Is TV Still King?

Is TV Still King? 

This question, in various forms, gets asked of me a lot.  Perhaps because I work for a TV station.  In the Digital Sales Department.  The answer..
Yes.
No.
It depends.  If TV advertising works for you, then it is king.  If not... 

"The very best marketing comes from observing consumer behavior and inserting your message into their behavior."

There is no doubt that TV advertising allows tremendous reach in a market.  If broad reach (geographically and compositionally) is a primary concern, then TV can work for you.  Few mediums allow for the reach of TV at such a low CPM. 

However one of the downsides of TV advertising is that frequently an advertiser is paying for reach that is of little importance to them.  For example:  If you sell a product that is 100% consumed by women, then many of the programs reached by television have an element of waste - men watching the programming you are buying.

TV spots can be targeted. Research exists that show the make up of the individuals who watch the show.  However, most TV is priced based on ratings points at the Household (HH) level.  So if the news is priced at $100 per point and the show is 50%/50% M/F, what is your CPP (Cost Per Point) for the female portion of the audience? 

$200.  Just because you only sell to the female audience, you still incur the cost of reaching the male portion of the overall audience.  You reach half the population for the same price that a business is charged that sells to both males and females.

Want to get a better Cost Per Point?  Make sure your sales rep runs a ranker report that shows you the very best shows for hitting your target audience.

If your target audience is a very narrow, focused consumer sub-set (left handed, coffee drinker within two miles of your shop), there are other alternatives.  Alternatives will be explored in a future post.

Digital Set to Surpass TV in Time Spent withUS Media

Average time spent with digital media per day will surpass TV viewing time for the first time this year…
Read more at http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Digital-Set-Surpass-TV-Time-Spent-with-US-Media/1010096#LfxMXHwZ90PeyI2y.99