With digital marketing options such as SEO, Social Media Marketing, Pay-per-Click, Email Marketing, Content Marketing, and Affiliate Marketing going viral, small business owners are left wondering whether commercial advertising is relevant.
Broadcasting on radio and television still comes with benefits, but whether this traditional advertising media strategy is right for you requires analysis.
Therefore, this article will highlight commercial advertisements’ benefits and demerits. Read on to learn more.
What is a commercial benefit?
Commercial advertising allows your company or organization to enhance its customer or client base. It allows you to pass your message directly to consumers or clients and control the kind of message you want to deliver—whether you intend to build your brand identity, educate consumers about your products and services or inform the public about your company’s existence.
The advantages of commercial advertising
Here are some benefits of commercial advertising:
1. Product Awareness
One of the advantages of commercial advertising is that it promotes product awareness. It is a good opportunity to inform your target audience that you have the product they are looking for that can solve a problem in their lives.
The message in your commercial ads will reach the target people more quickly and broadly than other digital marketing strategies.
2. Education
Commercial advertising will offer you a chance to educate the public about the benefits of the products or services you render. It is a good opportunity to prove to your target clients that you feel their pain, help them learn from your mistakes, teach them a practical skill or help them get to know you better.
For instance, if you are operating a restaurant, you can use commercial advertising to inform your clients about using chemical-free ingredients or produce in your menu items.
3. A chance to sell directly
“Buy from us now” commercial ads still work miracles if your company sells a product that requires some tutorials for clients to understand its benefits. This kind of advertisement is known as direct response advertising, and cable networks usually support it.
Another advantage of direct response ads is that they are affordable compared to traditional commercials. If you sell a product that brings in more income, some cable TV networks might incur the cost of producing your ad in exchange for a portion of the profit generated.
4. Commercial advertising is affordable
Running a commercial ad on a local TV or radio station doesn’t require you to dig deep into your pockets or break the bank. According to a recent report by Entrepreneur magazine, running a commercial ad on a local TV can cost anywhere from $100 to $3,500 per commercial. This means you can adjust your advertising budget based on the amount you can raise in a specific period. Also, remember that radio advertising costs tend to be lower than TV advertising.
5. Targeted audience
You can target a specific audience when using commercial advertising. For instance, radio and TV stations keep detailed information about the different demographics of their audiences. This is good news because you can decide which audience to target in your ads and when to capture them.
You can also choose the type of channel that you want your ads to be aired. For instance, if your company manufactures cooking oils, you can decide to air your ads during prime time news or advertise on food-related channels.
6. Differentiation
Commercial advertising is one of the perfect ways to directly compare your products and services to the ones offered by your competitors. You will not only have a chance to conduct comparisons but also demonstrate to your target customers why your products and services are superior.
However, you need to be careful not to be seen as attacking your competitors. You will need to showcase your superiority by showing your target audience the benefits your products will have in their lives.
7. Boast branding
Commercial advertising can help you boost your branding. A positive perception of your business and what it stands for are some of the most important components that drive sales, especially for products that don’t require customers to spend their time coming up with a buying decision.
Commercial advertising lets you tell your target customers about your qualities, which could pay off in the long run. You will expose them to the message you are trying to pass several times. For instance, if you are selling bikini attires on the beach, airing around ten commercials on a local TV or radio where the beach is located can be the nudge that sets your company apart from other brands that sell similar merchandise. More people will start developing positive perceptions of your brand.
Who benefits most from commercial advertisements?
Companies that sell products benefit most from their commercial advertising. Their production and sales increase as those ads continue to attract new customers. Customers also benefit from commercial advertisements as they get an opportunity to know the product well before purchase.
Another entity that benefit is influencers and affiliate marketers. They get a chance to know the product and increase their commissions by increasing traffic for the product they are marketing.
Are there demerits to the commercial advertisement?
Here are few disadvantages of commercial advertisements for both companies running the ads and customers:
1. Some commercial advertisements are in bad taste
Some companies create commercial adverts that are fantastical, weird, strange, irreverent, annoying, or just plain odd. Those ads might not be offensive, but they might show things that some people do not approve of, hurt their feelings, or do not conform to their traditions or ways of life.
2. Commercial ads may undermine social values
Commercial advertising may undermines some social values. It takes consumers away from reality and ushers them into the realm of fantasy. It breeds discontent when the customer realizes that the product or service does not live up to its heavenly promises.
The other way commercial advertising undermines social values is by inserting pressure on people. People want to buy new products that seem brilliant, but most don’t have money to spend on them. This leaves them feeling upset with their social status.
3. Be ready to incur additional costs as a customer
No business is willing to pay for the expenses of commercial advertising out of pocket. Those businesses spend additional money on commercial advertising out of pocket and go ahead to raise the cost of the products or services they offer. In this reference, customers might consider products or services with lower costs.
4. Encourages the sale of inferior products
No company is allowed to make false claims about the quality of their product, as this would lead to prosecution. Unfortunately, every company will always advertise its products as superior. Therefore, customers are unable to determine which products are really good.
5. Commercial ads may confuse the buyers
Another criticism against commercial advertising is that many promoted products have similar claims. These similar claims may confuse buyers when determining which product is reliable. For instance, different toothpaste brands offer similar claims of “feelings of freshness,” which might confuse a buyer looking for toothpaste to remove bad odour.
