TV advertising

The importance of TV advertising

TV advertising is one of the most influential media in the advertising industry: the emergence and acceleration of digital has not put a damper on TV's prevalence. Arcom notes that the TV set retains its place within households, with 90.3% of homes equipped with a TV in the 2ᵉ quarter of 2022*. And Médiamétrie reveals that in 2022, the French spent an average of 3 hours 26 minutes in front of their TV sets**.

TV advertising thus offers powerful visibility and a strong impact on the awareness of the brands that use it. This makes this medium a particularly popular communication medium for companies, with more than €3,485 million spent in 2022***.

The different types of TV advertising

Classic TV advertising 

The expression "classic TV advertising" refers to the commercials broadcast during the commercial breaks on television. These commercials are preceded and followed by a jingle of less than 8 seconds. With a duration of 15, 20 or 30 seconds, the TV spot format is one of the most powerful advertising devices. It is particularly effective to promote a product or an offer and generate traffic to a website, but also : 

• increase your brand awareness: + 27% brand memorization
• make your brand attractive: 38% boost in attractiveness****

Sponsored TV advertising  

The principle of sponsored TV advertising is very simple: it is the sponsoring of a program by a brand. This association of a brand with a TV program is done by broadcasting a 6 to 12 second billboard presenting the company. The billboards are aired around the sponsored program: usually at the beginning and end, but also before the program's promotional trailers.

The placement of the sponsorship TV ad makes it easier to capture the attention of viewers. Advertisers can thus gain visibility and notoriety. Moreover, sponsoring TV ads make it possible for viewers to quickly and effectively remember brands: spontaneous recall of a sponsorship billboard is 95% higher than for a classic TV spot*****.

>>> Learn more about sponsored TV advertising

Programmatic TV advertising 

Programmatic TV advertising refers first and foremost to the way this communication device is purchased. Indeed, programmatic advertising consists of the automatic purchase of advertising space: the advertiser enters its advertising brief (its target, the type of channels, the duration of the campaign, its budget, etc.) into a dedicated platform. The interface is in charge of elaborating a TV media plan according to its different criteria and the inventories made available by the channels. In short, it is the same principle used in the purchase of digital advertising space. 

The advantage of programmatic TV advertising is that an advert is broadcast on several channels via a single platform. This automation of the buying process also allows you to monitor the performance of your TV advertising campaign in real time.

>>> Learn more about programmatic TV advertising

Segmented TV advertising 

Segmented advertising makes it possible to broadcast at a given moment and on the same channel different advertising spots to different households according to their socio-demographic data: age, location, interest, etc. This device is possible thanks to the collection of data made by telephone and internet providers. This data is made available to the channels so that they can broadcast segmented spots on the households' TV boxes.

In 2022, 25% of French households were eligible for segmented TV (i.e. nearly 6.6 million households), which is 20% more than in 2021******.

Thus, segmented TV advertising allows to set up a highly targeted advertising campaign, and this, for a lower cost than a classic TV advertising campaign.

And the results of the brands that have used segmented TV advertising reveal a very effective medium: they have noted an increase of 1 to 27% in their sales******.

Why advertise on TV? 

Advertising on TV means ensuring the profitability of your advertising investment. In fact, Ekimetrics and the SNPTV have demonstrated in one of their studies conducted over 6 years that for an investment of €1, TV advertising can bring in €5.2 of revenue for advertisers.

With such a high ROI (return on investment), it is not surprising to learn that TV advertising alone can initiate 40% of the sales attributed to advertising. And this TV sales acceleration effect is immediate and long term. It is a medium that has a certain authority with consumers.

When combined with other media, TV advertising produces the strongest synergies: up to 23% more effectiveness on sales that have used it. *******.

In addition to being a sales booster, TV advertising is ideal for building brand awareness: the public sees TV as a trusted medium, which has a positive impact on consumers' perception of a brand.

How much does it cost to do a TV advertising campaign? 

The advertising efficiency of television makes it one of the most expensive media to mobilize in its communication strategy. 

Indeed, it is necessary to invest at least €100,000 net excluding tax for a classic advertising spot in order to have a minimum of results. And this, as well on a historical TV channel, like TF1 or M6, as on the DTT channels.

Nevertheless, there are ways to advertise on TV with a smaller budget. TV sponsoring is one of these solutions: for €21,500 excluding VAT (minimum), you can sponsor 50" Inside on TF1 for one week.

And if your ad targeting doesn't require a nationwide campaign, you can always run your TV ad on a local channel. Broadcasting your TV spot for a month on a regional channel BFMTV will cost you between 5 000 and €10,000 excluding VAT.

Or, go for segmented TV advertising. In addition to allowing precise targeting, segmented TV is accessible to advertisers with more limited budgets: the entry price for a 7-day campaign is €5,000 excluding VAT on M6 and €15,000 excluding VAT on TF1.

Some terms to know before doing TV commercials

Before you buy your TV advertising space, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the jargon used for buying and selling TV ads. Here are the key terms to know: 

• The GRP is an indicator, used mainly for TV advertising, which gives the average number of advertising contacts obtained on 100 individuals of your target. It is obtained by multiplying the coverage rate (the percentage of the target reached by the ad) by the number of repetitions of your ad campaign. The higher the GRP, the more likely you are to reach your target with a TV ad.
• The GRP cost is used to determine the price of a single GRP. The lower the cost, the better.
• Morning slot: this is the first time slot in which ads are shown (6am to 9am).
• Access: the time slot before Prime Time, usually from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
• Prime Time: also known as the first part of the evening, this is the time slot between 8pm and 10pm. In general, prime time is the time slot with the highest audience.

>>> Discover all the vocabulary used for buying TV ads

Best practices for making a TV commercial

TV advertising cannot be improvised. There are a number of essential steps to follow to ensure the success of your TV communication action:

• Understand your target audience: Knowing your audience inside out will help you design your spot and choose the channels that will get you exposure to them.
• Create a simple and memorable message: your intentions must be clear so that listeners can easily understand your ad. Keep in mind your objective and what you want consumers to remember about your spot.
• Use eye-catching visuals and sound: Make your spot memorable by using visuals that will help it stand out, while staying true to your graphic guidelines.
• Opt for a motion design spot: it will cost you less than a commercial made with actors. Need help to create your TV commercial? Adintime can assist you in the production of your commercial!
• Choose the right broadcasting times: your TV commercial must meet your target (and not the other way around), so choose the broadcasting times during which you are sure that your audience is in front of its screen.
• To make validate its spot: all the television advertisements (except for the sponsorship) must obligatorily be validated by the ARPP. Attention, this service is paying.

Sources : 

*Arcom - march 2023

** Médiamétrie - january 2023

*** Bump - march 2023

**** TF1 PUB - IPSOS 2022

***** Golbach - 2020

****** SNPTV - march 2023

******* SNPTV - Ekimetrics 2021

TV advertising devices