The Role of Television in Today’s Brand Marketing Strategies

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 The Role of Television in Today’s Brand Marketing Strategies

1. Television’s Role Has Evolved — Not Disappeared

Despite the rise of social media, streaming, and creator platforms, television remains one of the most powerful brand-building channels. What has changed is how brands use it.

Today, TV is less about blanket mass exposure and more about:

  • Credibility and trust
  • Emotional storytelling
  • Cross-channel amplification
  • High-impact moments rather than constant presence

TV now works as a top-of-funnel and brand authority engine, rather than a standalone sales channel.

2. Why Brands Still Invest in Television

 Trust & Credibility

Television is still perceived as a premium, trustworthy medium. Being “on TV” signals scale, legitimacy, and stability — especially important for:

  • Financial services
  • Healthcare
  • Automotive
  • FMCG
  • National retail brands

Consumers often associate TV advertising with established, reliable brands.

 Emotional Storytelling at Scale

TV excels at long-form emotional storytelling, combining sound, motion, and narrative in ways short-form digital ads often can’t.

Brands use TV to:

  • Build emotional connections
  • Reinforce brand purpose
  • Launch new positioning or identity
  • Create shared cultural moments

Iconic TV ads often live far beyond broadcast through social sharing and PR coverage.

. Television’s New Role in an Omnichannel Strategy

 TV as a Demand Generator

Modern TV campaigns are designed to trigger action elsewhere, such as:

  • Brand searches
  • Website visits
  • App installs
  • Social engagement

Many brands see spikes in:

  • Google searches
  • Direct traffic
  • Social mentions
    within minutes of a TV spot airing.

TV plants the idea; digital captures the response.

 Second-Screen Behaviour

Viewers increasingly watch TV with a phone in hand. Brands design campaigns expecting viewers to:

  • Search the brand
  • Scan QR codes
  • Follow social accounts
  • Download apps

This makes TV a spark, not the endpoint.

4. Addressable & Connected TV (CTV) Are Changing the Game

 Addressable TV Advertising

Brands can now:

  • Show different ads to different households
  • Target by location, interests, or demographics
  • Reduce waste compared to traditional broadcast

This bridges the gap between mass reach and precision targeting.

 Connected TV & Streaming Platforms

Platforms like:

  • YouTube on TV
  • Smart TV apps
  • Streaming services with ads

Allow brands to:

  • Combine TV-style storytelling with digital measurement
  • Retarget viewers across devices
  • Track attribution more effectively

CTV brings digital logic into the living room.

5. Television’s Role by Brand Type

 Large, Established Brands

  • Maintain top-of-mind awareness
  • Defend market leadership
  • Reinforce brand values
  • Support product launches

TV acts as a brand moat.

 Challenger & DTC Brands

TV is increasingly used as a growth accelerator, not just a luxury channel.

Benefits include:

  • Rapid trust-building
  • Faster national awareness
  • Lower long-term customer acquisition costs

Many challenger brands use short TV bursts to move from niche to mainstream.

6. TV and Performance Marketing: No Longer Opposites

Modern marketers no longer treat TV and performance as separate worlds.

How TV Supports Performance Channels

  • Improves paid search efficiency
  • Increases conversion rates
  • Lowers cost per acquisition over time
  • Boosts retargeting pool size

TV makes performance marketing work harder, not replace it.

7. Measurement Has Improved — But Isn’t Perfect

 What Brands Can Measure Today

  • Brand lift studies
  • Search and traffic correlation
  • Regional sales impact
  • Incrementality tests
  • Cross-device attribution (partially)

While TV isn’t as granular as digital, brands accept this trade-off for its unmatched brand impact.

8. Limitations & Challenges of TV Marketing

High production costs
Less immediate attribution
Declining linear TV audiences among younger viewers
Media buying complexity

This is why TV is most effective when integrated, not isolated.

9. The Future Role of Television in Brand Marketing

Television is moving toward:

  • Fewer, higher-impact campaigns
  • Stronger creative storytelling
  • Deeper integration with digital analytics
  • Greater use of CTV and addressable formats

TV is becoming a brand amplifier, not a volume channel.

10. Key Takeaway

Television still plays a crucial role in modern brand marketing — but only when used strategically.

Today’s winning brands use TV to:

  • Build trust and emotional connection
  • Signal credibility at scale
  • Fuel digital and performance channels
  • Create memorable brand moments

TV no longer works alone — it works best as the emotional engine of an integrated marketing system.

