Television Advertising Essentials

Television advertising is probably the most prestigious form of advertising that your organisation can buy. The perceived high cost of television advertising will often deter many organisations from even considering it as a form of promoting their business, but there are many opportunities to reduce the costs and get TV airtime for a lot less than you would probably think.

How much does it cost?

Ask almost anyone, and they'll tell you that television advertising is prohibitively expensive for all but the largest multinational, multi-million pound organisations. That's certainly the case, if you want a 30 seconds slot in the middle of Coronation Street, but the late-night advert or one that is placed on a satellite channel will often cost considerably less, and yet it will still reach hundreds of thousands of potential customers.

As well as the cost of actually placing your advert, you should also take into consideration how much it will cost to produce the advert that you want to display. Some of the smaller television channels will provide you with the facility to create a low-cost, or even sometimes free, 30 seconds advert if you agree to sign up to a minimum period or cost of advertising. While this may be very tempting, you should first of all consider what you're advert is likely to look by asking to see some of their previous work. The last thing you want to do is to agree to a £50,000 advertising package, only to find out that your free advert has been made by the 16-year-old apprentice and the end result will do nothing to raise the profile of your organisation.

Advantages

There is no doubt about it, more than any other form of advertising, if people see your organisation on television they will issue that you are a very successful, and this will certainly raise the profile of your company.
You can reach a very large audience, very quickly.

Disadvantages

You only get about 30 seconds to say exactly what you want to say about your company, its products and services.
What you advert has been displayed for those very brief 30 seconds it will disappear forever - until you pay for another 30 seconds