Television advertising costs have many variables to consider outside of how much it will cost to run a 30-second ad.

Any marketer considering Television advertising costs to promote their business are usually doing so for one of two reasons. You are either trying to increase your trajectory or to find a medium that will help amplify or re-ignite your brand.

However, before considering Television advertising costs, there are some other factors that you may want to look at first.

1 ~ Audience penetration: Is the target demographic that you are trying to reach watching Television ads?

In a 2014 Harvard Business Review paper, it found that consumer attention “people watching ads” was less than 20% back in 2012.

This is before Netflix started to get the momentum it has today, and Apple turned television stations into an app.

If you assess your behaviour, you will know that you are not watching Television ads like you used to. If this right for you, then why would your target demographic be watching them?

The below chart created by MediaRedef shows the shift in TV consumption across demographics in the US.

2 ~ Demographic: Depending on your target demographic Television advertising costs can range dramatically. Obviously, one of the most sought-after demographics for advertisers is the 18-29-year-old bracket.

In a study conducted by Nielson Data, this most sought after demographic is now watching less than 22 hours per week of free to air television. This means television advertising costs to this demographic should logically be rising. Why? As the window to reach them on this medium is narrowing, you are competing for a smaller market, which drives the cost higher. The scarcity of the audience being the driver, as opposed to value.

For those still watching television ads, we have not taken into account the multi-screen effect. Harder to measure but valid is that the consumer is looking at their phone when the ads are running. Some studies have shown on average we are checking our devices as much a 150 to 200 times a day. So even if your consumer is theoretically available to watch your television ad. Physically they are very likely tuned into another medium altogether.

Or as analysed by Deloitte Insights viewing your ad this way.

3 ~ Why are you considering Television advertising costs?

Any marketer or business owner would know that in years gone by this medium has had the ability to accelerate a brand's growth if done effectively. However, this is changing. The shift of your demographic to alternate media platforms. And adjusted behaviours means the benefits of television advertising is not what it used to be.

4 ~ Where is your demographic?

For a marketer focusing on business to consumer (B2C) the demographic has shifted to the following media platforms. These platforms offer a marketer the ability to reach an engaged demographic and build a specific audience.

Facebook - With a monthly active user base of 2.41 billion. At an average hold time of 53 minutes. You have a very engaged and active audience. The advertising options offered are visual in nature and can simulate television advertising. In some cases even expanding on this position.

Facebook Canvas is a recent example of this. Where it is not only interactive but you take over the screen with your message.

Every quarter Facebook is growing exponentially. And advertising on this platform is considerably cheaper then Television advertising costs. It is not only cheaper, but it is also measurable in close to real-time, and you can build your audience as you grow.

Another way to think about this, imagine you created the show “House of Cards” from data? And could advertise during that programme whenever you wanted too, to your ideal demographic?

Or perhaps Instagram is more suited to your content and demographic?

Currently, one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world. Instagram has 64% of the world's 18-29-year-old active on the platform everyday and 1 billion monthly active users.

So if you are considering television advertising costs to grow your brand, business, or sell a particular product line, you should compare this against the effectiveness of social media advertising.