After years and years of media exposure, you almost become oblivious to the immense amount of advertisements you see in a 24 hour time period. After being instructed to keep a diary of the advertisements I was exposed to, I realized quickly that you can establish patterns throughout a day’s worth of exposure.
When a company decides to design and purchase advertisements, they are ready to buy a time and space where they can market their product to that specific slot’s targeted audience. That time selection is very important. If you don’t select the appropriate time, your only other option to reach an audience, is by luck.
When analyzing my list of ads, I realized that the greater portion of the daytime is taken up by an array of different products. These products could range from food ads to car ads to make-up to beer. None of the ads had a significant signaling factor. These products all seemed fairly gender neutral.
Day time is prime time. From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. advertisers can hit every segment of their audience. Once the sun goes down, the audience becomes smaller. After the audience shrinks down, a viewer is more likely to sense signaling.
After watching a few late night reality shows, I began to understand more what products are specifically marketed for that very time slot. Products like Pro-Active face wash, fast food restaurants, weight loss supplements, and various sexual items are repeatedly aired. It makes sense that these specific products appear while children will most likely be in bed.
After a certain hour, the programming disappears and it’s strictly ads. Yes, they get more time on air, but whose up at that hour? Those who market their products during 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. seem to have picked the short end of the stick. It can’t be doing productive things for a business.
I’ve learned that if you have a product that can be used by most of society, regardless of age, gender, or any other difference, an ideal time to market is late afternoon. Other than that, advertisers and their team must seriously consider what other part of the day will get the most exposure. It’s subject like these that make you understand the saying, time is money.
