5 Common Mistakes in TV Advertising

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© Copyright 2014. The TV Agency

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5 Common Mistakes in TV Advertising

This information is a guide only and is the opinions and work of Anthony O’Neill, MD @ The TV Agency. With over 10 years experience working in TV Advertising, I have worked with some of the largest agencies and clients in the UK, as well as small regional clients and agencies.

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1 - Timing

If it is not normally a busy month in August, why would

you want to launch a new TV campaign that month?

Occasionally, clients will say to me, ‘Should I not

advertise when I’m not so busy, so that I am busy all year

round?’ It seems a reasonable question but ask yourself

this, is there a reason you’re normally quiet on a

particular month? If its down to demand being less for

that month, as is often the case, then advertising on TV

might have a slight increase, but I would argue that

advertising on your busiest month would be more

effective, because following the same guidance, if this is

a busy month, because it’s when your product or service

is often bought, then advertising at this time will help you

reach more of your target audience at a time when they’re ready to buy. Sometimes you will have several

months a year or seasonal trends when demand is high, if

you’re lucky it may even be all year round, but these are

the months you should advertise. Cost is also a

consideration and in TV the price changes on a monthly

basis, for example, your budget in January will go far

further than in October due to the difference in demand

for TV advertising.

Time is right!

2 - Call to Action

I’ve lost count of the number of times a new client

complains that their TV campaign delivered poorly,

in terms of sales or responses. I then look over the

commercial they ran only to find that there is no call

to action. If you don’t give viewers a reason to

engage with your commercial/ brand then they

won’t! Be aware, a branding campaign will not

deliver instant sales! Offers or events etc. should be

mentioned several times in the commercial, if not

throughout to gain the maximum response. Adding

a location, address, website or phone number at the

end of the advert is a mistake! The first ten seconds

of your commercial are the most valuable as that is

when viewers are most engaged, and it’s now

becoming an art where advertisers are taking their

commercials on to the likes of Youtube and getting

the offer across in the first five seconds, before you can skip!

One of the country’s first direct response

campaign’s

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3 - Choosing a Production company In my experience, your commercial can be the biggest factor in a successful TV campaign. Anyone with a camera will

tell you they can make a TV advert, in reality though, it’s a lot more complex! Don’t get unnecessarily stressed with a

inexperienced production company! Ask the broadcaster about who’s hot at making TV adverts locally. Avoid

unnecessary expense on your TV advert. Yes the John Lewis advert cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to make,

but you can get a basic graphic advert from less than £1,000 and live action from around £3,000. What can often

affect cost are actor’s fees, music rights and voice over artist fees. Make sure you are aware of your usage rights - you

don’t want to have to pay every time you run your advert or even risk having someone refuse a relicense, leaving you

with an advert you can’t use any further! Remember, you own all the footage so if you feel you need to change to

another production company, get a copy of everything shot!

4 - Appointing a TV buying agency It seems obvious, but ask yourself and the agency if they have bought a TV campaign before. If not, then how do they

qualify in buying your TV advertising? You would be surprised at how many times I came across an agency that had

decided (or the client had) that they wanted to book a TV campaign, having never booked one previously, thinking

they can pick it up along the way. Or you have an agency who comes across as having TV experience and show you

clients they work with who are large TV advertisers, only to find they don’t actually handle the TV, they only do the

digital but use another agency to handle your TV buying, marking up the costs. Check with the broadcasters if their

credentials are valid.

5 - Get a Quote Always get several quotes! You want to make sure you are getting the best value! Ask any agency what service they

can provide for your TV booking? If it’s just delivering you a schedule or if they struggle to answer, it is unlikely they

know how to buy TV correctly. A quick way to tell is to ask some basic questions, for example: What is a TVR? Or ask

the broadcaster what their media spend is, if its less than 1 or 2 million, then its unlikely they are experienced in TV

advertising. Ask for a copy of their professional indemnity, since TV advertising is not covered by standard agency

professional indemnity, as it is a specialist media. Do they have any specialist media software? If not, then they should

not be buying TV advertising, as they can’t provide you with accurate BARB data, meaning they can’t determine the

final value of your TV campaign.

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Action Points

Choose a month to advertise when chances of success are high and cost to advertise is low (January often

falls in to this category).

Promote a call to action throughout – Call now! Sale On! Event this weekend!

Set budgets on production, 20% of your media spend is the norm but it can be less or more, depending on

how often the advert will be used.

Make sure your production company is Clearcast registered! What is their clock code? What do they expect

to have to substantiate in your advert? What Supers will appear on screen?

Appoint a TV buying agency with experience; ask what their buying power is and confirm this with

broadcasters.

“It’s very reassuring working with The TV Agency! Their

knowledge of the TV industry is second to none and they have proven that to us time and time again. Working with them, from production all the way through to planning,

buying and managing our campaigns means that we have confidence in our TV advertising from start to finish.”

Steve Ferry – Sales & Marketing Director Vertu Motors

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5 Common Mistakes in TV Advertising

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