
Most TV advertising generates a net loss for the advertiser
Now for the really speculative part. Research suggests that CPG companies are only paid back $0.49 for every $1 spent on TV advertising. Non-CPG advertisers do almost twice as well, but still "break the buck," earning only $0.81 for each $1 spent. So if we put TV advertising in its own little box, disconnected from other parts of a brand campaign, it's a losing proposition. In other words, TV is only profitable when working in conjunction with other media to influence the viewer.
As far as I'm aware, there is no similar statistic indicating the relative "payback" for advertising on digital signage projects. My own gut feeling is that it's slightly positive, perhaps yielding an average return of $1.07 or $1.08 for each $1 spent. There's also huge variety, with some ads producing $3-$4 in value for each $1 spent, while others show much poorer performance. But unlike relatively staid and standard 30-second spots for TV, advertisers have their choice of formats and venues when it comes to digital signs, making any kind of like-like comparison very difficult. Further, TV advertisers have had a long time to hone their craft, so it's unlikely there will be a dramatic improvement in performance anytime soon. In comparison, the ongoing refinement of digital signage design techniques continues to produce better ad performance.
Digital signage ads provide a better return than TV

What's stopping this from happening? For starters, the pivotal number in my argument is made up. I don't know for sure that there's a net positive return on most digital signage advertising -- I just think there is based on my own experience. Likewise, the amount lost or returned for TV commercials is a subject of much debate, so we can't count on it either. But I'm confident that dollar for dollar, a well-designed spot running on a well-placed digital sign should outperform a similar TV commercial by a wide margin. While I doubt there's any consensus from the industry at large, I'd like to know your thoughts on the matter:
All else equal, will a spot on a digital signage network "do" more than a spot running on TV? And where does the bulk of an in-store ad's value come from: "hard" sources like sales lift, or "soft" sources like brand recognition?
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