As a TV planner, I get frequent questions from people wanting to advertise on TV in India. The brand asking these TV advertising related questions can be broadly divided in 2 groups. The first group is of people who have been advertising in TV for some time and have specific questions on how to improve. However, the blog post is related to the second category of people, who have just seen someone else advertising on TV and don’t know how to go about advertising on television in India. I have tried to maintain a layman’s perspective and many of the finer details have been ignored for the sake of simplicity.
Frequently asked questions on TV advertising in India are:
- How much does it cost to advertise on TV?
- What are the packages available for TV advertising?
- Can I target only a specific city while advertising on TV channels?
- How many people will see my TV ad ?
- How many times shall I play the ad during a TV campaign?
- For how many days should I play the ad?
- What to do if I want to advertise?
Now let me try answering each of these questions.
How much does it cost to advertise on TV?
Before I answer that question, it is important to understand 10 seconds. TV Advertising rates are always quoted in terms of per 10 sec. So if I say Channel X costs Rs 300, it means that if a 10 sec ad is played once, the cost would be Rs 300.
So, if your ad length is 20 sec, every time you play your ad on Channel X would cost Rs 300 X 2 = Rs 600
Now, if you play your 20 sec 5 times in a day, the cost becomes Rs 600 X 5 = Rs 3,000
Now, if you play your 20 sec ad 5 times per day for 10 days, the cost becomes = Rs 3,000 X 10 = Rs 30,000
You can get the 10 sec rate for TV advertising on all channels in India at Television – The Media Ant
What are the packages available for TV advertising?
Television advertising doesn’t work on packages. There are too many variable for TV advertising to prepare a package.
Can I target only a specific city while advertising on TV channels?
Certain channels allow city specific targeting. However, they are limited in number and works only for cable Households. Targeting TV doesn’t work for DTH homes. Few of the popular networks available for targeted TV advertising are Zee, Star Plus, Star Gold, IBN, Times, Colors and Zoom.
How many people will see my TV ad ?
BARC reports the viewership of TV channels in India. That is the maximum number of people who can be reached out through that channel. Viewership or the number of people who would see your ad depends on what time and how many times your ad is being played. Ask your TV advertising agency to share the expected reach. What is important to know is that if a TV has viewership of 5 Million, not all of them are going to see your ad.
How many times shall I play the ad during a TV campaign?
This number varies across the channel type also referred to as Channel Genre. While the number would vary depending on the brand objective, you can use these numbers as guiding principles:
| Serial No. | Channel Genre | Ads/Day |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Entertainment | 5 |
| 2 | News | 8 |
| 3 | Music | 20 |
| 4 | Infotainment | 12 |
| 5 | Sports | 15 |
| 6 | Music | 10 |
For how many days should I play the ad?
This again depends on the brand objective. Few rules to remember here:
- Don’t advertise only for a day unless it is a sale
- First time advertiser should not plan for anything less than 2 weeks
- Don’t have the same number of ads being played every day. Start from a high and then go low
What to do if I want to advertise?
The steps to be followed in advertising on TV for the first time:
- Make a good video – Try to be within 30 sec. Preferably 20 seconds
- Find a good TV Advertising agency
- Share your requirements and the budget . Your requirement should include the minimum number of days you want to run the campaign, specific geographies for focus and description of your target group
The Media Ant is a leading Television Advertising agency in India . They offer services in all major cities of India including Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi and Kolkata. They have an online TV planning tool which can be accessed at TV Planning Online
