Recession Marketing Part 3: Television Marketing

A business person's guide to successful TV marketing in an economic recession.

Jonathan Daniel Cox

February 14, 2008


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Last week we covered Internet Marketing, an excellent way to inform your customers about your business and generate publicity. This week, we'll talk about one of the best ways to tell your story…Television Marketing.

There are a lot of ways to advertise and get prospects excited about your business, but very few are as attention grabbing and emotionally evocative as a well-done video. If you've never taken this angle for your business, this is an excellent time.

Television, like any other industry during a recession, becomes extremely competitive for business. Prime spots and inflexible rates become available and discounted. So where should you start? The first step, and you'll start to see a trend in marketing here, is to identify your target demographic.

The television broadcast day is divided into "dayparts," and each daypart caters to a different kind of viewer. Following is a list of the daypart categories and their audience demographics:

Early AM:
Programming: Local news, network news and information programs (GMA,Today).
Demographic: Reaches opinion leaders, business owners.

Day:
Programming: Syndicated talk shows, game shows, soaps.
Demographic: Reaches women 25-54 and women 35+. Average education is high school.

Early fringe:
Programming: Syndicated talk shows, sitcoms, and tabloid TV programs.
Demographic: Reach is similar to day viewers.

Early News:
Programming: Local news, network news.
Demographic: Reaches well-educated consumers.

Access:
Programming: Syndicated sitcoms, game shows, tabloid TV programs.
Demographic: High ratings, cost-efficient reach, varied viewer profiles.

Prime:
Programming: Local spots sold in adjacency time slots between network programs.
Demographic: High ratings, varied demographics, frequently a premium audience.

Late news:
Programming: Local news.
Demographic: Reaches highly educated most likely voters.

Late fringe:
Programming: Network late night programs, syndicated sitcoms.
Demographic: Wide variety of audiences.

Once you've identified your target demographic and purchased the appropriate spot, the next step is outlining what you want to accomplish through your advertisement and scripting your commercial.

Keep this in mind while you're outlining the purpose of your spot: human beings are more influenced by audio and video than any other stimulus. Your commercial should lend credibility to your organization, build trust, and convey a positive, upbeat image about your products or services.

When producing a script, remember Mark Twain's cardinal rule for writers: Less is more.

It's tempting to try to squeeze as much content as you can into your spot, but remember, even 10 seconds is a long time on TV. A barrage of images isn't far removed from staring at a strobe light, and we've all heard used car commercials enough to be unpleasantly familiar with 100 mile-an-hour dialogue.

Keep your script clean and simple, showcasing only a few of your best products or services elegantly and articulately.

Now that you've got your script written, it's time to produce the video. The most important thing to make note of at this stage of the process is continuity. Make sure you match the mood of your commercial with an appropriate selection of music, and that your narration ties in with the action.

For example, when you're talking about your excellent customer service, have a pair of smiling professionals shaking hands or talking animatedly. When you're talking your new facilities, be sure to showcase its best angles during the narrative.