Businesses use television advertising to reach an audience and increase profits, but there might be times when it it is used for purposes such as damage control after some public relations mishap. The effectiveness of TV advertising can be measured by the advertiser's success in completing a certain goal. Even if the overall goal is to grow sales or income, there might be other, shorter-term intentions, such as restoring a brand's image or increasing awareness about a product or service. Television ratings agencies offer some numerical grade for judging the success of programs, and the potential effectiveness of ads might be measured based on these results as well.
An increase in sales following an advertising campaign is an indication of the effectiveness of TV advertising. If an advertisement has the ability to evoke enough of a response from viewers that some action is taken to obtain the product or service being offered, it is a sign of a successful commercial. To determine the effectiveness of an ad more precisely, it might be useful to attach goals, for both the short term and the long term, to the promotion.
For measuring how effective TV advertising is in the short term, recognize whether there is increased attention being devoted to a brand. If there is buzz, either in social media or in customer inquiries, this is an indication of how effective a commercial is. It might be necessary to hire a third-party consultant firm to determine what the Internet chatter surrounding an ad might be or to hire a public relations firm to form focus groups and receive feedback on advertisements.
Network television shows in many countries are rated by companies that measure viewership. The effectiveness of TV advertising could be quantified by the success of a television program during which a commercial ad runs. If an advertiser is attempting to reach a certain number of viewers in a specific demographic, this can all be illustrated in the viewership results.
When an advertisement is used for damage control following some unfortunate event, the effectiveness of TV advertising can be determined by the public perception of the brand. If there is an improvement in public perception illustrated through rising sales or customer retention, for instance, this could be a sign of how successful the ad campaign has been. If viewers doubt the sincerity of an ad that addresses some negative event, the effectiveness of the advertisement might become compromised. This might be evaluated by the public response recorded by surveys, polls and revenues.
