The golden age of TV advertising is long gone, but that doesn’t mean the medium has suddenly become ineffective. Plenty of millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers still watch TV with regularity — just now on streaming.
With streaming video on Connected TV, marketers have invaluable, and innumerable, advertising opportunities. Below, we address the true cost of TV advertising.
TV Advertising Ranges
Crunch the numbers of advertising on TV and you’ll find it can cost between several hundred dollars and upwards of a million dollars for ads. Low-budget TV commercials tend to cost as little as a couple hundred dollars when aired on local TV during off-peak hours. Such no-frills ads are made with a minimalist approach, a simple script and basic editing software.
Mid-range TV commercials typically cost between a couple thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars to produce and distribute. Such mid-level spots often feature professional actors and voiceover specialists along with post-production work, like editing.
Producing professional grade video ads can potentially cost several thousands of dollars, if not more. And when you factor in the media cost to actually air the commercial, your budgetary needs may add up faster than expected.
High-budget commercials are characterized by high-end production. That can include professional writing, software for editing and accomplished actors or voiceover specialists. The aggregate cost of a high-budget TV spot has the potential to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or even higher if the ad airs during a prime time national event, like a major sports championship.
Post-production Costs
The cost of the post-production phase of TV advertising is often greater than business owners assume. Post-production requires editing, audio engineering, color correcting, and possibly some animation or special effects.
A basic level of post-production with regular editing along with the addition of music or other audio is likely to range from a couple thousand dollars to upwards of $10,000-15,000 or more.
An intermediate level of post-production can involve more technical editing along with visual effects and motion graphics. Some intermediate post-production editing includes complex color grading. All in all, post-production at the intermediate level has the potential to cost $10,000 on up to $50,000.
Step up to advanced post-production editing for your TV commercial and you’ll find the use of advanced animation, high-level visual effects and professional voiceovers costs a significant amount of money. Elaborate post-production work has the potential to cost more than $50,000. The most expensive post-production editing for a 30-second to one minute TV commercial or infomercial has the potential to reach six-figures in cost.
The Cost of Airtime
Producing the commercial is only one piece of the financial puzzle. The cost of airing a commercial on TV is often the most significant cost of this traditional form of advertising. The cost of airtime hinges on the following:
- Channel selection
- The specific time the commercial airs
- The length of the commercial
As an example, a commercial that airs on Thursday or Friday evening after dinner time will cost more than one that airs at 10 am on Monday when people are at work and away from their TVs.
Airtime is that much more expensive when the commercial is shown several times over. Though a single airing of an ad on local networks has the potential to cost as little as $500, repeated airings of an ad on national TV can cost six-figures or more.
Market size, commercial duration and additional factors all play a role in determining the end cost. However, there is the opportunity to negotiate with station advertising managers for a rate reduction.
Additional TV Commercial Costs of Note
Most business owners, managers and advertisers overlook the little-known costs of commercials such as pre-production. Scouting locations for filming, casting and even obtaining permits for recording the ad all cost money. Even the purchase of lighting has the potential to cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Factor in the money necessary for filming and equipment to shoot the commercial and the project becomes even more financially burdensome. However, there is the option of renting equipment instead of purchasing high-end production equipment that might not be used for more than one spot.
Revising a commercial after filming, altering it based on quality control and viewer panel feedback also cost money. Add up the entirety of the costs and you’ll likely find the total is in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.
Budget accordingly, building in some additional funds in case the project surpasses your anticipated cost and you’ll be able to move forward in full confidence.