Strategies for Success

"I don't have a lot of money, but I need customers..."

This is a statement that I hear almost on a daily basis. Almost every company is struggling financially right now. So, unless you are one of the lucky ones that received a huge government bailout (ahem!) your business most likely doesn't have the advertising budget that it used to have. Without advertising you can't bring in customers, and without customers you obviously can't exist. So, what's the solution?

Some businesses have been trying to save money on their advertising campaigns by utilizing methods like radio and newspaper advertising because rates for these mediums have dropped considerably. However, they are finding out that they are not able to save money. They usually end up wasting money. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: Television advertising works. Television advertising doesn't need to cost you a fortune. Broadcast television advertising is very costly, and a 30 second commercial can cost you between $70,000 and $200,000 during prime time. Virtually no small business can afford this method of television advertising, however local cable television advertising can be extremely cost effective. Even large business have started to see the power of cable television advertising as opposed to broadcast television advertising. As advertising revenue for broadcast television slips, cable television advertising continues to grow - even during this recession. With an average budget of $5,000 - $7,000 thousand dollars a month you can reach millions of viewers on cable channels that meet your specific demographic.

Many people confuse "local advertising" to mean that they can only advertise in one area, but this is not true. You can advertise in virtually any region in the United States. Instead of advertising as a corporate sponsor on a television program, Tonangi Media has the ability of purchasing media time in any locality on virtually any cable network. This means that you can run a local cable television advertising campaign in many different cities at the same time. This allows you to target only your specific demographic and allows you to only spend money where you will get the most return. For example, if you know that most of your customers live in metropolitan areas, why would you want to advertise in the entire state of New York, when you could simply advertise in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. This is why local cable television advertising is so effective. Your advertising budget can be dramatically lower then a national campaign yet be even more effective and attract millions of customers.

If you add internet advertising in addition to your television advertising campaign your message will become even more ingrained in the brains of the individuals that watch your advertisements. Small businesses can no longer waste money on mediums that don't have viewers or listeners. Every penny must be properly spent. Just because radio or newspaper advertising is slightly cheaper then television advertising does not mean it is more cost effective. In fact, it's the opposite. While the audience for radio stations and newspapers diminishes on a daily basis, the audience for television and internet keeps increasing. Americans dedicate 35 hours a week to watching television, and 32 hours a week on the internet.

Every business is struggling right now, but can you afford NOT to advertise? If you need to attract customers to your business then the answer is a resounding "no".

For more information on how Tonangi Media can help you advertise on television visit www.tonangi.com

Vinod Tonangi | www.tonangi.com | toll free: 877.817.MEDIA | fax: 619.566.4043

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Some advertisers believe that broadcast television is the only television format that they should utilize for advertising. They couldn't be more wrong. In fact the entire advertising industry disagrees with this myth. According to a recent Nielsen report, U.S. ad spending declined 15.4% during the first half of 2009 however Cable television advertising actually increased by 1.5%. This means that businesses have started to see the advantage that cable television advertising has over broadcast television. In addition to the extremely high budgets broadcast networks require the options are quite limited. The Big 4 Networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) are now trying to gain the advertising revenue that they lost to local and national cable television advertising.

This is important to small businesses, who thought that advertising on television would be cost prohibitive. Running a local or national cable television advertising campaign is no longer for just large companies. This also means that small businesses don't need to work only with their local cable company as many have done in the past. Advertising agencies, like Tonangi Media, have access to advertise on cable television networks in all 50 states.

From the Nielsen report: "What’s interesting is that we’re not just seeing a rise in spending for recession-friendly products like fast food restaurants. We’re seeing a lot more promotion of technological innovations like smartphones, computer software, and consumer-driven web sites. These advertisers see potential for their products despite our stressed economy and are leveraging advertising to drive their success.”

For more information on how Tonangi Media can help you advertise on television visit www.tonangi.com

 Vinod Tonangi | www.tonangi.com | toll free: 877.817.MEDIA | fax: 619.566.4043

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Now, more then ever before, local television has become the most cost-effective form of advertising. Some people are falsely led to believe that television viewership is decreasing, however they could not be more wrong. In fact, a recent Nielsen report showed that television viewership has actually increased since last year. Let's look at the facts. More then 99% of American households own a television, and 86% of all American households watch cable television.

Should you be worried about DVRs (Digital Video Recorders) like TiVOs? No. Only about 17% Americans have DVRs. Nielsen's study is the first to look at how many DVR users actually watch ads. The data suggests that about 50% of DVR owners skip ads. This means out of 264,472,157 people that watch local cable television ads, about 22,480,133 skip them. That's only a marginal 8.5% that would skip through your ad. What is even more interesting is that Americans are now watching television almost 5 hours a day, and many Americans are watching television on bigger sets in high definition.

The poor economy has given advertisers with cash flow an advantage over their competitors. Television advertising revenue has already dropped by 13%, and both local and national television stations are scrambling to acquire new advertisers just as many small businesses are trying to find new customers. Television stations are offering more spots for a much lower cost then ever before. Ad agencies, such as Tonangi Media, have already negotiated better rates with most partners. These cost savings make it more attractive to advertise on television exactly at a time when television viewership is growing. 

If you are interested in advertising your business on television please visit www.tonangi.com for more information.

 Vinod Tonangi | www.tonangi.com | toll free: 877.817.MEDIA | fax: 619.566.4043

<< Back to www.tonangi.com