TV Advertising Agency in Melbourne
TV commercials produced in-house and aired across free-to-air and the networks’ streaming apps, with the digital channels set up to measure what the airtime actually did.
Who uses TV advertising in Melbourne
TV is the channel businesses ask about when they’ve outgrown what digital alone can do. Usually one of three things is true:
You have an offer that scales and a catchment big enough to justify mass reach.
You’re launching something, a brand, a development, a chain of sites, and need to be known fast.
You’re already running Google and Meta and want the credibility that only TV carries.
TV advertising means producing a commercial and buying airtime to run it. That airtime comes in two forms we buy together. Broadcast: Seven, Nine, Ten, SBS and their multichannels, bought by program and timeslot. BVOD, the same networks’ streaming apps (7plus, 9Now, 10 Play and SBS On Demand), bought by audience and postcode. Streaming services with ad tiers, such as Netflix, Kayo and Binge, are bought differently and sit under our programmatic service.
Broadcast gives you mass reach fast and a credibility no digital channel matches. BVOD lets you buy TV reach by audience and postcode, with digital-style measurement, at budgets that were impossible ten years ago. A regional builder can now run a TV campaign to the eastern suburbs for what a single metro broadcast week used to cost.
TV is worth it when you have an offer that scales, a catchment big enough to justify the reach, and the budget to run it long enough to register. It’s a waste if your website and ad accounts aren’t ready for the traffic it sends.
How we run TV
The commercial, the buy and the measurement sit with one team. The people who shoot the ad are the people who decide where it runs and what it has to return.
Commercial produced in-house
Scripted, shot and edited by our crew. 15 and 30 second cuts, plus the vertical and social versions, so one shoot feeds every channel.
Bought by audience, not by habit
BVOD first for most clients, because it’s targetable by postcode and measurable. Broadcast added where mass reach is the point, bought by program and timeslot for the audience you want, not the ones the network has left.
Measured before it airs
Two numbers, not one. OzTAM, the industry’s audience measurement, tells you the reach and frequency the buy delivered. The baseline we set before launch on branded search, direct traffic and enquiries tells you whether it worked, with spot-level search tracking for broadcast and a unique URL or offer on the creative. If it can’t be measured, we’ll say so before you commit.
Digital ready to catch it
Google and Meta campaigns geo-matched to the TV footprint, with retargeting for the people who search after seeing it.
Honest about reach
We’ll tell you what the budget buys in reach and frequency, and whether that’s enough to matter. Most first-time TV campaigns are underfunded, and we’d rather lose the job than run one that can’t work.
What’s included
Fit check: offer, catchment, budget and digital readiness, before you spend anything
Audience, market and channel planning
Scriptwriting and storyboarding
Full commercial production: crew, talent, locations, edit, sound and CAD clearance
Social and vertical cutdowns from the same shoot
Media planning across broadcast and BVOD
Airtime negotiation and booking with Seven, Nine, Ten and SBS, metro and regional
Measurement setup and baselines
Digital campaign integration to catch the lift
Post-campaign report with OzTAM reach and frequency, the lift against baseline, and cost per lead against your digital channels
What TV advertising costs in Melbourne
TV has two costs: making the ad and buying the airtime. Most agencies won’t give you a number without a meeting. Here’s ours.
Production. A 30 second commercial produced in-house from $8,000 for a simple one-location shoot, up to $30,000 for multi-location with talent and motion graphics. Includes the 15 second and vertical cuts and CAD clearance.
Media: BVOD. From $10,000 for a four-week campaign to a targeted Melbourne audience. Meaningful campaigns typically $15,000 to $50,000.
Media: broadcast. Metro Melbourne from $30,000 for a short burst. Regional Victoria from $8,000. Most broadcast campaigns $40,000 to $150,000.
