TV Advertising with a Plan

You’ve looked at your budget and decided that your business could benefit from some television advertising. So, now what does your marketing team need to do in order to make the most of your budget?

1. Create your customer persona

A good place to start is with your customer persona. If you haven’t already created one, begin by looking at the customers who have already bought your product and answer the following questions:

• What age range do they encompass?
• Where do they live?
• What is their average income?
• Are they heavily weighted towards one gender?
• Are they single, married, or have children?
• What profession is the most prevalent among them?
• What are their other hobbies or interests?

Once you gather this information, you can then put together a fictional representation of your “perfect customer.” From this persona, you can then make an educated guess about their viewing habits.

2. Match your demographics

Once you have an idea of the channels your buyer persona would watch, you can begin to work with your television provider to decide where to place your ads. It used to be that the only television advertising available centered around a traditional viewing schedule. That is no longer the case. Now, there are many options for viewing and every option has advertising opportunities.

Again, this is where your buyer persona comes into play. Is your target demographic more likely to view television on a traditional schedule or is your demographic more likely to utilize the many internet viewing options? While all of these options have their advantages and disadvantages, the demographic targeting and reporting options associated with internet-based television are useful in understanding ROI and reporting to a board or committee.

3. Storyboard

So, once you know about your buyer persona you can focus on what you would like in your ad. One of the most effective ways to do this is to storyboard your commercial. This doesn’t need to be incredibly elaborate or even drawn out, but it does need to include several key elements:

• Your overall brand message
• What should be shown in each shot
• Who should be in each shot
• The narration that corresponds with each shot

From there you can move on to the creation phase of your commercial.

There are many ways to reach your customers and television can be an effective form of advertising when thought out and well placed. For more information about advertising and to keep up with current trends, feel free to contact us.