It’s a question that many people have pondered, but rarely merits a decent answer, and in the spirit of knowledge, we want to give you the best answer we can; so, how much is a TV ad? Depending on various factors, a television advertisement can cost anywhere from $500-$1500 for a 30-second local campaign to upwards of $50,000-$400,000 for HD quality national campaigns. Certain considerations must be taken into account, such as location, network, program, and production costs, but the above prices refer mostly to production using a moderately sized budget. This means there are still many other components related to televisions ads that incur costs. So, to understand the scope of this, let’s ask another question first.
What is television advertising? A span of TV programming, television advertisements are used to promote, or market, some kind of product, service, or message, typically with the goal of stirring a change within a consumer’s purchasing habits. It’s a pretty simple definition, with a fairly simple goal; get someone to watch your advertisement and steer them towards buying whatever you’re selling. Once you realize that, other components of constructing a television ad campaign should begin revealing themselves. Who would want to buy what you’re selling? What are these people watching? How do I reach them? All these questions will carry answers that will accrue variable costs. For instance, advertisers trying to buy time during a Food Network show will be charged more when compared to a more localized network. Perhaps your target audience watches CSI, you’ll need to determine what that network charges for the program’s advertisements. And yes, each program is different. Why? One word: viewership.
Nielsen Ratings are the typical go-to-source for measuring a program’s viewership, which will, in turn, determine ad cost for airtime. However, most television advertisers and marketers don’t often use this system to determine effectiveness. Now, here’s where people start wondering, how effective are TV ads? They’re very effective, and in fact, direct response television ads—the kind that drives consumer action—is still very useful in reaching large audiences. Their effectiveness is measured mostly by various factors like leads, website traffic, and sales figures. Reach and frequency do have their parts to play in the process, but it’s much more beneficial to produce ad content that’s goal-oriented, such as calling a number or purchasing from a site.
All of these factors and questions are the pieces you must have to construct a successful cost estimate. By determining such elements like demographic region and preferred networks, getting a picture of the cost becomes much easier. Now, if you’re savvy, you won’t have to worry about these sort of things. Simply hire someone like TVA Media Group, and we’ll take care of all that work. We know what it takes to develop quality television ads, and our sound stages, backlots, production teams, and industry knowledge let us do it for a 1/3 of the cost. Don’t concern yourself with how to advertise on TV, we’ll provide all that is necessary to reach your audience with quality messages. Contact us today, and we’ll set you up with your advertising production team now!
