How marketers can leverage multiscreen TV to achieve ‘mid-funnel’ results for increasing brand consideration, interest and intent
In today’s fragmented media landscape, marketers have more options than ever before to reach potential customers. Yet, TV advertising continues to be one of the most effective channels for increasing brand engagement, interest, intent and conversion. As shown in our recent analysis, Breaking Though, first-time TV advertisers are seeing immediate and significant results, particularly at the crucial ‘mid-funnel’ stage, where interest is turned into action and consumers are transformed into customers.
After analyzing 230 first-time national TV advertisers over the past three years, the results were telling: TV campaigns consistently sparked significant increases in website traffic and online brand searches. Whether it’s a small business or a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand, professionally produced long-form video content shows its undeniable ability to drive customer engagement and brand growth at every level of investment.
Seven Key Benefits of Multiscreen TV for First-Time Advertisers
Every year, new advertisers flock to multiscreen TV, collectively spending more than $1 billion annually to accelerate their growth by capturing new customers and igniting consumer action.
So, why are these new advertisers turning to multiscreen TV? TV offers seven key benefits that are difficult to replicate in their totality on other media channels:
- Storytelling: TV’s combination of sight, sound, and motion provides a powerful platform for brands to convey their identity and connect emotionally with consumers. TV ads humanize brands, making them relatable and memorable. You can read more about how ‘storytelling’ creates superior engagement among Gen Z through our custom study, Laugh, Cry, Share, Buy.
- Availability & Accessibility: TV’s wide reach, both nationally and locally, ensures that brands can tap into large, diverse audiences at any given moment.
- Legitimizer: TV’s long-standing reputation as a trusted medium lends credibility to brands. By being on TV, advertisers can enhance their reputation and legitimize their products or services.
- Targetability: With data-driven targeting solutions like addressable and data-enabled TV, advertisers can reach their ideal audience efficiently, reducing wastage and increasing return on investment.
- Inclusivity: Advanced targeting capabilities, such as audience-based buying, also allow advertisers to lower the traditional cost of entry, making TV more accessible to a broader range of businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Halo Effect: TV does not just drive direct engagement – it also amplifies the performance of other digital channels. Brands that invest in TV often see an improvement in the ROI of their online platforms and digital campaigns. As the traditional ‘path to purchase’ shortens in the digital age, business performance is also aided by the increasing consumer receptivity of shoppable TV ads.
- Full-Funnel Outcomes: TV is unique in its ability to drive results across the full marketing funnel. From building brand awareness to fostering consumer interest and conversion, TV delivers measurable outcomes across all stages of the customer journey.
These benefits have made TV an indispensable tool for first-time advertisers looking to build credibility, scale their reach and achieve sustainable growth.
Also Read: Rules to curate by: the future is smart
Driving ‘Mid-Funnel’ Success with Multiscreen TV
Building increased demand by bringing in a constant stream of potential new customers to brands’ digital or physical storefronts each month is the lifeblood for successful companies, and as previously mentioned, TV’s impact is felt most in the mid-funnel stage for first-time advertisers – where consumer interest is piqued and they’re moved toward action.
In our detailed analysis to quantify TV’s effect on mid-funnel outcomes, the findings were striking. Among 201 brands measured through Comscore, the average advertiser saw an influx of over 325,000 website visitors immediately within the first month of their TV campaign launch and monthly website traffic continued to rise as these brands built a sustained presence on TV, helping them stay top of mind with their audience.
Five brand-specific results show just how much of an impact first-time TV campaigns have on mid-funnel outcomes (monthly average website traffic increase – ‘when on TV’ vs. prior to TV launch):
- Polestar Auto: +129%
- BetterSleep: +109%
- Canva: +58%
- Viator: +41%
- Instacart: +40%
Furthermore, data-driven, performance-obsessed, direct-to-consumer brands achieved even greater lifts in website traffic compared to other advertisers. TV’s ability to spark immediate consumer engagement played a crucial role in their growth, driving over one million potential customers to their digital storefronts on average each month.
The Investment Equation: Multiscreen TV Delivers for Brands at All Levels
One of the most revealing aspects of our analysis was how TV’s impact scaled with investment levels. Even at modest investment levels, TV advertising delivered measurable results.
- Below $500K: Brands that invested less than $500,000 in TV saw a 20% increase in website traffic compared to their pre-TV launch period.
- $2MM – $5MM: These advertisers achieved even greater lifts in website traffic (+25%), demonstrating the value of increasing TV spend.
- $10MM+: Brands that made the largest investments in TV reaped the greatest rewards, with substantial increases in website traffic (+42%) and a stronger overall return on investment.
This scalability shows that TV is not only a media channel for large brands with deep pockets, but small and medium-sized businesses are also consistently achieving success in TV, proving the platform’s accessibility and effectiveness.
Increasing Online Search and Consumer Interest
In addition to website traffic, TV campaigns also drive significant increases in online brand searches, a clear reflection of consumer interest. We used Google Trends to examine search queries for 29 brands, and the results were clear: nearly 90% of pharmaceutical brands saw their highest search volume immediately after launching their TV campaign.
Similarly, other brands in our analysis – such as Cacti, PopCorners, Truff, and Wallbox – experienced massive spikes in consumer interest following their first TV campaigns. By leveraging TV to extend beyond their digital presence, these brands were able to disrupt their categories, generate curiosity among a host of new consumers and convert that interest into action.
The Undeniable Truth of Multiscreen TV
Ultimately, our analysis of 230 first-time national TV advertisers reveals one undeniable truth: multiscreen TV drives outsized outcomes across mid-funnel metrics, whether it’s increasing website traffic, boosting online searches, or igniting consumer interest.
Across a wide range of categories – 70 in total – brands of all sizes are achieving success with TV. Small and medium-sized businesses, in particular, are using TV to accelerate their growth and gain market share, proving that TV’s benefits are accessible to every type of advertiser.
In a world of fragmented media channels and choices, multiscreen TV is a powerful tool for new advertisers looking to break through by converting consumers into customers and turning these conversions into measurable business results.