Promotional Management Essay
Promotional Management
TV stations rely on advertisements for revenue generation. In every TV program, there is some time spared for a commercial break. The TV commercials are sometimes a nuisance to the viewers since some are repeated more than ten times in a day. The monotony of the TV commercials to many viewers is annoying because a person has to watch a particular commercial even after paying for its subscription. This pain could in the future end. Recently, Apple and other digital servicing companies have devised a new alternative that could end TV commercials. Through the Apple TV box and other digital video recorders, one can purchase his favourite TV programs from the Digital box provider’s online store and view it with no commercial breaks. This new initiative from the digital service providers and online advertising could see an end to the 30-second TV commercials. The current paper evaluates the validity of this argument.
With the rapid evolution of technology and the development of the Internet, many people opt to shun away from the Television sets and use the computers and other electronic devices in viewing TV programs (Monica 2007). According to a recent study carried out by the Consumer Electronics Association in the United States, the percentage of people who rely on the TV antenna for program reception has been annexed by the numbers who rely on the Internet for viewing of the same programs (Campbell 2014). The study further showed that in 1985, more than half of the homes in America relied on the TV over the air broadcasting. However, currently, only six percent of the population relies on television broadcasting for viewing of TV programs (Campbell 2014). This change in preference from the people is more likely to end the 30-second TV commercial, as the TV platform does not have many viewers. It is one of the reasons why the 30-second commercial is consigned to death row.
With the popularity of the Internet, many organizations opt to go for online advertising over television advertising. Recent research shows that online advertising is more cost friendly than television advertising (Sparrow 2012). According to Nielsen, shifting to online advertising from television advertising will enhance passing of the message at a cheaper price (Vertolli 2014). The study evaluated advertisements on 18 TV stations and other advertisements on the online media. The online advertisements proved to be 5% cheaper than the TV advertising. In addition, currently, more people access the Internet longer in a day than they do on television and, therefore, it is more likely for someone to view an advertisement online than on Television broadcasting (John Wiley & Sons 2009). The convenience of the online advertisements outperforms that of television advertisements. As a result, they are likely to replace the TV commercials.
Even though digital video advertising is continually growing, it cannot completely outdo television advertising. According to the statistics at e-marketer, television advertising spends more than the digital advertising and as a result, television advertising is likely to counter digital video advertising (eMarketer 2014). In the United States as was shown by e-Marketer, digital spending increased by 42% reaching $5.96 billion compared to television advertising spending which only increased by 3.3% to reach a total of $68.54 billion (eMarketer 2014). Due to the difference in the maturity levels of the two platforms, television advertising being better established this trend is likely to remain the same over the years as the gap is too wide (Gleeson 2012). In addition, television services are available to more people than the Internet services. Besides, not everybody on the globe has knowledge on the use of the Internet. As a result, the argument that Internet advertising is replacing television advertising is not very credible.
The increasing popularity of digital video advertising gives chance to those involved in television advertising to enhance their advertisements. According to the statistics by e-Marketer on comparison of the digital video advertisements and television advertisements, growth in the online advertisements leads to even more advancement in television advertisements (Green 2011). Compared to the $1.76 billion spending on digital online advertisements, the television sector posted a relatively higher amount, $2.19 billion. This shows that advancement in the online sector prompts the television advertisement sector to spend more for its betterment. As a result, the television advertisement and digital online advertisement dominance projection to 2018 show that television advertisement is likely to be steps ahead of online advertisement (eMarketer 2014). Advancement of the digital online advertisement only provides a baseline for growth of television advertising. It is, therefore, unlikely for online advertising to outdo television advertising.
In spite of the rapid growth of the digital online advertising, it is unlikely for it to replace television advertising. The television audience is more wide spread than the online audience is. According to David Hallerman, time spent on digital video is significant and it is slowly taking away the time that was initially spent on television (eMarketer 2014). However, given the diversity of platforms and placements, digital online viewers are not an easy target for the advertisers. Moreover, he continues to say that much of the time spent on digital video viewing is not suitable for advertisements. Some of the videos watched either are too short for advertisements or are unrelated to the advertisements (Xian-Sheng 2010). Furthermore, some of the online streaming platforms like Amazon do not support advertising. The television platform is accessible to many people and is convenient for advertising (Gleeson 2012). It remains the best platform that can be used to transmit information to a larger mass of people instantaneously. As a result, television advertising still has an upper hand over online advertising.
As much as online advertisements are gaining popularity, television advertisements remain the best method of gaining publicity. The television advertisements reach more people simultaneously compared to digital online videos. TV advertisements are a faster communication method compared to the digital online alternative (Deane 2006). Critically, access to an online advertisement is a matter of chance. People do not visit the Internet in search for advertisements and in this, television advertising has an upper hand (Gleeson 2012). In addition, advertisements on television can be viewed from many public places if there is provision of a television set, the number of people likely to receive the message at that particular time is more than the number likely to access the same advertisement over the online platform (Sparrow 2012). As a result, television advertisement is a better way of advertising based on publicity compared to the online platform.
To conclude, the fast evolution of technology and the growth of the Internet platform have enhanced the growth of advertising through the online videos. Moreover, it has seen the development of devices that could offer television services more conveniently without advertisements. These aspects of technology pose a risk to the television commercials and they threaten to bring its end. However, television commercial cannot be eliminated. They have a firm establishment compared to the online video advertisements and they target a larger number of people compared to the online platform. As a result, the 30-second period for television commercials is not on its death row.
