Trends in TV Advertising for 2023
It would appear that advertising on television is not even close to reaching the end of its natural lifespan. Traditional television advertising has been forced to adapt in order to compete with newer forms of media consumption such as streaming, cord-cutting, and digital video recorders (DVRs). It would appear that the industry is beginning to feel the effects of these TV trends, all of which have been quite beneficial up to this point but nonetheless, TV has maintained its resilience.
Television is responsible for approximately 95% of all advertisements that are actively viewed in the UK, and in 2021, the revenue from television advertisements was estimated to be £5.46 billion. Across the pond, a report by Business Wire suggests that TV advertising trends are only going upwards, as they are forecasted to grow at a rate of 4.6 per cent, from $91.72 billion in 2021 to approximately $95.98 billion this year. This is an increase from the $95.98 billion that is expected to be spent on TV advertising this year. These numbers prove that television and TV ads aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
An advertising campaign is a long-term commitment, TV advertising even more so. It is a time-consuming process and will require significant planning to ensure success, and utilising a great advertising agency will definitely get you there. In recent years, television has been successfully adapting alongside the explosion of the Internet Age, bringing with it a new era of TV advertisements. But what kinds of trends are we seeing on TV when it comes to advertising?
List of TV Trends for Advertising
Television advertising has continued to be an effective offline marketing tool despite the evolution of television itself into a medium that is increasingly “online” at the same time. This is because television is adjusting to the shifting entertainment landscape. TV commercials are still very much present in the market, and it is likely that they will continue to do so for some time to come, despite the fact that it may be true that on-demand streaming services such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer have gained a lot of popularity in recent years.
The development of the Internet has played a significant role in the shift that has occurred in the manner in which people access and consume various forms of media. This has led to a chain reaction that has altered not only what people watch and when but also the amount of time they spend in front of the television. Here is a non-comprehensive list of some of the most significant trends in TV advertising:
Harnessing Multiscreen Environments
Source: Coca-Cola
According to the report State of Mobile 2022 published by App Annie, spending on mobile advertisements reached $295 billion in 2021, representing an increase of 23 per cent from the previous year. With the rise in digital ad spending over the last decade, many marketers don’t realise the potential that a multiscreen advertising strategy can bring to an advertising campaign. Television reportedly has a powerful halo effect, with reports of ROI increasing by 19 per cent when marketers utilise TV ads as part of their overall campaign strategy, as indicated by research carried out by the Canadian company ThinkTV.
Thankfully, this is slowly starting to change as more and more brands are utilising the power of multiscreen environments rather than favouring one type of advertising over another. This shift away from favouring one type of advertising over another is a sign that consumers are becoming more tech-savvy. This is a trend in television that is only going to become more important for advertisers as technology progresses and advertising, in general, continues to develop.
Studies have shown that positive impressions from a brand’s marketing efforts are expanded into another experience or advertisement from the same brand. It is estimated that approximately 94 per cent of TV viewers in the United States have their phones in hand while watching television. Recent TV trends have been harnessing multiscreen environments by running their marketing campaigns across television, social media, over-the-top services and so on in order to optimise their campaigns to generate increased sales.
Brands have used multiscreen strategies to integrate their online and offline campaigns by utilising hashtags. The #hashtag is a social network tag created by the popular microblogging platform Twitter to group tweets on a specific topic and has found its way to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and even LinkedIn. By using hashtags, marketers can have their audiences follow campaigns that are trending online, rather than just one type of campaign on their brand’s social media channels – even get into discussions with others about the ad they just saw. This is a way to get broadcasts to be seen by more people, as well as reach out to a broader audience through television advertising.
A great example of ongoing multiscreen campaigns that utilises unique hashtags is Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke. The popular beverage company started their campaign by printing various names on its bottles and cans to encourage its customers to share a Coke with a loved one. Better yet, they could find one with their own name and share their personal bottle on Twitter. Coca-Cola utilised TV ads to share various heartwarming stories of how people can come together to #ShareACoke – which helped the campaign become a huge success.
