TV Advertising Influences Buyer Decisions

TV advertising still has substantial influence over consumers and the purchases they make. While digital advertising receives much of the fanfare related to motivating customers to buy, new data shows the power of TV ad spots.

The 2022 Purchase Funnel Survey, commissioned by TVB (Television Bureau of Advertising), demonstrated that the medium significantly impacted buying decisions. This is good news for broadcast media sellers dealing with advertiser objections around TV advertising.

Let’s go inside the numbers!

The Power of TV Advertising

The study’s objective was to identify which media platforms had the most influence on purchases. It included an analysis of six platforms — TV (broadcast, cable and on-demand), radio, mail, OOH (out of home), print and digital.

Key findings included:

TV was the top influencer for every stage of the purchase funnel: awareness, interest, store or website visit, consideration and purchase. It dominated all other mediums by far.
89% of those conducting online searches said TV ads affected what they searched. Those numbers were even higher for certain demographics, including 18- to 34-year-olds (96%) and African Americans (95%).
90% of online shoppers said TV ads influenced what they searched.
TV’s effect crosses many product categories. It’s the greatest influencer for automotive, banking, furniture, legal, health care, quick-serve restaurants and retail (online and in-store).

Why Does TV Have Such Sway?

The study points to a few reasons why TV has such an impact. Researchers determined that TV initiates word of mouth, drives visits to physical and online stores and helps ad recall. The exposure to these ads, which engage multiple senses, seems to imprint in the mind. That consumer may not need the product at that moment. However, when the time comes to eat dinner, buy a coat or look for a physician, those ads motivate their choices.

The study and our industry realize the evolution of the advertising ecosystem. Digital plays a key role in the customer journey, but TV remains at the top. Exposure to a media platform isn’t usually a guarantee of engagement. With TV, it is. Consumers cited it as the top influencer in awareness, which starts the funnel and impacts all the other phases.

TV Ads Influence Digital Activity; Advertisers Need to Be Prominent There Too

In presenting this data to advertisers that may believe broadcast TV is no longer a viable medium, you’ll also want to talk about their digital presence. Your advertisers need to be in front of customers who are searching.

Thus, you’d want to recommend SEM (search engine marketing) campaigns that align with your TV ads. Advise them to work on their website’s SEO (search engine optimization) and do things like activating their Google My Business profile to ensure more visibility.

Your advertiser can continue to pop up in other areas to drive greater brand recognition, including OTT/CTV, display ads and social media feeds.

By providing an integrated campaign that includes linear and digital, your approach can be more strategic and take advantage of the influence of TV. Coordinating digital ads to launch at the same time as TV ads will keep your client’s brand in the view of their desired customers.

Remember, digital isn’t the enemy of broadcast TV! Seeing how the two can complement one another helps you retain more ad spend and drives digital and physical traffic to advertisers.