Do You Or Don’t You: Advertise on TV?

This article originally appeared in the January 2016 edition of INVISION.

YES, I DO

V Commercials are very well received. Our four 15-second ones are two to three years old. People still comment and claim it’s the first time they have seen them. We want to create new ones, but it’s a lot of work. If your TV rep says “it’s so easy and we do all the work,” they are lying! Julie Kubsch, Specs Around Town, Bloomington, IL (ED: See one of Specs Around Town’s spots at invmag.us/3.)

V This campaign was not as successful as previous ones. I believe it was the content, in which I had no input. Dorothy Reynolds, Optical Alternatives, Fairfield, CT
We just started with TV advertising, but so far have gotten good feedback. Meredith Nowak, Coffman Vision Clinic, Bend, OR

NO, I DON’T

➤ The ROI is nearly impossible to track, the cost is astronomical when you consider that repetition is important, and it is like throwing a glass of water on a fire when one considers the chain advertising that I would be going up against. Todd Lapointe, VIP Eyes, Portland, ME

➤ Sounds expensive and I have no desire to compete with the Eyeglass World commercials. Jill Schnurer, Village Eyecare Co., Clarkston, MI

➤ Cost vs. benefit is very small now, especially when you consider more and more people are “cutting the cord” with their cable and moving to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc. The only way I watch true TV is via TiVO and that lets me skip the commercials. The only ones I watch are the movie ads if I get caught up in the moment and forget to hit the advance button on the remote. Dr. Ted McElroy, Vision Source Tifton, Tifton, GA

➤ Every local business ad I’ve ever seen has looked so amateur and hokey. If I’m making a video to tell people who we are, I want it to be perfect. The right-brain marketer in me wants to do it, but the owner’s budget prevents me from executing. Josh Bladh, Dr. Taylor Bladh, Diamond Bar, CA

➤ Too expensive and the average TV viewer skips over advertising whenever possible. Paula Hornbeck, Eye Candy/Eye Candy Kids, Delafield, WI

➤ I have not watched TV for a decade. Our patient demographic does not watch TV. They do TiVo, Netflix or Amazon. Diana Sims, Buena Vista Optical, Chicago, IL

➤ Because we are a higher end boutique, we are not for everyone and it’s too difficult to target that specific demographic via TV. We rely more on word of mouth, Internet and targeted donations to silent auctions. Eric Geiger, Styleyes, Sacramento, CA

➤ We don’t do much advertising through traditional channels, because we find that the vast majority of our new patients come from referrals from our current patients. We’re also involved in a lot of community events and fundraisers, which generate visibility for our practice in our town. Katie Root, Vaughn Vision, Schenectady, NY

➤ Print ads seem to work the best; customers cut them out and bring them in, sometimes crumpled or ragged, but in their hand! Claudia Hecht, Sterling Optical, Newburgh, NY

➤ We don’t anymore due to cost and changing patterns of viewing. Does anyone watch TV like they used to? Dr. Joseph Smay, Family Eye Care, New Kensington, PA