Is it still necessary to advertise on television in 2026? Latest Trends and Avoiding Pits Guide

TV commercials? Are there still people watching TV now

This is the first reaction of many beginners. But the data doesn't lie: in 2024, the national TV audience size will still remain above 1.28 billion, and the ratings of mainstream TV prime time variety shows often exceed 1%, which means that a single episode covers over 10 million people. More importantly, television advertising remains a "trust letter" that establishes brand trust and achieves large-scale exposure - brands that can appear on television naturally make people feel "reliable".

But for beginners who have never been exposed to television advertising, they often don't know where to start when faced with complex channel systems, opaque pricing periods, and a variety of program types. This article will start from scratch and help you clarify the entire process of placing TV advertisements, so that every penny you spend is clear.

1、 First, let's clarify: how is television advertising priced?
Before starting, it is necessary to understand the pricing logic of television advertising. This is the easiest place for beginners to get confused.

The core pricing units for television advertising are GRP (Gross Revenue Per View) and CPRP (Cost Per View Per View). Simply put:

GRP: How many "people" have your advertisement reached (calculated by adding up the percentage of the target audience)

CPRP: How much does it cost to reach 1% of the target audience

But as a beginner, what you often hear are regular prices and discounted prices. The TV station will release a published price, but the actual transaction price is usually 20-50% of the published price. The specific discount depends on your negotiation ability, advertising volume, and relationship with the TV station.

There are three basic forms of television advertising:

Hard advertising: a regular advertisement that is broadcasted intermittently in a program, with 15 seconds and 30 seconds being the most common

Column Title/Special Offer: Deeply tied to a certain program, such as "Special Offer Broadcast by a Certain Brand"

Implantation: Natural exposure in program content, such as props, oral broadcasts, and scene implantation

Newcomers are advised to start with hard advertising, which has a low threshold, simple operation, and quantifiable effects.

2、 Complete TV advertising placement in five steps
Step 1: Clarify goals and budget
First, ask yourself three questions:

Why advertise on TV? Is it for the promotion of new product releases? Or to enhance brand awareness? Or to coincide with holiday promotions?

Who is the target audience? Age, region, and consumption habits? This directly determines which channel and time slot to choose.

What is the budget? There is a threshold for television advertising. Generally speaking, the starting budget for provincial-level TV stations is between 500000 and 1 million yuan (calculated based on two-week advertising), with CCTV having a higher budget and local stations having a lower budget.

Budget allocation suggestion: Media purchases account for 70% -80%, and creative production accounts for 20% -30%. Many beginners invest all their money in the media, resulting in advertising videos that resemble promotional videos of rural enterprises, greatly reducing their effectiveness.

Step 2: Choose the appropriate channel and time slot
This is the most challenging aspect of professionalism.

Channel selection logic:

CCTV: Authoritative endorsement, suitable for enterprises that want to expand into the national market and enhance brand trust

Provincial TV: Covering the whole country or large regions, top TV stations such as Hunan TV, Zhejiang TV, and Oriental TV are suitable for mass consumer goods

Local station: precise coverage of the local market, high cost-effectiveness, suitable for catering, home furnishings, and local services

Time period selection logic:

TV advertising time slots are divided into several golden periods:

19: 00-22:00: Evening prime time, with the most expensive prices and highest ratings, suitable for mass consumer goods

18: 00-19:00: Dinner time, peak viewing time for families, suitable for food and daily necessities

After 22:00: During the evening rush hour, young people are active and suitable for beauty, 3C, and online service products

Daytime period: mainly for middle-aged and elderly people, housewives, with cheap prices, suitable for health products and household items

Common mistake for beginners: only watching channels without watching programs. The same channel, before and after CCTV News and at two o'clock in the morning, has very different ratings. It is necessary to evaluate based on the ratings of specific programs.

Step 3: Produce qualified advertising videos
TV advertising is the art of 'flash sale'. 15 seconds, 30 seconds, you need to explain clearly who I am, what I can give you, and why you chose me.

The Three Golden Rules:

Capture the Eye in the First 3 Seconds: Use Conflict, Suspense, and Visual Impact to Stop the Remote Control

Repetitive reinforcement of brand information: The brand logo and name should be included at the beginning and end of the film to prevent the audience from only remembering the advertisement and not the brand after watching it

Clear call to action: If it is a promotional advertisement, be sure to clearly state "when to buy" and "where to buy"

Reminder for avoiding pitfalls: Do not directly "translate" the content of information flow advertisements or detail pages onto television. Television is a large screen, long-distance, and home scene. The picture should be concise, the font should be large, and the speech rate should be moderate.

