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How Do I Evaluate the Effectiveness of TV Advertising?

Geri Terzo
Geri Terzo

Businesses use television advertising to reach an audience and increase profits, but there might be times when it it is used for purposes such as damage control after some public relations mishap. The effectiveness of TV advertising can be measured by the advertiser's success in completing a certain goal. Even if the overall goal is to grow sales or income, there might be other, shorter-term intentions, such as restoring a brand's image or increasing awareness about a product or service. Television ratings agencies offer some numerical grade for judging the success of programs, and the potential effectiveness of ads might be measured based on these results as well.

An increase in sales following an advertising campaign is an indication of the effectiveness of TV advertising. If an advertisement has the ability to evoke enough of a response from viewers that some action is taken to obtain the product or service being offered, it is a sign of a successful commercial. To determine the effectiveness of an ad more precisely, it might be useful to attach goals, for both the short term and the long term, to the promotion.

TV advertising's impact can be measured based on factors such as boosting sales or building a brand's image or awareness with consumers.
TV advertising's impact can be measured based on factors such as boosting sales or building a brand's image or awareness with consumers.

For measuring how effective TV advertising is in the short term, recognize whether there is increased attention being devoted to a brand. If there is buzz, either in social media or in customer inquiries, this is an indication of how effective a commercial is. It might be necessary to hire a third-party consultant firm to determine what the Internet chatter surrounding an ad might be or to hire a public relations firm to form focus groups and receive feedback on advertisements.

Television advertising is typically geared toward specific demographics.
Television advertising is typically geared toward specific demographics.

Network television shows in many countries are rated by companies that measure viewership. The effectiveness of TV advertising could be quantified by the success of a television program during which a commercial ad runs. If an advertiser is attempting to reach a certain number of viewers in a specific demographic, this can all be illustrated in the viewership results.

Some TV advertisements encourage viewers to explore a product or company in-depth online.
Some TV advertisements encourage viewers to explore a product or company in-depth online.

When an advertisement is used for damage control following some unfortunate event, the effectiveness of TV advertising can be determined by the public perception of the brand. If there is an improvement in public perception illustrated through rising sales or customer retention, for instance, this could be a sign of how successful the ad campaign has been. If viewers doubt the sincerity of an ad that addresses some negative event, the effectiveness of the advertisement might become compromised. This might be evaluated by the public response recorded by surveys, polls and revenues.

Discussion Comments

anon960525

This is the current method to measure effectiveness of TV advertisement but there are some problems in this method:

1. You cannot find out the best TV slot when airing ads will give the best performance.

2. You cannot find which people of which geography are interested in your product and are potential customers for your company.

3. You cannot identify which time slots on which days of the week are good or bad for the airing of your ads.

Wisedly33

I like clever commercials, or ads that are innovative or make me think. The Palmolive commercials with Marge the Manicurist are icons of American television, along with Mr. Whipple and the Charmin, "Snap, Crackle and Pop!" and other commercials that were memorable. Maybe some of them were kind of hokey, but they were instantly recognizable. A lot of television advertising now just throws a bunch of images together and they call it a commercial.

When I think of the Super Bowl ads, I wish commercials could be that good the rest of the year.

Scrbblchick

On a personal level, I judge how effective television advertising is by whether I even remember the ad later. Also, some ads are so incredibly annoying that I mute the TV, which is *not* the effect the ad people want their commercial to have.

Some ads bother me so much that I change the channel while they're on. Unfortunately, the ASPCA ads are so incredibly sad, I have to change the TV. Those get to me.

A really long commercial will get on my nerves, too. I've seen some that have to be over a minute long, and that's just too long. I hate commercials.

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    • TV advertising's impact can be measured based on factors such as boosting sales or building a brand's image or awareness with consumers.
      By: MarcoGusella.it
      TV advertising's impact can be measured based on factors such as boosting sales or building a brand's image or awareness with consumers.
    • Television advertising is typically geared toward specific demographics.
      By: Joanna Zielinska
      Television advertising is typically geared toward specific demographics.
    • Some TV advertisements encourage viewers to explore a product or company in-depth online.
      By: gemphotography
      Some TV advertisements encourage viewers to explore a product or company in-depth online.
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      Some people criticize TV advertising that pushes images of sex.
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      A restaurant can evaluate TV advertisements by the amount of sales for highlighted products.
    • Successful advertising strategies are typically geared toward specific demographics.
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      Successful advertising strategies are typically geared toward specific demographics.