Volume 4 No. 3: What's the most expensive part of TV?

TV advertising is expensive. (Traditionally, anyway!) 

 

Creative costs alone can quickly rise from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Then we’re dealing with the cost of the media itself, measuring campaign results, optimizing based on those results...  

 

   Marketing Myths   

The most expensive part of TV advertising is production getting it wrong.

Each week, we break down a common misconception around TV advertising.

The high cost of advertising on TV shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s why many small to mid-sized brands wince when thinking about incorporating the channel into their marketing mix. But what’s more painful than spending big on a commercial? Spending big on the wrong commercial. 

Unfortunately, it happens all the time. Remember that disastrous Pepsi commercial with Kendall Jenner? Or, after the next Super Bowl, take some time to read up on the worst commercials of the night. Articles commenting on commercials that missed the mark are almost as common as those praising the best spots. 

So if even the biggest brands can’t avoid the occasional faux pas, how is anyone to know what will resonate with consumers? You've got a few options.  

1. Hold a focus group. These can provide interesting qualitative feedback when used correctly but are often time-consuming and limited in their scale.  

2. Test multiple creatives in-market to see which performs best. This is expensive but does provide undeniable results directly from consumers. 

3. Pretest creative messaging before you air. This way all your media dollars go to the best creative only. Just make sure to find a trusted research partner to ensure accurate results. 

What's the takeaway? Pretest creative to make sure the message resonates with your audience—before you launch your campaign. Also, TV advertising doesn’t have to be crazy expensive! (But that’s another issue...) 

 

  Advertising Answers  

Question: What's most exciting about producing a commercial?

We take the web’s most searched questions about TV advertising to a range of marketing experts who can’t help but love TV.

 

Answer: “It's seeing ideas come to life at every phase of the project, from the creative brief all the way through to the broadcast-ready commercial. Developing concepts allows for exploring big, disruptive ideas. Those get turned into animatics for pretesting. There we get real-world reactions that help us refine that concept, and finally, there's production and post-production, where we’re filming, animating, and editing to make sure the story is just right. So it really is this journey of bringing a brand to life.” 

 

— Ryan Kinkaid, VP Group Creative Director 

  Channel Changers  

Follow: Gong

Here we celebrate books, podcasts, videos, and influencers that are actively pushing marketing into the future.

Gong is a platform helping revenue teams make better decisions by uncovering customer insights. Regardless of whether you use their tools, Gong’s social accounts highlight the experiences of sales and marketing teams everywhere with fun memes, eye-opening stats, and general best practices. In our minds, they’re definitely worth a follow! 

 

Our favorite insight? Eran Aloni, Chief Customer Officer at Gong, explains in their Revenue Intelligence podcast that your customers will help guide your company toward success, if you take the time to listen. 

 

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