Because television advertising is embedded in television programming, most of the attention in
media buying, as well as in the measurement of television advertising’s effectiveness, is focused on
the performance of various shows and how they engage their audiences.
Participations are commercials that appear in the breaks between programs, which local affiliates
sell to advertisers who want to show their ads locally.
One trend in audio advertising is narrowly targeted laserlike sound beams that can pinpoint
individual shoppers with prerecorded messages encouraging them to try or buy some product.
The FCC has recently banned pay–per–view television from carrying commercials.
Syndicated programming networks run programs and commercials, such as the channels you see
in grocery stores, doctors’ offices, and truck stops that distribute commercials by video or satellites.
Although radio may not be a primary medium for most businesses, it does have excellent reminder
and reinforcement capability.
Advertisers trying to reach a wide audience often need to buy time on several stations, and this has
been made easier by the “one–order, one–bill” system.
TiVo is a substantial threat to marketers because it allows consumers to skip commercials
completely.
The most powerful radio stations are called “superstations” and can deliver signals for long
distances.
The price of a 30–second prime time network television ad has increased, but the size of the
audience has increased as well.