Television Is Still the King of Content
Television has been a mature entertainment platform for well over six decades. And many beloved television commercials—from the earliest days of television—continue to live on in the hearts and minds of consumers. Why? Because television remains one of the best storytelling vehicles available to marketers.
While it’s certainly true that buying access to national programming is a bit spendy, local, streaming, and cable shows cost considerably less. And it doesn't even matter what demographic you are trying to target. Savvy media buyers can find programming to reach any audience your heart desires. Whether you intend to run a 30-second commercial, sponsor a program, or arrange product placements, television advertising can do wonders in generating broad consumer awareness. Television can provide access to niche audiences, too. In fact, television is one of the few mediums that can win over the hearts and minds of consumers at any point in the customer journey.
There’s a common misconception that the general public is moving away from television, because time spent in front of a television has been falling for years. However, it’s the way we are viewing television that’s changing. Between mobile and other smart devices, television has never been more accessible.
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According to a recent Nielsen survey, television viewing fell 10 minutes this year to an average of 5 hours and 43 minutes a day. Video viewing increased 33 minutes for a total of 3 hours and 43 minutes. Included in the video viewing was—you guessed it—plenty of television programming. Television viewing hit its peak between 2009 and 2010 when the average American watch an average of 8 hours and 55 minutes, and it’s been falling ever since. But it’s not like it’s going away any time soon.
Paul Verna, senior analyst at eMarketer, noted that, “While so much debate has centered on a supposed tug-of-war between TV and digital video, the reality is that digital video is growing not at the expense of TV, but because video content is more popular than ever. We might spend less time watching on the main screen, but we’re no less interested in TV programming, and in fact, we seek out more of it every year.”
Major U.S. advertisers will spend 40.2% of their marketing budgets on television in 2015. That’s more than $70 billion. In comparison, they will spend only 4.4% of their marketing budgets on digital video ads. A recent Millward Brown report might explain why. It says that 49% of mobile users worldwide responded negatively to video ads. In contrast 27% of television viewers responded favorably to ads. This implies that advertising is more accepted on television versus other mediums.
So whether your brands need some good old-fashioned broad awareness, highly targeted retail campaigns, event marketing, or cause marketing, television is still the king of content.
