Maximize Your TV Reach with Strategic Broadcast Buys

As a result of our new normal, it’s apparent that Americans are returning to their long-trusted news source – local news. In doing so, broadcast TV is experiencing a striking resurgence in popularity.  Sixty-four percent of consumers who watch the news while working tune into local news, according to Nielsen’s August 2020 Total Audience Report. The reasons why they tune into local include getting information on local events, weather, and more, as well as getting relevant stories and trustworthy content. In other words, local TV is as relevant as ever. For people working at home, local news is what’s on the TV – people want to know what’s going on with their communities.  

Even as we look beyond the current moment, broadcast continues to offer a variety of benefits. Through Cadent’s technology, developed and refined with today’s buyers in mind, marketers gain access to a streamlined solution for broadcast TV. And when broadcast is combined with the power of cable television, which offers incredible access to national scale, marketers can extend their reach even further with a complementary buy. 

To help you get reacquainted with this proven advertising medium, let’s explore what makes broadcast a strategic choice for your upcoming TV campaigns, and later get into why broadcast and cable together make a powerful combination.  

The Benefits of Context and Geo-Targeting with Broadcast  

Contextual relevance is the key to success when activating your campaign on broadcast TV. When a brand is seen on local news stations, the ad placement benefits from the reach of loyal TV viewership for those programs, as well as the halo effect created by the trust viewers have for those stations.  

For example, imagine you are a major automotive company and you want to execute a holistic campaign in specific DMAs where your dealerships are located nationwide. With broadcast TV, you’re able to boost awareness and brand trust by engaging with auto shoppers with strategically placed commercials during the nightly news and other local programming. Cadent has access to 1100 broadcast stations so you can reach the right audience at scale. 

Broadcast is not only an effective medium of advertising, but a cost-efficient opportunity as well. Access to local markets also means you can isolate spend based on geographic areas, limiting your activation to the local broadcast stations where you can best reach your target audience. And you can access programming that you wouldn’t be able to afford, including special events like big games or awards nights.  

Consider the implications of COVID-19. If you’re a national QSR brand with the option to dine-in only available at locations in the South and Midwest, you can select broadcast networks with stations in those regions for your “We’re Open!” campaign. You’re able to air different creatives in different markets and areas of the country, reducing waste of your brand’s advertising dollars.  

Broadcast & Cable Together Are A Happy TV Marriage

Cadent accesses inventory across 90+ cable networks, leveraging its unique combination of audience and historical data to capitalize on placements that will get your message to the right households. But cable only reaches so many households. In order to expand your reach further, you need to activate on broadcast to reach essentially every US household. If you’re already activating on cable, why not extend your buy to broadcast?   

Through Cadent’s white glove service, you can seamlessly plan across cable and broadcast, reaping the benefits of both channels. In fact, Cadent research shows that adding broadcast news to your cable news campaign significantly increases the reach of a cable news-only schedule (based on Nielsen ratings).   

For instance, if you’re trying to reach the full spectrum of sports fans, you can advertise on ESPN’s cable channels and ABC’s broadcast network football games. Reaching audiences across cable and broadcast can result in a lift in awareness, consideration, purchase intent and sales – without repeating views.  

Broadcast TV drives real results. Ultimately, brands want to reach their target audience wherever they are, no matter the channel. With consistently high ratings and a powerful halo effect, broadcast TV offers what few marketing channels are able to provide.  

You can strategically activate media on broadcast TV while simultaneously being able to plan for cable TV too. It is the combined power of Cadent across both broadcast and cable that offers unparalleled reach and efficiency.  

Ready to learn more about Cadent’s robust Broadcast solution? Contact us today to speak with a Cadent representative.