Nerd Alert: Is TV Still Effective?

Welcome to Nerd Alert, a series of special episodes bridging the gap between marketing academia and practitioners. We’re breaking down highly involved, complex research into plain language and takeaways any marketer can use.

In this episode, Elena and Rob are talking all things TV advertising. There have been plenty of marketers announcing “TV is dead” over the last decade, but what does research say about TV’s effectiveness today?

Topics covered:   

• [00:45] “Effectiveness and Efficiency of TV’s Brand-Building Power”
• [03:00] What is a gross rating point (GRP)?
• [04:00] A 30-second TV ad is just as effective today as in the 1980s
• [05:00] Does spot length impact effectiveness?
• [07:00] Traditional marketing should still be a focus
• [08:00] How pretesting makes in-market campaigns more successful 

 



To learn more, visit marketingarchitects.com/podcast 
 

Resources: 
Effectiveness and Efficiency of TV's Brand-Building Power: A Historical Review 
Frank Findley, Kelly Johnson, Douglas Crang, David W. Stewart 
Journal of Advertising Research Jun 2020, JAR-2020-011; DOI: 10.2501/JAR-2020-011 
 

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