Feature Commentary: 3 Ways Broadcast TV Can Position Itself to Win Media Dollars

Feature Commentary: 3 Ways Broadcast TV Can Position Itself to Win Media Dollars

With CTV booming and marketing’s general celebration of all things digital, broadcast TV media sellers need to stand out more in order to gain an edge. How can publishers strengthen the case for broadcast TV’s multiple platforms in media mixes?

Local broadcast TV commands advantages that make it a critical platform for campaign success; it can also complement OTT and digital for improved results. Broadcast sellers can win media dollars by emphasizing audience trust, local targeting capabilities and seasonal factors — like the holidays and inclement weather — that boost the value of their inventory.

Capitalize on trust

The growth of social media has unleashed large audiences, but many of these forums are plagued by misinformation and suffer from consumer distrust. For example, 56% of Americans polled by the Washington Post in 2021 said Facebook has a negative impact on society, and nearly half or most distrust TikTok (63%) and Facebook (72%).

By contrast, trust is a major asset for broadcast TV. Nearly 50% of Americans cite TV as their most important source of local news, with 62% watching local news on television daily, according to a recent Morning Consult survey. Eighty-three percent said local news coverage on TV and radio is the most trustworthy and accurate.

The effectiveness of advertising is not just a question of reaching audiences but of reaching them in trusted, uncluttered environments where they are likely to notice and believe the messages they encounter. At a time of rampant misinformation and scant public trust, TV broadcasters should leverage trust to position themselves as the best forum for advertisers’ messages — where those messages will be seen and believed.

Help advertisers go local

Despite the increase in targeting granularity over the past few years, many marketers still fail to take location into account when planning campaigns. Not only is an Oklahoma consumer not the same as one in New York City, but the average resident of Oklahoma City or Tulsa differs significantly from someone in the rural regions of the state.

Local broadcast TV is a medium that organically achieves scale with the ability to tailor creative to audiences based on their specific communities. With it, marketers can reach consumers in specific designated market areas instead of relying on blanket national buys. The scale and localism inherent to local broadcast TV complements the behavioral targeting of CTV and online video.

Pay attention to seasonality

A third tenet of the broadcast TV media pitch can be seasonality, especially as the holiday shopping season kicks into full gear. Certain events — like inclement weather, in-person gatherings and travel — spur increased attention to local TV in general and TV news specifically. Broadcasters can make the case that as the year closes and advertisers look to drive shoppers in-store, there is no better place for their dollars than geotargeted, high-trust, locally relevant broadcast campaigns.

OTT will keep booming, but it will not eliminate broadcast. On the contrary, in many ways, the rise of digital shines a light on what makes broadcast effective as a media channel. By emphasizing those strengths — trust, localization, and seasonality— broadcasters will continue to earn media dollars.

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