Planning and buying. The networks pay us a standard 10 percent commission on what we book, so on campaigns of $25,000 or more in media you pay the rate card and nothing on top. Below $25,000 we charge a planning fee of $1,500, because the commission on a small buy doesn’t cover the planning.
Transparent buying. Media cost, commission, our fee and production are all shown separately on the plan. No hidden margin.
Minimum campaign. Around $25,000 all in for BVOD or regional broadcast with a simple commercial. Below that you can’t buy enough frequency to register, and the money does more on Meta and Google.
What to expect back. OzTAM reach and frequency for the buy, plus the baseline we set on branded search, direct traffic and enquiries, so you can see what moved. We’ll give you a realistic picture before you commit.
How it starts
1. Fit check
Offer, catchment, budget and digital readiness assessed. We’ll tell you if TV isn’t right yet.
2. Plan
Channels, audience, flight dates, a reach and frequency estimate, and the measurement plan.
3. Produce
Script approved, shoot scheduled, commercial cut and cleared. Social versions delivered with it.
4. Buy
Airtime negotiated and booked, with every cost shown separately.
5. Launch
Tracking live, digital campaigns matched to the footprint, first spot airs.
6. Measure and report
OzTAM reach and frequency, the lift against baseline, cost per lead against your digital channels, and what we’d change next flight.
TV and digital, one campaign
A commercial makes people look you up. Google catches the search. Meta reminds the ones who didn’t. When one team makes the ad, buys the airtime and runs the digital, the creative matches, the geography matches, and you can see in the numbers what the airtime actually did. Most production companies don’t buy media, and most media agencies don’t shoot.
See how we run Google Ads and Meta ads, and the results behind them.
Who you’ll work with
Two senior people and nobody in between. William runs creative. Brittany runs media. You’ll deal with both.
William
Creative. Produces the commercial and directs the shoot, and cuts the social versions from the same footage.
Brittany
Media. Plans the flight, buys the airtime and builds the measurement in before it airs. Has bought TV before Hypr, metro and regional.
What we plan and buy
Free-to-air broadcast
Seven, Nine, Ten and SBS, metro and regional, bought by program and timeslot.
BVOD
7plus, 9Now, 10 Play and SBS On Demand, bought by audience and postcode, usually alongside the broadcast buy.
Regional TV
WIN, Prime7, Southern Cross and the regional affiliates, for campaigns outside the metro markets.
Netflix, Kayo, Binge and the other ad-supported streaming services are bought programmatically and sit under our programmatic service.
Who we work with
Builders and home improvement
BVOD and regional broadcast to homeowner postcodes, timed with seasonal demand.
Property development
BVOD to buyer suburbs for project launches, with broadcast where the project is big enough to justify it.
Gyms and fitness chains
Multi-site launches and January campaigns, BVOD by postcode around each site.
Retail and ecommerce
Broadcast and BVOD for brand reach at scale, backed by Meta and Google for conversion.
Professional services
Credibility campaigns on broadcast and BVOD for law, finance and medical.
What we don’t do
Run TV for businesses whose website can’t handle the traffic. The ad sends people to look you up; something has to be there when they do.
Buy airtime without a measurement plan. If we can’t tell you what it did, we won’t book it.
Produce a commercial you can only use on TV. Every shoot delivers the social and vertical cuts too.
Call audience the result. OzTAM tells you who was likely watching. Branded search and enquiries tell you whether it worked. You get both.
Questions we get asked
How much does a TV ad cost in Australia?
How do you charge?
Is TV advertising still effective?
What is BVOD?
What about Netflix, Kayo and connected TV?
Can you measure TV advertising?
Do you produce the commercial?
How long does it take to get on air?
What's the minimum budget for TV advertising?
Can a small business advertise on TV?
Do I need a different ad for TV and social?
Do you only work in Melbourne?
Related services
Book a planning call
We’ll tell you what your budget buys, whether it’s enough, and what to expect back. If TV isn’t right for you yet, we’ll say so on the call.