Video is king in 2021 and viewership is only increasing. While this isn’t a surprise to most of us, what could be a surprise is the increase of streaming services at such a fast pace.
According to Nielsen in June 2021, 26% of time spent watching is on streaming video with services such as Netflix and Hulu. Network and Cable TV still account for 64% of time spent watching. In 2020, time spent watching streaming video was 20% in comparison and Nielsen suggests that it could reach as high as 33% by the end of 2021.
What is the Future of Broadcast and Cable
In recent years the industry has gone from waiting weekly to watch your favorite show to viewing on demand. With the rise of apps on devices including Smart TVs, viewing on demand has become even more popular and has led to streaming services picking up share of viewing. This process of getting rid of cable television, called cord-cutting, is even more popular with younger generations.
In 2020, 74% of Adults 18-34 either never have had cable or have cut the cord.
According to IAB.com
Broadcast and Cable Television Advertising Pros and Cons
The reason why businesses should have a Media Plan is because there are pros and cons to every advertising medium and a marketing expert can help determine the best places to spend your ad budget. One of the biggest advantages Broadcast Television has over other vehicles within the medium, is live video. While live video can be found on all platforms now, there is still demand for live news and sports on broadcast and cable platforms. Here are a few pros of advertising on broadcast and cable:
- Reach – To advertise effectively on television, you need to know the audience you want to reach. Broadcast networks still generate more viewers despite cable’s recent gains. For businesses wanting to build brand awareness or offer services to a large area, this is the easier way to reach a crowd.
- Targeting – Many small businesses make their decision based on their target market and the geographic area they serve. Cable TV typically allows you to buy commercial time for a specific zone of a larger market. If the bulk of your business comes from within a short drive of your store, cable advertising can reach that audience without making you pay for areas unlikely to be interested. Broadcast TV forces you to buy the entire market. This gives you more eyeballs, and if your business draws traffic from your entire metropolitan area you’ll want that extra exposure. If not, keep in mind that you’re paying for an audience you may not need.
- Frequency – Broadcast TV advertising costs more than cable per spot, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. A media buyer will compare the thousands of viewers (on a specific target demographic) of broadcast and cable programs and negotiate a cost per thousand viewers in order to get your business the most viewers for the money being spent. Because of the wider audience, the cost per exposure is low. On the other hand, frequency of exposure is critical to a TV marketing campaign. Businesses need to expose customers to their advertising messages multiple times before the messaging sinks in.
Streaming Services
By now just about everybody has watched a show on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime and likely has done it on a device other than their TV. In the past few years streaming services have been added directly to new TVs purchased. In 2021 you no longer need to purchase a device like an Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick or Google Chromecast. What you will find is that streaming services have partnered with television manufacturers to only provide their platform directly on the TV. We recently bought a new tv for our conference room and ended up choosing a television with the Hulu platform as a determining factor.
What does the future mean for streaming services? Already you can subscribe to a cable package directly through Hulu, Apple TV or even YouTube. In recent years you are seeing more money being invested into producing shows on streaming services rather than broadcast and cable. In some cases, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon are rumored to be in negotiations for buying movie theaters to show these productions.
Benefits of Advertising on Streaming Video
By far the number one reason for businesses to spend advertising dollars on streaming video is tracking. Advertising on video streaming platforms allows brands to track, measure, and optimize advertisements in real time. Messaging can easily be adjusted, videos can be altered, and campaigns can be tailored quickly, yielding preferred results and expediting a business’s return on investment
- Variety – Not only can you reach a variety of audiences and devices as opposed to broadcast television, but the amount of targeted programming is endless. Advertising agencies can track metrics like conversion rates, click-through rates, and view-through rates to identify opportunities for increasing exposure or change direction to reach a more targeted demographic or geographic area. Traditional television ads are more difficult to measure in real time.
- Audience Targeting – Streaming services collect data based on your browsing history as well as interest in behaviors. If you have mentioned products on social media for example, then you could be targeted while streaming on YouTube. This advantage of understanding more about you and the intent behind your search and browsing history can help a campaign not only be more targeted but also result in a higher goal percentage.
- Commercial Content Options – With broadcast and cable you are pretty much stuck with mostly :15, :30 and :60 second commercials. Streaming offers more options for long and short format videos and the way those videos are viewed. Many streaming services don’t allow video ads to be skipped while some require a portion of the ad to be viewed before skipping.
Media Planning
There are a lot of factors that go into creating the right media plan to obtain results. The importance of having an experienced media buyer and planner working for your business is greater than ever before. Gone are the days of just buying ad space and expecting results. Companies want to reach the most potential customers for the least amount of money and exceed goal expectations.
If your business is looking to advertise on broadcast, cable or streaming video, reach out to us so that you have someone to either guide or handle the process of managing your media spending. Copp Media has more media buying experience than any Wichita advertising agency.
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