Meet The DVR And Welcome The Death Of TV Advertising
Television advertisement spending is at an all-time low, consumers are utilizing digital technology to watch their favorite programs and stay connected online. The greatest invention for consumers, in my opinion, was the ability to fast-forward through annoying commercials and jump straight to the content they are seeking. My 4-year-old daughter gets frustrated sitting through Youtube commercials while waiting for her educational videos to load. Not to mention the advertisement she is forced to watch is not geared towards her age demographic in the first place. I am certain that if there was an advertisement about a new toy or a new game for kids she would not mind sitting through the advertisement. We are in a society that values time more than ever, who truly has the time to sit through 10 to 13 minutes of commercials for every 30 minutes of Television broadcast programs? The only time we get really get excited to watch TV advertisements is during the Super Bowl.
Interactive Advertising Bureau CEO Randall Rothenberg acknowledged the shift away from traditional advertising.
"What's going on is the growing pains of any new medium," he said. "Television and digital are very complementary to each other, and it's likely that you can optimize your reach by running a schedule [of ads] on TV and digital together."
The issue with traditional TV advertisements is that there is no true way to know if your target market will be watching your advertisement. It's like throwing darts at a bullseye while wearing a blindfold. Social media advertising is much more focused on reaching your target market. With Facebook Ads, you can show up where people are the most, their smartphones and digital devices.
As a Bing Ads accredited professional I understand the importance of digital adverting. Your goal is to drive more customers to your business or website and if a person skips past your TV advertisement you will lose a potential customer and a ton of money. You'll pay anywhere from $200 to $1,500 per 30-second commercial and there is no guarantee people will be actively watching or listening to your advertisement. Also, consider the cost of hiring a company to produce your TV advertisement, you have the headache of hiring voice over artists, script writers, and videographers.
"Local commercials I direct and we produce typically fall within the $5K to $15K range. Something from $9K-$12K is common for us" says Todd Terry of Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
As the popularity of the DVR's rise, look for fewer viewers to be watching TV advertisements. We are moving away from traditional forms of entertainment and connectivity, just ask the typewriter, the rotary phone, dial-up internet, and the pager, all victims to the growth of technological advancements.
