Producing a television ad is definitely going to cost more than producing a radio or print ad. Besides needing actors, there are also special effects; sets, equipment, and editing that will need to be taken care of prior to running the ad. If a small budget is of concern, television advertising is not the way to go because costs can add up quickly.
The cost for placing a television ad depends on a few different factors. The first is what station you choose to run your ad. Different stations have different advertising costs, usually because certain stations have more known viewers. Specifically, VHF station (CBS, NBC, ABC) advertising costs the most. This is usually followed by UHF stations (FOX), and finally by cable stations. Another important consideration with television stations is what time of day the ad will run. Advertising during the early morning hours is going to cost significantly less than advertising during prime time. Along these lines, another consideration should be the program aired during the ad's run. If advertising a new home cleaning product is your desire, then running the ad during Sunday football games is probably not the best use of your money. It is important to always think about your potential market when utilizing television advertising. The goal of any television advertisement should be to reach your target customers. So if using sporting events or programs that cater specifically to your target market is possible, running ads during these times can be quite advantageous.
The final factor to determine when to use television advertising, is just how often to run the ad. Frequency is just as important as the time of day the ad is run or on what station. Ads that are run only a few times a week will probably never generate much response. According to the advertising industry, the average viewer needs to see an ad three times before being impacted on it. Knowing this, selecting a good number of times to run your television ad is of critical importance.
By Jamie Ward
