There was a time when TV advertising was the crown jewel in any marketing campaign—when airing a national commercial spot was arguably the most effective use of any company’s advertising dollars. Of course, the Internet has complicated things, if not changed them outright—and in 2016, the political election cycle could change things even further.

For companies looking to stretch their commercial dollar, the TV landscape is about to get rocky—but the good news is, a form of video marketing called pre-roll advertising will provide the solutions that so many business owners are seeking.

TV Advertising in a Political Season

TV advertising has long been an expensive option, beyond the scope of many smaller companies, but in 2016 things are really going to take a turn—and for that, you can blame the elections. Simply put, the political season will push most broadcast TV inventory out of reach completely. Ads will be expensive to buy, in the first place; and in the second, they will quite possibly be pre-empted.

That’s because political dollars get the first pick of airtime; they take precedence over your business, no matter what that business may be. But the even bigger problem is that very few people even see TV ads unless they are actually watching live TV—which, in the era of Netflix and Hulu, is a dwindling population. It’s mostly confined to news and sports, and that tends to be the most expensive airtime to buy.

Why Pre-Roll is the Solution

The solution for businesses looking to air video ads is pre-roll, which basically refers to the short ads that run prior to an online video—typically, spots that last between 10 and 15 seconds. If you have ever used YouTube or Hulu at all, then you’ve seen some pre-roll ads.

This is a venue that makes a lot of sense for most businesses. For one thing, the political rules that govern TV advertising are not applicable to video advertising, making this ad space more accessible to smaller companies. Also, there is no risk of being pre-empted. When you work with an agency to purchase pre-roll ad space, you know that your ads are going to run.

And there are further options, too. For example, you can specifically purchase non-skippable ads, which are exactly what they sound like—ads you know people are going to have to watch. Again, this is something an agency can assist with.

Pre-Roll and Integrated Marketing

The greatest benefit of pre-roll advertising, though, is how seamlessly it fits in with your other interactive marketing channels. For example, one thing that pre-roll offers is a high level of targeting. You can track your ads and in some cases even measure whether people visit your website as a result of the ad—a great way to ensure bang for buck.

If you’re currently running TV ads for your company, it may be beneficial to step back and consider an alternate path. At enCOMPASS, we are recommending pre-roll for all of our TV clients, and are happy to offer strategy and advice in this field. To start the conversation, give us a call today.