What does TV Advertising Cost?
When you ask, “What does TV advertising cost?” the first consideration is the cost of
TV commercial production. For instance, if the TV commercial is made without shooting actual video and created entirely in a computer it can be inexpensive. As a result, it could cost as little as $1,500.00 to produce. Additionally, if the TV commercial could cost more than $1,500.00 to produce if it is made a lot of animations. For that reason, the cost will depend on the complexity of what you have in mind. For instance, an animated TV commercial similar to a Pixar movie could cost a lot more. Most of the time when we make a TV commercial without shooting any video the goal is to keep the cost down. We think this is a reasonable option for a small, local business. That way, more of the funds can go into placing the spot on TV.
What Does It Cost To Advertise On TV?
The answer isn’t as simple as the cost to advertise in a magazine. For instance, in magazine advertising, you might buy a quarter page, half page or full page. Additionally, the only options might be black and white or color. Also, you might possibly be able to buy the inside front or back cover so the price is simple to state. Conversely, with TV advertising we first have to consider what network or networks we will use. Next, we would think about what shows we will use. Even what time of day the spot will run in an important thing to consider. Additionally, we also have to think about what length of time we will keep that spot on the air. Consequently, when we ask, “What does TV advertising cost?” the answer is complicated.
Cable TV Advertising
You may have the most basic cable TV plan around and you are likely to have no less than 50 networks you could watch. Keep in mind, that many people have hundreds of options for what to watch on TV. For example, to keep it simple let’s just say that there are only 50 networks where you could advertise. Also, let’s pretend that all TV shows are 30 minutes. Now we can calculate that if a new show comes on every 30 minutes and there are 24 hours in a day then there are 48 different shows on any one of our 50 networks in any given day. This means that we have 48 shows per day and 50 networks which means that we have 2,400 different shows to advertise on each day.
Also, remember we are pretending that we only have 50 networks when in reality we have much more. Let’s stick with this assumption that there are only 50 networks for a little longer. We now need to know the price of 2,400 different TV shows each day. Each TV show has a rating based on how many viewers they get. Therefore, each show on each network will cost a different amount. This is why there is no easy answer to the question “What does TV advertising cost?” because there are too many answers and the answers are changing all the time.
Ask The Right Question
A much better question to ask an ad agency instead of “What does TV advertising cost?” would be, “What is the best way to advertise on TV for my business with $X amount per month?” because we can answer that. Does it really matter to you if a 30-second spot on TV can be had for $50.00 rather than $200.00? What if the $200.00 spot has four times the number of viewers as the $50.00 spot? In that case, we could buy four times the amount of $50.00 spots and get the same number of viewers.
Consequently, it would make no difference if we only purchased the $50.00 spots or if we spent the same total amount in a month and only bought $200.00 spots. What if the $200.00 spot doesn’t get four times as many viewers as the $50.00 spot. Maybe it gets five times as many viewers? In that case, the $200.00 spot would be a better value.
Who Are Your Customers?
Suppose that in the example above we found that the $200.00 spot is on a TV show that your customers are 20% less likely to watch. In that case, even if we got five times the number of viewers as the $50.00 spot it doesn’t help us. We need to advertise on the type of shows your customers typically watch. For this reason, we need to know who you are trying to reach before we can even recommend what shows to advertise on. Once we know who you are trying to reach and in what area you are trying to reach, then it’s easy! With this information then we only need to know what you’d like to invest in TV advertising each month.
Our media buyer can create a customized TV ad schedule for your business. If you are still wondering “What does TV advertising cost?” the minimum monthly investment to advertise on TV is $1,500.00. However, if you invest the minimum on TV advertising you should expect the minimum. What if we used that $1,500.00 per month to advertise only in your local area? In that case, $1,500.00 per month will buy a lot more TV spots. Consequently, there may be no reason to try covering an entire city. If your customers are only in a local area it would be a waste of money to spend more to advertise your products or services to an entire city. As you can see, calculating the cost of TV advertising isn’t so simple.
South Florida TV Advertising
If you have a business with several South Florida locations in Miami-Dade and Broward county we would run your ad in the full market. Conversely, if you have an ice cream shop in Weston that would be a waste. We can be pretty sure that nobody from Fort Lauderdale or North Miami Beach will drive that far. However, with Comcast, we can advertise only in Weston. This way, your commercial would run a lot more times than it would if we tried to buy the full market. Consequently, it will be a lot more effective to just advertise in Weston rather than all over South Florida.
In sum, when you ask “What does TV advertising cost?” I hope you can now see that this isn’t a question anyone should be asking. To promote your business you need to pick a monthly advertising budget and let us know that amount along with the demographic information and geographic location that is of interest to you.
For instance, you might have a product or service primarily used by women that are 25-54. Your products or services may only be available at your shop located in Fort Lauderdale. Lastly, you want to invest $5,000.00 per month. With that information, we can create an advertising budget that will work for your business. The real answer to the question “What does TV advertising cost?” is whatever you would like to invest monthly.
Full Service Advertising Agency
As a full service advertising agency we can help with anything and everything related to advertising your business. Obviously, we can help with TV commercial production. However, we also provide LED video wall rentals. In fact, anything you can think of related to marketing or advertising is what we do.