Rise in Addressable TV
Source: Google
Addressable TV is a TV trend that has come about in recent years to refer to the ability of marketers and advertisers to connect with audiences by location, demographics and interests. It’s a type of “Advanced TV” that makes it more possible for marketers and advertisers to buy airtime on television channels which enables them to deliver more personalised ads that are specific to the household. The introduction of the addressability platform enabled broadcasters’ viewers to receive individualised content such as local news or sports updates based on their region. A great local example is the BBC utilises this by showcasing regional weather reports or news segments during their news programmes throughout the day.
One of the benefits of Advanced TV, and more specifically Addressable TV, allows advertisers to target households based on buying and viewing behaviours and demographics – allowing TV advertising to become more personable than ever before, on both linear TV and over-the-top (OTT) devices. In addition to the benefits of addressable TV, it also allows advertisers and marketers to understand their audience further and adjust their strategies to serve them better.
Thanks to this growing TV trend, television commercials are becoming a great platform not just for mass marketing and personalised marketing. The rise in addressability also means that more and more brands are using TV as a delivery channel for digital advertising. This is becoming increasingly appealing for advertisers, as it’s no surprise that consumers have become used to receiving digital marketing messages through their TV sets. In fact, about 45 per cent of people who took part in a survey conducted by Thinkbox in the UK are of the opinion that television is a medium on which they are able to locate advertisements that they can trust.
According to Deloitte’s projections, major advertisers will continue to be the primary buyers of TV advertisements in terms of monetary value, and they will place a higher value on addressable advertising due to its capacity to broaden the scope of its audience. As a result, they have the expectation that they will be able to convey their message to the vast majority of consumers in each market, rather than relying on Addressable’s ability to tailor messages to specific households or viewers. This pattern is anticipated to carry on for the next five years.
Programmatic TV Trends
Source: BidMind
Another form of Advanced Television that has seen a rise in usage over the past few years is programmatic TV. This trend can be attributed to the fact that more and more companies are finding value in the channel’s capacity to function in real-time. The tedious aspects of traditional television are made easier to manage with the automation provided by programmatic TV. It assists advertisers in determining the most effective time and location to broadcast a commercial. Advertisers can purchase and sell time on the platform in a manner that is significantly more cost-effective, more streamlined and, most importantly, more automated, allowing TV advertising to become a lot more competitive compared to digital.
Click-through rate (CTR), cost per click (CPC), and ROI are some examples of improved metrics generated by programmatic TV compared to more conventional approaches to TV advertising. This is one of the primary benefits of programmatic TV. It should come as no surprise that advertisers have made this one of the most prominent trends in television advertising, given that these this data can be extracted almost immediately after an advertisement has been broadcast.
Advertisers see programmatic television as a “game-changer” due to its speed, efficiency, and effectiveness, as noted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Even the attention of well-known companies like The Economist, BMW and Microsoft have been drawn to this development. Because of the nature of Programmatic TV and the valuable CTR and CPC data that it provides almost instantly, brands are now able to test different creative routes and more precisely target their television commercials to an audience at a time that is suitable for their requirements.
Interactive Advertising Gains Popularity
Source: Yahoo Ad Tech
The rise of all the aforementioned Advanced TV trends, along with the development of TV advertising in general, has resulted in a great deal of changes in television advertisements. One such change is the increase in interactability in TV advertisements, which is one of the most impressive trends in TV advertising. Imagine being able to engage with a product, service or company that you see advertised on TV. This is the future of TV advertising, and this trend shows no sign of abating.
One strategy that advertisers have adopted in response to the proliferation of OTT services is the use of interactive advertisements. These types of ads allow viewers to take an active role in the experience by having them engage with a brand’s message and ask questions. Interactive ads are no longer just functional advertisements that are used to drive viewers toward a website but more like interactive programs that are used to generate interest in their brand. It’s a great TV advertising trend that makes it possible for brands to connect on a one-to-one level with their target audience and provides assistance in better gauging the preferences of consumers. Interactive ads have been seen on TiVo and across streaming services such as Hulu and Amazon Prime.
