You
may have heard the radio ads or seen the billboards around
Fresno advertising television commercials on the cheap. Discount
TVSpots.com is the collaborative effort of eight local over-the-air
stations, owned by Cocola Broadcasting.
"Many
businesses don't think television advertising is affordable,"
said owner Gary Cocola. "And for many of them, traditional
television isn't."
That
notion will change if Cocola has his way.
Cocola
said most of the airtime on his stations is purchased in bulk
by networks such as Home Shopping Network and The Box Music
Network. While reviewing the program schedule, Cocola found
that he had an extra four minutes per hour for local advertising.
Dividing that into eight 30-second spots per hour, multiplied
by eight stations, Cocola found that he had 1,536 spots a
day to fill. Cocola formed Discount TVspots.com as a way to
market the available air-time. He's now offering 30-second
spots for $4.99 a pop.
Cocola
is quick to point out that the stations are free and over-the
air. This means they're not currently available on cable and
an antenna is necessary to recieve the signal.
"There
are 511,000 homes with a television in the Fresno designated
market area," said Cocola. "Forty-nine percent of them don't
have cable."
Fresno
is the 54th largest market in the nation and that may soon
grow, as there are plans to include Porterville and Merced
into the Fresno/Visalia market area.
The
stations aren't rated by Nielson or any other polling methods
and they're not listed in the local television guide. However,
the annual sales of $1.8 million on the Home Shopping Network
and $11,000 monthly fees generated by The Box indicate a substantial
viewership. The broadcast zone of the stations range from
Merced to Delano to Los Banos and has an estimated population
of 1,700,000.
The
same area is served by a total of 48 over-the-air stations.
Some stations are the result of spill over from Sacramento
and bakersfield.
"People
are often surprised at the viewing options available without
cable," said Cocola.
The
eight stations and their programming are, 32 KMCF - it features
classic shows such as The Beverly Hillbillies and older movies,
66 KHST - Home Shopping, 34 KSDI - The Box interactive music
videos, 68 KQJA - Shop At Home, 55 KJBC - America's Collectibles
Network, 28 KJKZ - Classic Arts Showcase, 13 KCWB - HTV Latin
music videos, and 4 KVHF - America's Voice political programming.
Three
components to consider when advertising on television are,
reach, frequency and message. Reach is the number of people
viewing a station. Frequency is the number of times the advertisement
is seen. And, of course, the message is the content of the
ad.
Male
and female, English and Spanish speakers, ranging in age from
18 to 64 comprise the demographic appeal offered by the stations.
This broad viewership allows advertisers to place their commercials
before a targeted audience. With stations operating on a 24-hour,
seven-day week format, advertisers can further refine the
impact of their message by placing spots at appropriate time
slots. For instance, discount auto insurers may want commercials
airing late at night when more young people would be apt to
tune-in.
It's
easy to order television spots or recieve more information
about each station. Just type in www.discounttvspots.com
and an interactive screen guides you through an on-line questionnaire
designed to help determine your target audience.
Advertising
spots on Discount TVspots.com are sold in blocks of 100 per
month. Incentives include a 10 percent discount for a 12-month
package purchase. If an advertiser chooses the 12-month plan,
Discount TVspots.com will produce the commercial as part of
the package. Production costs for a 30-second spot usually
start around $400.
Stan
Grosz, owner of Horn's Photos has been using Discount TVspots.com
and is very pleased with the results.
"We
advertise Kodak Picture CDs specifically. We've seen an increase
in business."
Grosz
says Cocola Broadcasting produced the spot and chose the time
slot and stations.
"It's
been easy," said Grosz. "We used to advertise on cable and
I had to track the ads. Now, Gary takes care of it and I don't
have to worry about it."
Grosz
says Discount TVspots.com may not be the best advertising
vehicle for all his products.
"The
ads are for a more technical, digital product and I guess
younger people who watch the Box are responding. For older
people who use regular cameras and just want pictures of their
vacation, it might not work as well. Then again, I just ran
ads with the Bee and haven't hand any response."
Response
to the new advertising package has been tremendous. Leading
retailers such as Dan Gamel and A&M Carpets are enthusiastic
about the potential boost their ad budgets can recieve from
the low cost television advertising. Discount TVspots.com
just may usher in a new era for all area businesses, big or
small, to advertise on television at affordable prices.
Business
Journal article by Chuck Radke
reprinted with permission |