Television Advertising Pros and Cons

Over the last few decades, the television has come up as a strong component of mass media around the world. This has, in turn, prompted several companies to use it as an ideal platform to advertise their products. This mode of advertisement basically exploits the consumer's tendency to get attracted to the combination of audio-visual medium, as opposed to simply audio medium, (such as the radio advertisement), or simply visual medium, (such as the print-ads).

What is Television Advertising?

A television advertisement, also referred to as a television commercial or simple TV Ad, is the process of imparting a sales pitch of a limited amount of time, through the television as the medium. These advertisements tend to summarize the product in order to accommodate it within a specific duration, generally ranging between 30-60 seconds, and convey as much information as possible. Basically, these advertisements are customized in such a manner that they are neither too short, as to fail in conveying the message, nor too long, as to lose the attention of the viewers. That being said, television advertising has its own pros and cons, which need to be evaluated before investing in the same.

Pros and Cons of Television Advertising

Television advertising pros and cons are directly related to several underlying factors, including your company, the product, the consumer base, life of the product, etc. Given below are the details which will make the concept easier for you to grasp.

Positives
The biggest advantage of this concept is the fact that it reaches a larger audience, compared to the local newspaper or radio station, in a relatively short span of time. If required, one also has the option of catering to a smaller consumer group though the local cable network. A TV commercial reaches the audience at a point of time, wherein they are most attentive. Not many people like surf channels while watching an interesting match of American football. They would rather prefer watching the advertisements, than missing a single moment of the match. Television advertising is much more interesting compared to its other counterparts. The fact that it tends to exploit the vulnerability of the consumer to the combination of audio-visual medium, makes it an instant hit among masses. It also capitalizes on the fact that adding more interesting features, such as motion, light and sound, can improve the credibility of the message by grabbing the attention of the viewers. Advertising on the television gives you an ample scope to unleash your creativity, and mesmerize the audience.

Negatives
Like any other form of advertising, even television advertising has its own drawbacks. The foremost problem is the expenses incurred on making an advertisement. An advertisement of 30 seconds can cost you a significant amount to produce, considering that you need to hire a host of technicians, models etc. Furthermore, you also need to ensure that you get a good slot in the channel schedule. For this, you again have to shell out some money depending on which slot you are targeting. For instance, an ad slot at the prime time will cost you more than what you would have to pay for a slot at late night. More importantly, there is no point in airing your advertisement at a time wherein the targeted audience doesn't watch the TV. Making changes in the advertisement once it is produced again adds to the expenses. In case of print advertising, this just take a few minutes and cost incurred is also relatively less. More importantly, short advertisements are not as effective as they don't provide much information of the product, and hence the length of the ad has to be significant.

If you are absolutely sure that the amount of profit your product will generate will surpass your investment in making an ad film, then there can be no better medium to advertise your product, but the television. However, if the consumer base you are targeting is not vast, and the returns expected are far less than what you need to invest, then it is better off to stick to some other advertising technique, suitable for your product.