Is TV The Last Great Campfire?
In spite of the encroaching Internet, I’ve always believed that television will continue to be an important medium. After all, radio didn’t displace movies, and TV didn’t displace radio. Everything finds it’s level in the mediaverse. The recent and growing demand for TV commercial spots just confirms that statement*. Although the number of TV households fell by 1.2 million this past year, TV is still the last great “mass” medium. While more and more people are on Facebook, blogs, and websites, it’s a scattered audience, and to reach a concentrated public, television is still the medium of choice. As a result, after fears of the web stealing ad revenue from TV, indications are that TV ad dollars are rising, and that’s why the average cost of a TV spot has grown 17% during the last TV season.
Cable and satellite has splintered the vast audience that TV had back in the 3 channel days, but it’s nothing like the splintered audience on the web. So for organizations that want to target larger audiences, or causes trying to make an impact, TV still still the most viable medium on the market today.
Obviously, a total advertising or marketing campaign needs to embrace multiple platforms, but to reach the largest single segment of people, don’t leave TV out of your plans.
*Information: Nielson Holdings, and The Wall Street Journal
I wonder why you left out newspaper advertising both local and national papers surely that is by far a more captive market as there are far too many tv channels
A couple of reasons I didn’t mention newspapers. First, they’re declining remarkably fast. That’s another blog post in itself. I hate it because I’m an avid newspaper reader. Second, demographics. TV reaches a far wider range of people than newspapers do. And thirdly, just like you can take a national ad on across the country on newspapers, you can do the same across TV networks and channels, and reach far, far more people. Both have their place, and I’d love to see newspapers come back, but TV still wins when it comes to the mass audience.
I frequently work in the middle of “LIVE” breaking news for one of the top 3 major broadcast TV Network operations. When the earthquakes, floods, brush fires, severe weather storms, riots, deaths/funerals of major celebrities (ie, Michael Jackson), plane or train wrecks happen…we are the first source of seeing it happen as it happens in real time. There will probably always be a major place for television, and yes, TV is the last great campfire.
I know you are right when you say TV is the last campfire as watching something with the whole family on a computer ,could never equate to watching it on the telly,how ever for me as an advertiser ,my idea of a captive audience is one that has no choice but to look or listen to your advert with undivided attention and becomes a client,we all know that the ultimate advertising spot is half time at the super bowl,yet this is the time when there are more deposits into the North American sewage system than any other time during the year,millions of people are in the toilet,so for me this gives companies a false sense of achievement ,as the only logical reason to advertise is to convert your targets into sales,as much as I have favorite TV ads ,I seldom purchase the products,I love carlsberg ADS but I don’t go out and buy carlsberg beer,the point I’m trying to make is that,yes TV is more bling bling in your face but,I think having a an advert on a door inside a toilet cubicle is more captivating as you have to look at it,please do the article on the demise of news papers as I have alot of love for the morning paper