By Tess Alps, Chief Executive, Thinkbox

There has never been a more exciting time to be planning TV. The many developments that broadcast TV has seen over the last decade, in addition to the ongoing expansion of TV onto new platforms, means that there’s almost no-one you can’t reach through TV and nothing you can’t make them feel, believe or do.

You can reach a mass audience as easily and speedily as you ever could, because the daily and weekly reach of commercial TV has never been higher. We are watching more ads than ever too – 2.4 billion a day in the UK.  You’ll have to buy more spots to reach the same ratings levels, coverage and frequency, but they should cost you less in real terms than 20 years ago.  But, if you just want to reach a narrower niche audience, the increasing segmentation that multi-channel TV has delivered will enable you to do this more efficiently and within a more appropriate editorial context than ever before.

The magical qualities that TV has, creating deep, emotional and engaging connections with viewers that last for a long time, make it unbeatable for brand building and changing attitudes to and perceptions about a brand. (Click here for TV and the Brain)  But we are learning more now about how TV also changes behaviour, sometimes instantly, whether via other media or through direct retail activity.

But, while true, it’s not very helpful for us to say: “The answer’s TV.  What’s the question?”    So this section gives advice and hopefully inspiration for when you sit reading a client’s communications brief and are not sure where to start.
It’s about strategic media planning.  If, having made your strategic inter-media choices, you then want more detailed, practical advice about any route – interactivity or sponsorship say – you will find fuller, implementational guidance in the Toolbox section.

In our experience, many media planners start by thinking of the target audience they want to reach.  It’s very important.  But equally important, is to know clearly what you want to happen as a result of the communications.  There’s little point in using radio, say, however perfectly it might reach the people you seek, if you are trying to familiarize them with new packaging!  So the two main sections are headed TASKS and TARGETING.

We then address a range of particular planning challenges –eg low budget, regionality, response - with some suggestions and ideas about clever ways to address them using TV.

Mostly importantly we want you to have fun planning TV.  It is so varied and rich and you can use it in the knowledge that your ideas stand an excellent chance of coming alive in consumers’ heads rather than just being ticks in boxes on a media plan.