Is TV Still Worth It, and How Do I Get an Ad to Air?
It can be, especially when customers take a long time to decide and you need them to know your name before they're ready. BVOD, the networks' own streaming services, goes through the same delivery platform as traditional TV. To get an ad to air in Australia, the finished ad is submitted to ClearAds for clearance, and once its CAD number comes back it's dispatched to each network by date. Delivery is charged per version per network, so it belongs on the quote as its own line.
Key Facts
- An ad needs its CAD number back from ClearAds before it can be dispatched to any network.
- A 15 and a 30 sent to five networks is ten dispatches, because each version to each network is charged separately.
- A repeat client running our TV ads found that many people ringing in mentioned them.
- Radio versions are made through a specialist audio partner and quoted separately from the video.
Is Traditional TV Still Worth It?
It can be, when your customers take a long time to decide. TV works on familiarity, so your name is already known when someone is finally ready to call. That's a different job from an ad that catches people who are ready to buy today.
A 15 or 30-second spot can't do much, so it has to be clear about why it exists.
Is BVOD a Better Option Than Traditional TV?
Often, going by what our clients choose. BVOD means broadcaster video on demand, the networks' own streaming and catch-up services. It can be dispatched through the same delivery platform as a traditional TV ad, so the delivery process is much the same.
Where the ad runs is decided by whoever buys the airtime, your team or your media agency, and we deliver to whatever they book.
How Do You Get a TV Ad to Air in Australia?
The ad is cleared first, then dispatched. In order:
- Finish the masters. Each version is delivered to broadcast spec, including the right loudness.
- Submit it to ClearAds. Clearance has to land before the ad can go anywhere.
- Wait for the CAD number. Nothing can be dispatched until it comes back.
- Book the dispatch. On a delivery platform such as Adstream, now called ExtremeReach, you choose the networks, the versions and the date each one is needed by. Once the CAD number is in, this part is mostly ticking boxes.
BVOD versions can go through the same platform.
You don't need a production company for the last two steps. Many clients now take the masters from us and handle delivery themselves, which suits us. If you'd rather we did it, we will, with the cost on its own line of the quote.
What Does TV Ad Delivery Cost, and How Is It Quoted?
It's priced per version, per network. Every version going to every network is its own dispatch, so the cost multiplies.
| What's being sent | Networks | Dispatches |
|---|---|---|
| One 30-second ad | 5 | 5 |
| A 30 and a 15 | 5 | 10 |
| Three 30s and three 15s | 5 | 30 |
We check rates at the time instead of quoting them from memory. On our quotes, delivery sits on its own line and is billed through, so you can see exactly what it adds. If you're comparing quotes, ask whether clearance and network delivery are included. It's the first thing we check against a TV budget.
Radio is a separate piece of work. We make radio versions through a specialist audio partner, so they're quoted on their own line too. Why outside costs like these get their own lines is in what goes into a video quote.
How Long Can One TV Ad Run?
Until viewers tire of it, so plan for more than one. When a client worried that viewers would get sick of their ad, our advice was to shoot a bank of stories instead. More variation gives different ways into the same household, and made as a series, the ads still read as one campaign.
If you've got a few more ready to go and you can go every couple of months, a new one keeps you top of mind.
Ads built on real people also have a shelf life, because people's circumstances change. Produce more and release them slowly, but don't bank them so far ahead that some never run. The simplest way is to plan the library with a refresh date from the start. For a repeat campaign, evolve the ads instead of reinventing them. Keep what the audience recognises and change what the strategy needs, such as the setting. A longer version for your website mostly adds edit time, since the shoot captures the same material either way.
Should a TV Ad Carry a Partner Organisation's Branding?
Usually not. A TV audience is broad and mostly doesn't know your partners, so a second brand on screen can confuse them, and some may remember the partner instead of you. Save the partner's branding for social, where the audience already knows who they are.
On one charity campaign, the client's campaign lead made this call from her own media experience, and we agreed. The partner's segment became social content, and a strong line from it could still make the TV ad without the partner's branding.
Does Radio Still Work for Healthcare Marketing?
It still has a place, but it can't show people who you are. A business development manager at a healthcare provider told us their radio ads weren't working, because people want to see the provider and know who they're dealing with. Our view is that radio and TV still earn a spot in the mix, and video is what gives people a face to remember without adding to the noise.
If you run both, keep them consistent. On one aged care campaign, we didn't make the radio ads, but we made sure the campaign felt the same across video, social and radio, so nobody moving between them got a jolt in tone.