Why is Facebook Running TV Spots?

All the smart marketing guys say TV is dead.  Yet whenever these 800 lb. gorilla digital brands get in trouble (I am looking at you, Facebook and Uber and Google), they look to TV.

Why?  Because TV has IMPACT.  Because TV makes an IMPRESSION.  And not the two second impressions that count in the digital world, but a real IMPRESSION at a moment that you are in a relatively passive state and more open to suggestion than when you are on your way to somewhere else.

70% of Tier One automotive advertising is still on TV, because in that world, brands matter.  A vehicle is one of the most ego-laden purchases you will make, and matching your personality to that of the brand is a critical purchase consideration.

Yes, if you have a ski resort, and it snowed today, there is no faster or more effective way to sell tickets this weekend than in the digital world.  Lower funnel marketing is critical, too.  But in an effort to make their jobs appear so complex no one else could do it, CMO’s have sold their executive management a bill of goods. 

Digital is not the right answer to every question.  Your media mix must incorporate what is required to turn a stranger into a friend, and the right mix varies a lot, based on what you sell and who you sell to and how well known your brand is and a host of other factors too numerous to list.

The amount of TV people watch has not changed much for a long time.  Screens keep getting bigger, and transmit more beautiful images every year.  With addressable TV more available, TV should hold its place in the media mix for markets where brand matters.