Having worked at local TV station for several years as well as working on a TV program for a national network, I will tell you that TV has an incredible pull. Landing a commercial at the time where your prospective customers could be watching is great. That said, like billboards and mailers, you better be ready to not see an ROI for quite a while. TV is a very time consuming medium that takes considerable planning and an impressive price tag. In order for TV commercials to be effective you need a strong “call-to-action” (tell the viewer what to do), a good website landing page that reiterates the “call-to-action” and an amazing product or service.
Years ago, a company I worked with invested $6,700 in TV commercials for three months. We carefully put the commercial together with the help of the news crew. We came up with great music, flashy graphics and strong text – no voice overs. We were going to be edgy and because of our great music, we were going to get a ton of business. Did I mention that we were looking for a big ROI? What happened those next couple of months made our jaws drop – nothing. We didn’t get a phone call and only a few hits on our website showed it came from their website. Ugh! The TV station said it had been a success because we had created great awareness, but our version of the success was not awareness. We wanted business and were deeply disappointed and a little grumpy about the thought that we threw away over $6K.
Despite that $6K mistake, I can safely say we learned a few things:
1. We needed a voice over. Our commercials were airing during the early morning news. Most people are getting ready or rushing around their homes listening to the news, not watching it. While we had great music, it wasn’t enough to capture the audience and they definitely didn’t know what we were promoting while they were getting their kids ready for school.
2. Our website didn’t have a good “call-to-action.” Any leads we may have gotten from the commercial to our website took them to a dry website with no excitement or place for them to purchase from our company. If you get someone to bite on your advertisement, you need to have a good landing spot for them to go the distance.
3. Be willing to make adjustments. We were so focused on keeping the same video (because we loved it!), that we failed to tweak it. We learned our mistakes too late. Stay in communication with your representative and be purposeful in making changes. They are responsible for helping your business be a success in this medium – use them!
Just like TV, radio (and online stations like Pandora and Spotify) required a considerable amount of effort and cost. So consider the above thoughts when engaging in either and be willing to invest the appropriate time and money as well. ROI’s are just plain hard to calculate from these mediums, but once you’ve established a good business with great profits, I believe you will see some benefit.