One great example of an interactive TV ad takes us back to 2006 when Budweiser ran an ad that rewarded viewers who interacted with it. By “pressing red”, the TV ad’s viewers would be rewarded with a game called “Heads Up” and gave them a chance to win a pair of tickets to the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany. A case study that looked into this advertising campaign revealed that approximately 890,000 people interacted with the commercial!
Another example of an interactive TV ad was one run by Lego on Hulu, building upon the subscription service’s business model by giving its users interactive choices. The 60-second “Slimy Situation” ad takes viewers into a Lego City, where its Lego main character, a policeman, has just bought a cuppa from the local coffee kiosk. Suddenly, as he goes through a monologue while walking through the city, slime starts to flood Lego City, and before it reaches the policeman, the trailer stops and gives its viewers three paths to continue the story.
Through interactive advertising and marketing, businesses are able to connect with the people they are trying to reach on a more personal level, raise consumers’ awareness of their brands, and tell more compelling stories about their brands. These types of adverts also engage their viewers much better than traditional ads and can result in higher retention rates for brands.
The Use of Various Technologies
Source: NBC Universal
The final tech trend currently affecting the world of TV advertising is the use of various technologies. Technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have been used in TV advertising because they help advertisers enhance their campaigns and connect with viewers more easily. However, on the cheaper side of things and one that’s most commonly seen, advertisers are also utilising quick response codes, better known as QR codes, to increase engagement on their commercials.
The TV advertising trend of adding QR codes to commercials broadcasted on television have lead led to the boom of what is known as the “shoppable ad”. When a brand adds a QR code to its advert, it has the possibility of giving its viewers a near-seamless journey from seeing the product on screen to buying it for themselves. QR codes are great because they can also be measured. These types of ads can be very flexible and have been widely used across not just broadcast commercials shown during ad breaks but during live sporting events, too.
This combines well with the aforementioned point of a multi screen experience, as keen viewers would need to use the camera app on their smartphones to scan the QR code that pops up on screen. With the rise in popularity of these various TV advertising trends, the field is sure to continue to grow. Brands need to keep their eyes open for more trends in the industry and take advantage of them as early on as possible so they can keep their customers coming back. This great TV advertising trend essentially adds to the on-screen experience and improves the overall effectiveness of the advertisement.
One example of a brand utilising QR codes for its advertising campaign is Lacoste, shown during the 2019 French Open on NBCUniversal. Lacoste is the brand sponsor of the world renowned tennis tournament and the Serbian superstar Novak Djokovic. During certain parts of any game that featured Djokovic, a small, non-disruptive pop-up would appear on the bottom right of the screen which sends tennis fans straight to the online shop featuring the clothes that Djokovic would be wearing.
During the time that it was in the beta testing phase, this method of advertising is said to have successfully reached tens of millions of viewers, as stated by NBCUniversal. This has resulted in an average conversion rate that is nearly 30 per cent higher than the benchmark for the e-commerce industry. Additionally, this has led to growth rates of 10 per cent on social media for the brands that have participated.
TV Advertising Trends
One thing is abundantly clear in the world of advertising, and that is the power of advertising in general, despite the fact that television advertising has been influenced by a number of different trends in recent years. Having said that, different forms of television advertising work well for various brands, and developing an effective television advertisement requires making use of the most popular television trends relevant to the brand in question. Television advertising continues to be a powerful tool for brands to wield in their advertising arsenals and is likely to remain so in the years to come.
The TV advertising industry has a long, storied history and is one that continues to evolve today, particularly through the use of digital technology. As the technology that we use daily continues to develop, so too will the advertising and marketing campaigns that follow. The advertising and marketing campaigns that are carried out with the assistance of modern technology will continue to advance in tandem with the progression of the technology that we use on a day-to-day basis.
Because of these trends, you can anticipate that television advertising will continue to develop and that brands will find more creative and interesting ways than ever before to communicate with the consumers they are trying to reach. Following TV advertising trends has become increasingly important for both advertisers and businesses as they continue to try and stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Do you want to know more about how we can help with your TV advertising? If so, give us a call on 01582 881144 or drop us a line at hello@falloffthewall.com. We’d love to chat.