Advertising on television generally follows a consistent sequence: define the goal and audience, choose the right markets and networks, plan the budget and buying approach, produce the commercial, place and schedule the campaign, and measure the results. Understanding these steps helps a business plan a realistic timeline and avoid the most common missteps that come from skipping ahead to buying air time before the earlier groundwork is in place.
Step 1: Define the Goal and Target Audience
Before anything else, a business needs a clear sense of what the campaign is meant to accomplish, whether that’s driving calls, in-store visits, brand awareness, or a specific promotion, and who it’s trying to reach. This shapes almost every decision that follows, from which networks make sense to what the creative should emphasize.
Step 2: Choose the Right Markets, Networks, and Dayparts
With a goal and audience defined, the next step is selecting where the campaign will run. This includes choosing the specific market or zone, the networks or programming genres that align with the target audience’s viewing habits, and the dayparts when that audience is most likely watching. Local and regional businesses often narrow this to the specific zones within a market that overlap with their actual service area.
Step 3: Plan the Budget and Buying Approach
Television inventory can be purchased in different ways, including upfront commitments negotiated in advance and scatter market buys purchased closer to airtime. At this stage, a business decides how much of its budget to commit, over what timeframe, and whether a longer-term commitment makes sense for its goals versus a shorter test campaign.
Step 4: Produce the Commercial
Once the strategy is set, the commercial itself needs to be produced. This can range from a simple, straightforward spot to a more elaborate production, depending on the budget and the message. Production timelines should be planned well in advance of the intended air date, since scripting, filming or animation, and editing all take time before a spot is ready to submit for air.
Step 5: Place and Schedule the Campaign
With a finished commercial in hand, the campaign moves into placement and scheduling, confirming the specific networks, zones, and dayparts, submitting the creative to meet technical and format requirements, and setting the schedule for when and how often the spot will air.
Step 6: Monitor and Measure Results
Once a campaign is live, tracking performance against the original goal, whether that’s call volume, website traffic, in-store visits, or another metric, is what allows a business to evaluate whether the campaign is working and where adjustments might improve results in future flights.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Businesses new to television advertising often run into trouble by skipping the goal-setting step and jumping straight to buying time, underestimating how long production takes, or failing to plan far enough ahead for high-demand periods when inventory is more competitive and rates are higher. Building in enough lead time at each step helps avoid these issues.
Quick Answers
What is the first step to advertise on television? The first step is defining a clear goal and target audience, since that decision shapes which markets, networks, and dayparts make sense for the rest of the campaign.
How long does it take to launch a TV advertising campaign? Timelines vary, but businesses should plan for enough lead time to cover production, especially if the commercial requires filming or custom creative, plus time to secure placement before their intended air date.
Do I need an agency to advertise on television? It’s not strictly required, but many businesses work with an experienced media partner to navigate market selection, rate negotiation, and scheduling, particularly if they’re advertising on TV for the first time.
Getting Started
Advertising on television involves several coordinated steps, but none of them need to be figured out alone. National Media Spots helps businesses move through each step, from strategy and production to placement and measurement, to get a TV campaign on the air.