TV advertisers have their own reasons for welcoming the winter months. It’s the time of year that people come indoors from the cold and watch more TV. November thru February is a time of year when advertisers know they can reach a large number of viewers at one time. NFL football’s audience, for example, can be as high as 20 million U.S. HH’s on any given week during the season and most advertisers will pay higher rates to reach those viewers with their message/product/service.
The demand for TV time means higher media rates; stations naturally increase rates due to this higher demand. How does a marketer know when the station’s rates are too high? A DR marketer has a very unique advantage over other marketers in determining when they’re paying too much for air time. A DR marketer knows almost immediately (next day) if the media rates are too high. Higher viewing levels do not always translate to better results for DR marketers, which is why they (or their agency) are challenged with the task of closely monitoring the results relative to the media cost, or ROI (return-on-investment). If the ROI’s fall below an acceptable level a DR marketer can quickly shift media dollars to another station or time period.
DR marketers generally know that higher viewing levels (ratings) do not automatically provide better response to their program. Their challenge is to balance the higher rates against their ROI’s and make changes to their media schedule, as necessary.
Viewing levels (ratings) are important to general advertisers because they have no other tool with which to gauge their message’s effectiveness. The DR marketers’ advantage is they do not need ratings to determine their message’s effectiveness: they know immediately when their phones ring.
Summer offers unique opportunities.
It is not surprising that TV viewing levels in the summer months can be dramatically different compared to other times of the year. This variance in viewing levels can impact response to a client’s TV campaign, however, it presents an opportunity for media buyers to consider creative ways to maximize their clients results.
Consider Different Dayparts – viewership patterns fluctuate the most during daytime and weekend afternoons in the summer months. Viewership in certain dayparts, such as early morning, late night and weekend mornings does not fluctuate as much and, therefore, should be considered as an inexpensive option for TV clients.
Opportunity to reach different viewers – For those viewers who tune into TV in the summer months, viewing habits may be different than at other times of the year. Viewers may tune into cable TV’s original programming instead of reruns on most broadcast networks. Broadcast networks continue to lose audience to cable and the internet as people consume TV differently. Summer is a time to capture those viewers sampling new programming/stations and may allow for them to see a client’s program for the first time.
Lower Rates – rates in the summer months are the lowest of any other time of year and an excellent time for a client to test those stations that may be unaffordable at other times of the year. Though viewership is down, lower rates more than compensate and many clients experience very strong response to their programs in the summer.
Consider Different Media Mix – understanding your core audience and their media habits is key to identifying the most effective media mix. When TV viewership is highest (in the winter months) advertising on TV offers clients maximum reach which is why there’s such high demand for TV time thus translating into higher rates. During the summer months when viewership is lowest and demand for TV time decreases it may be prudent for many clients to maintain their TV presence and capitalize on the lower rates. The dollars saved in the summer months on TV can be shifted to radio, print, internet or mobile devices as a way to reach your core audience.
Many clients shy away from advertising in the summer months, however, this time of year often offers opportunities to clients not available to them at other times of the year.
By Janet Burke, Director of Media at Newton Media. Janet came to Newton Media with over 17 years experience on national accounts for D’Arcy-Masius Benton & Bowles and Earle Palmer Brown. She provides leadership to the media team and manages client relationships well with her passion for professionalism and attention to detail.
Welcome to Newton’s Media Fix (The Fix), the premier best practices newsletter in our industry. I want to share with you not only valuable insights I have learned from my 30 years in the Media Industry but also our teams broad knowledge throughout all aspects of planning, execution and follow up for effective Media Campaigns and Programming.