Step 4: Execute advertising and monitoring
Signing the contract and paying the full amount does not mean that one can lie flat. You need to do two things well:

1. Material submission for review

Advertising videos need to be submitted to television stations for content review to ensure compliance with national advertising laws and channel broadcasting standards. This process usually takes 3-7 working days, so be sure to reserve time.

2. Monitoring confirmation

Did the TV station broadcast it? How many times has it been broadcasted? Is the time correct? Many beginners think that signing a contract means everything is fine, but they find that the advertisement has been moved to 3am or simply not broadcasted.

A reliable approach is to require suppliers to provide proof of broadcast (AFT) and third-party monitoring reports. Nowadays, professional third-party organizations (such as CCTV Market Research) will monitor the real-time broadcast of advertisements on various channels to ensure that the time slots you purchase are real and effective.

Step 5: Effect Evaluation and Review
After the advertisement is aired, what next? How to evaluate the effectiveness?

Two dimensions:

Process indicators: GRP, arrival rate, frequency. These data tell you how many people have seen it and how many times they have seen it

Result indicators: Baidu Index change, e-commerce platform search volume, store customer flow, 400 phone consultation volume. These data tell you whether the people you see have taken any action

Suggestion: During the advertising broadcast period, synchronize with online search optimization and offline promotional activities to absorb the traffic brought by television. Many people only invest in television without leaving a path for advertising, resulting in all advertising costs being wasted.

3、 The 4 easiest pitfalls for beginners to step into
Pit 1: Superstition in "big platforms" and neglect "matching degree"
I want to invest in CCTV! "- But your product is only sold in a certain province, wouldn't investing in CCTV waste most of the budget?

Avoiding pitfalls: First determine the market scope, then choose the channel. Only consider CCTV and top tier TV stations for the national market, and focus on local stations for the regional market.

Pit 2: Only looking at prices, not discounts
Some beginners get scared away when they get the publication price: "A 15 second one costs 200000 yuan? I can't afford it!" But the actual transaction price may only be 50000 yuan.

Avoiding pitfalls: Ask several agents to understand the market situation. Generally speaking, the discount that a legitimate advertising agency can get is much lower than when you directly contact a television station. For example, Tianci Media is a professional television advertising platform that has long-term partnerships with major satellite and local TV stations across the country, providing more competitive prices and professional advertising recommendations.

Pit 3: The advertising cycle is too short
I'll try the effect for a week first. "- What effect can it have in a week? TV commercials need to accumulate frequency to form memory.

Avoiding pitfalls: invest for at least 2-4 weeks to ensure effective frequency of arrival (usually 3 or more times). If the budget is limited, the frequency can be reduced and the cycle can be extended, instead of concentrating on investing for a few days and stopping.

Pit Four: Advertising Video "Self Hi"
The boss shoots whatever he likes, without considering the audience's feelings at all. As a result, when the advertisement was broadcasted, no one remembered the brand except for the boss himself who was satisfied.

Avoiding pitfalls: Advertising videos are shot for the target audience, not for oneself. Before shooting, do a simple audience test and show it to unrelated people. Ask them 'what did you remember', and the answer can often make you clear headed.

4、 Looking for an agent or directly contacting the television station?
This is a dilemma for many beginners.

Directly contacting the television station: In theory, one can obtain first-hand resources, but the sales of the television station usually only serve large customers, with slow response to small budget customers and limited room for price negotiation.

Find a professional agent: The agency integrates multiple media resources and can provide cross channel combination solutions, often at lower prices and with more detailed services. Especially for beginners, agency companies can provide full process support from strategy formulation, creative production to advertising execution, and performance review.

Suggestion: For the first time, finding a reliable agent is a more secure choice. Tianci Media is a professional television advertising platform with years of experience in television media placement. It can help you avoid various hidden traps and ensure that every budget is spent wisely.

5、 Conclusion: Television advertising is not an outdated choice
Returning to the opening question: Is it still necessary to advertise on television now?

The answer is: it depends on how you vote. If it were still the investment method of "shooting a movie, buying a time slot, and letting fate dictate" from ten years ago, the effect would indeed be limited. But if combined with precise channel selection, scientific time slot combinations, high-quality creative content, and subsequent traffic reception, television advertising remains a "heavy tool" for brand building.

It is not a substitute for online traffic, but an amplifier for online traffic. When a consumer sees your brand on TV and sees your information on their phone, their trust and conversion rate will increase exponentially.

I hope this guide can help you take the first step and find your own place in the seemingly traditional but still effective battlefield of television advertising.