Despite ongoing challenges with TV advertising like viewership fragmentation and measurement concerns, brands still gravitate toward the channel, with over $4 billion having been invested by 931 first-time advertisers since 2021. Notably, TV advertising can help drive traffic to websites, especially among first-time investors in the channel, according to research by the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB). 

“It's irrefutable hard data that multi-screen TV works like a light switch with respect to building customer traffic. These are wholly knowable, wholly discoverable,” said Sean Cunningham, president and CEO at VAB.

The report, “Breaking Through: How New Advertisers Are Using TV To Ignite Interest & Turn Consumers Into Customers,” evaluated 201 first-time TV advertisers using Comscore website traffic data between April 2020 and April 2024. Of the 201 brands evaluated, 173 measured website traffic prior to the launch of their TV ad, while 28 did not measure website traffic prior to launch. 

Rising tides

On average, brands that previously measured their website traffic saw a 12% increase in traffic during the month they made their TV debut in comparison to six months prior, according to the report. Being on TV helped to sustain increased traffic past the launch month, with a 20% increase in monthly unique visitors compared to the six months prior to campaign launch. 

Results varied based on investment amounts and company type. Thirty-five brands invested $500,000 or less and saw an average 8% increase in unique monthly users during the launch month and a monthly average increase of 20% over the course of multiple months that a brand was on TV. The 35 brands that spent between $2 million and $5 million saw an average increase of 9% during launch month, with a monthly average increase of 25%. Forty-four brands spent $10 million dollars or more and saw a launch-month increase of 36% and a monthly average increase of 42% over the course of a campaign. 

Investment amount was not the only factor influencing outcomes. Company type also impacted website viewership, with direct-to-consumer brands outperforming the average. While on TV, DTC brands saw a monthly average increase of 622,000 unique users, almost double the overall average of the 387,000 unique viewer increase. 

Show me the numbers

The research shows investment by brands also went up over time. First-time TV advertisers in 2021 increased investments by 70% in the months following their TV debut. However, each year led to lower investments in the following months by advertisers. In 2022, investments increased by 54% and, in 2023, by 37%. 

A key takeaway is that measuring website traffic in relation to TV advertising can provide advertisers with valuable data on how well a campaign is driving mid-funnel results like consideration and sales. 

“This is hard data around web visits and Google search,” said Cunningham. “These are specific customer actions that had to be performed.”