TL;DR: TV + Digital = Marketing Success
- Integrating TV advertising to digital media activities can boost e-commerce marketing, reaching wider audiences and eventually drive sales.
- Despite the growing focus on digital, TV remains essential for building brand visibility, product/service credibility and boost performance on other complimentary channels.
- Studies show TV ads account for 62% of short-term advertising-generated profit.
- By marrying TV and digital efforts, e-commerce brands see not just immediate sales boosts but also long-term growth.
Introduction: The Value of TV in Today’s Digital World
Given that the majority of the pre-purchase journey for consumers happens online, it is entirely logical for e-commerce brands to allocate most of their advertising budget to digital channels. After all, you’re likely reading this blog on your mobile device or desktop (no, this post hasn’t been printed) and despite the digital dominance, TV advertising hasn’t lost its spark. In fact, it’s still, without exaggerating here, a monster for building both brand awareness and boosting performance (sales). In this blog we will show you how using TV alongside your digital efforts can help broaden your reach and increase your impact through frequency and attention, backed by findings from leading industry reports and a recent case study shared by one of our growth partners; Snocks.
Before we jump in the HOW, we are assuming you enjoy insights as much as we do, so here’s one we found particularly interesting and relevant to the topic at hand.
This chart illustrates the significant amount of second screening that occurs during linear TV consumption, highlighting the potential consumer’s ability to engage with multiple sources of information simultaneously. However, the level of attention is fragmented and therefore effectiveness can be increased when e-commerce brands strategically coordinate their messaging across both linear TV and digital activities. By combining the ads on TV with digital, e-commerce brands can capitalize on viewer curiosity and search behavior, thereby amplifying their reach and impact during key viewing moments (when it really matters; relevant and meaningful).
Before: Understanding Today’s Marketing Mix
These days, digital channels are still highly valued for their precision in tracking and targeting (higher than that of offline media). However, the ROI Genome report highlights that offline ads, like TV, also significantly boost online sales. Their findings showcase that integrating mass media such as TV with digital campaigns can forge a more robust marketing strategy for almost any business. On a related note, Dan White made an interesting visualization on LinkedIn regarding the use of reach/awareness strategies versus conversion strategies in social media. This distinction can similarly be applied to compare digital media, which is highly targeted, and TV, which offers broad, mass reach but can be narrowed down further through a combination of channel TG audience indexing and GRP. (Why are GRPs important?)
During: Combining TV and Digital for Better Results
A good marketing strategy uses TV to complement digital efforts. The insights shared from The new business case for advertising tell us that “Running a successful TV campaign depends on making the right decisions on several parameters… understanding which options will deliver the best KPIs, whether it’s absolute numbers, CPV, response rate, or conversions”. This means TV should work hand in hand with your digital strategies to improve overall campaign effectiveness.
Peter Field highlights during the FTVA Global 2023 conference, that “TV advertising accounts for 62% of all advertising-generated profit in the short term, showcasing its strong immediate impact on campaigns”. This shows that TV not only boosts sales quickly but also helps in growing your brand over time (white paper). Back in 2015, Google prepared a guide and analysis on how search reacts to TV campaigns.
After: Seeing the Real-World Impact
When TV and digital strategies are well-integrated, the results can be impressive. Companies report significant increases in profits, market share, and customer loyalty from campaigns that use TV effectively. This shows how crucial TV is for achieving immediate sales goals and long-term growth. Don’t take our word for it, check out this SNOCKS CASE.
Despite the remarkable success experienced, our team has learned a valuable lesson: not every e-commerce brand needs to invest heavily in TV commercials in the performance phase.
Snocks built 10” and 20” commercials by putting together a strong mix of user-generated video content (UGC) effective enough to drive direct response by communicating with TV audiences in a direct, honest, and unfiltered manner (AUTHENTIC 🙂); which is crucial for early-stage brands aiming to build a solid foundation from the ground up.
(Note : This approach is not recommended for every brand of course; medical, financial or insurance related services are perceived differently and require this sensitive data / security approach)
Conclusion: Why TV is Essential in Modern Marketing
For e-commerce brands looking to grow, avoiding TV advertising and only focusing on digital might mean missing out on a massive opportunity. By including TV in your marketing mix, you can reach more people and make a stronger impact than using digital alone (referring back to the illustration from Dan White). The reports we looked at all support using TV to create a more effective and complete marketing strategy.
Whether you’re looking to grow fast, build your brand, or get the best return on investment overall, TV advertising should be part of your plan.
End quote for today:
“Knowledge is power
Knowledge shared is power multiplied”
– Robert Boyce