  • Below is a case-study-led analysis of how television is used in modern brand marketing, followed by industry commentary from marketers, strategists, and analysts on TV’s evolving role.

     The Role of Television in Today’s Brand Marketing Strategies

    Case Studies and Industry Commentary

     Case Study 1: Nike — TV as a Cultural Moment Builder

    How Nike Uses Television

    Nike continues to use television for high-impact, emotionally charged campaigns, especially around major sporting events (World Cups, Olympics, global tournaments).

    TV is used to:

    • Reinforce brand purpose and values
    • Spark global conversation
    • Anchor multi-channel campaigns

    These TV ads are then amplified through YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and PR.

    Impact

    • TV campaigns generate mass awareness spikes
    • Social engagement and earned media often outperform paid reach
    • Ads live on digitally for years, extending ROI

    Key Lesson

    TV’s power lies in cultural relevance and emotional storytelling, not frequency.

     Case Study 2: Tesco — Television Driving Omnichannel Retail Growth

    Strategy

    Tesco uses TV to support:

    • Seasonal promotions
    • Loyalty schemes (Clubcard)
    • Price-value messaging during cost-of-living pressures

    TV ads are timed with:

    • In-store promotions
    • App notifications
    • Email and digital ads

    Results

    • Increased brand salience during competitive periods
    • Strong correlation between TV bursts and store/app traffic
    • TV reinforces trust during price-sensitive cycles

    Key Lesson

    For retail, TV remains a powerful driver of trust and footfall when integrated with digital and in-store a Case Study 3: Airbnb — TV for Brand Repositioning

    Strategy

    Airbnb returned to TV not to sell rooms, but to redefine what the brand stands for — focusing on belonging, experiences, and flexible living.

    TV was used to:

    • Shift perception post-pandemic
    • Support a new brand narrative
    • Reach mainstream audiences beyond digital natives

    Results

    • Improved brand sentiment
    • Increased consideration in new demographics
    • Strong halo effect on search and app usage

    Key Lesson

    TV is especially effective for repositioning and long-term brand equity building.

     Case Study 4: DTC Brand (UK Example Pattern)

    What Many DTC Brands Are Doing

    UK challenger brands (e.g., fintech, health, e-commerce) use TV as a growth accelerator, not a permanent channel.

    Typical approach:

    • Short TV bursts
    • Regional or off-peak slots
    • Creative focused on trust and simplicity

    Outcomes

    • Faster brand recognition
    • Lower long-term customer acquisition costs
    • Improved conversion rates across paid digital channels

    Key Lesson

    TV can make performance marketing more efficient, even for digitally native brands.

     Case Study 5: B2B Brand — TV for Authority and Scale

    Strategy

    Some B2B brands now use TV selectively to:

    • Signal scale and credibility
    • Support IPOs or major announcements
    • Reach decision-makers indirectly

    TV ads often direct viewers to:

    • Thought leadership content
    • Brand storytelling rather than direct sales

    Results

    • Increased inbound interest
    • Stronger brand recall among enterprise audiences
    • Enhanced credibility with partners and investors

    Key Lesson

    TV in B2B is about perception, not lead volume.

     Industry Commentary

     Brand Strategists

    “TV is no longer about reach alone — it’s about legitimacy. Appearing on television still signals that a brand has ‘made it.’”

     Performance Marketers

    “Our search and social campaigns convert better when TV is live. TV doesn’t replace performance — it amplifies it.”

     Media Analysts

    “The rise of connected TV has brought digital logic into the living room, but the emotional impact of TV remains its unique advantage.”

     Critical Voices

    “TV fails when brands treat it like digital — too short, too transactional, too data-obsessed. It works best when it plays to emotion and story.”

     What the Case Studies Show Overall

    TV works best as a brand amplifier
    Emotional storytelling drives long-ter Integration with digital is Short, strategic bursts often outperform always-on TV
    TV boosts performance channels indirectly

     Where TV Underperforms

    • Direct response without brand context
    • Poor creative quality
    • Isolated campaigns with no digital follow-up
    • Brands chasing short-term attribution only

     Final Takeaway

    Television still plays a critical role in today’s brand marketing strategies — but its job has changed.

    From the case studies:

    • TV builds trust, meaning, and momentum
    • Digital captures intent and action
    • Together, they outperform either channel alone

    TV is no longer the whole strategy — it’s the emotional engine that powers the rest.

     

 

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