The last 50 years TV advertising has had some significant changes. Fifty years ago, you would find entire TV shows that were sponsored by one company like Phillip Morris or Firestone. This was a branding form of advertising that helped keep the name recognition there. Then in the 1960’s and 70’s there was a shift to the networks selling commercial time during their programming schedule. The ads were short and the cost of the commercial time were determined by CBS, NBC and ABC. When cable TV networks like ESPN, CNN, Lifetime and TNT became popular in the 1980’s and 90’s there was now an opportunity for local businesses to advertise their products on TV with the major national brands that had dominated TV. Cable had found a way to make target marketing affordable with groupings of towns and cities to make up zones. This was great for a small businesses that only wanted local shoppers because their advertising dollars stretched further with buying only their immediate zone. Cable networks expanded rapidly and by 2000 there were so many choices that even cable TV found themselves looking for more alternatives for advertising opportunities with interactive TV ads, creating their own cable networks, and longer “paid programming / infomercials” opportunity during slow times for the networks.
Television advertising, much like the newspapers, has had to recognize that their market is changing with TiVO, Google, Podcasts, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Email Marketing etc. Where does a smart business get the results it needs today? What really works? Since advertising is about creating a desire for a brand or product, it follows that we will see a combination of several sources for smart campaigns. The consumer today is tech savvy and easily bored so the message has to be clear and clever and reaching them on many levels. The days of “just” buying radio and TV are over. But, “just” doing a website, Google Ad Words, and on-line social networking will not be enough for all businesses, either. Be ready for catchy Guerrilla Marketing combined with the best of the old and new to reach tomorrow’s potential consumers.
All my best to your success!
~Charlene
