Television and Video Advertising Articles

Television advertising combines pictures, sound, motion and sometimes on-screen text to deliver a message. That combination is the medium's main advantage and also its main challenge, because viewers rarely give a commercial their full attention. Someone may be watching closely, listening from another room or glancing at a phone with the sound off. A commercial that holds up in all three situations tells its story through the visuals, uses words and music that still make sense without the picture, and keeps the offer simple enough to follow at a glance.

Television today includes local broadcast and cable stations as well as streaming services that carry advertising. Local broadcasting lets an advertiser concentrate on one market, and programming choices help put a commercial in front of likely viewers. Because the audience can be broad, the message still has to be written for a specific customer. A commercial meant for everyone tends to persuade no one.

First-time television advertisers often waste money by buying airtime before they have settled the basics. Begin with a clear view of your market and your audience, then work backward to the programming and schedule that reach them. The creative idea comes next: one message, a reason to care and a reason to act. Production should suit the brand and the budget, but a clear idea carries more weight than expensive effects. A script written for television can often be adapted for radio, where the words and sound must carry the message alone.

Plan for response before the commercial airs. Decide what you want viewers to do, such as visit a dedicated web page, search for your business or stop by a location, and set up a way to notice when they do. Television usually needs repetition to register, so give a schedule enough time to be seen before judging it, and review what happened afterward instead of relying on impressions.

Online video works differently because the viewer usually chooses it. People find video while searching, scrolling a social feed or reading a website, and they tend to watch when they already have a question to answer. That makes video well suited to showing a product in use, explaining a service or introducing the people behind a business. Online video is often watched with the sound off, so captions and clear visuals matter there just as they do on television.

Video extends a television commercial rather than replacing it. Footage shot for broadcast can often be reworked into shorter cuts for social media, a landing page or an email, each with its own call to action. Keep the story consistent across all of them so that a viewer who meets the business in two places recognizes it. Video is also one piece of the wider digital marketing picture, alongside search, social media and email. Producing the footage is a job of its own, and the firm's video production page covers it.

The firm has been in business since 1984, and its work spans media buying, advertising for radio and television, and production of TV and radio commercials. Atlanta-area businesses can read about television advertising and commercial production on the firm's service pages.

Successful TV Advertising Tactics for First-Time Advertisers

Looks at how people actually watch television and how word choice, visuals and sound can hold them. It also covers designing for viewers who skip ahead and ends with a behavioral test to apply to any commercial.

The Benefits of TV Advertising for Local Businesses

Sets out what television offers a local business: a broad audience, several ways to communicate at once and targeting through programming and geography. It also covers how television and digital marketing work together and what to line up before a spot airs.

The Benefits of Using Video Marketing for Your Business

Explains how video can help a business show and explain what it offers across its website, email and social feeds, and how it supports brand recognition. It also covers adapting one video to every screen, how video relates to search and ideas for giving a business a human face.