard rules of measurement internally that can help them understand how well their campaigns are tracking.

 

Key Takeaways on TV and the Advertising of Tomorrow

TV has been and remains a cornerstone of marketing due to its ability to reach customers efficiently and effectively. With brands competing for customer attention daily, marketers need to be up-to-date with any market shifts in the advertising landscape.

Netflix, including a new subscription level that introduces in-stream advertisements, represents a shift toward TV tactics. While it may seem like TV will continue to slide in viewership, this may open up new opportunities for strategists to create lasting brand impressions through different channels.

To do this, companies will need to develop omnichannel strategies that work across different platforms holistically and cohesively while also understanding the different metrics that can signal how well their campaigns are doing.

 

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