The Lowdown on Television Advertising

This article provides a brief overview of television advertising.

Television advertising provides a very powerful vehicle for delivering a message about your product or service to the widest audience possible. The visual impact of video simply has a great ability to capture and hold the audience-more so than the more static mediums of print or audio media.

Although it may seem like a daunting task, you can write and produce your own commercial at a television studio, or at a local college or high school that has an audio-visual department. The costs of producing a fifteen-, thirty-, or sixty-second television spot will vary depending upon the sets, special effects, talent, equipment, and crew necessary to pull off your concept.

The cost for placing a television ad depends upon the type of station, the time of day your ad airs, and the ad run frequency. Station types, in order of expense, include UHF, VHF, and local cable access. When determining which time slot to place your ads in, consider any documentaries, features, or sporting events with local content that cater specifically to an audience that would be interested in your product or service.

Remember that the frequency of your ads is as important as the time of day they air. Running your commercial once or twice a week, for example, is unlikely to generate any response at all.*

* Source: Streetwise Small Business Start-Up