How Much of Your TV Advertising Budget Should Go Toward Brand Awareness – and How to Measure It
Why Brand Awareness Matters for Small Businesses
For small businesses in Central Florida, every advertising dollar counts. Many focus their ad spend on direct response campaigns—ads designed to drive immediate sales or leads. However, a significant portion of advertising dollars in television (both traditional and connected TV) is dedicated to brand awareness. Why? Because people are more likely to choose brands they know and trust, and TV remains one of the strongest mediums for building that trust.
How Much Do Brands Typically Spend on Awareness?
Nationally, businesses spend 40% to 60% of their television ad budgets on brand awareness. For industries like automotive, retail, and consumer packaged goods, brand awareness often consumes more than half of the budget because TV excels at wide reach and memorable storytelling.
For small businesses in Daytona Beach, Volusia County, and Flagler County, the percentage might be smaller—around 20% to 40%—depending on the stage of growth. A business just entering the market may invest more in awareness to introduce its brand, while an established company might focus on performance-based campaigns to drive immediate sales.
Brand Awareness and ROAS: Can You Measure It?
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is usually calculated by dividing revenue generated by advertising spend. The challenge with brand awareness is that it doesn’t create immediate, trackable sales in the same way a digital ad might. Instead, awareness builds the foundation for future sales.
So how do you account for it in ROAS?
- Brand Lift Studies – Surveys that measure how much your advertising improved awareness, perception, or purchase intent.
- Search & Website Lift – Increases in branded search queries or website traffic after a campaign airs.
- Incremental Sales Modeling – Tools like Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) estimate how much future sales will be attributed to increased brand awareness.
- Long-Term Customer Value (CLV) – Awareness often increases the lifetime value of a customer because it encourages repeat purchases.
When these factors are included, the true ROAS of a campaign often doubles or triples compared to short-term sales metrics alone.
Why Central Florida Small Businesses Should Care
For businesses in Daytona Beach and the surrounding area, investing in brand awareness can pay off in two key ways:
- It builds recognition and trust – People are more likely to choose a business they’ve seen on TV or streaming platforms.
- It lowers future customer acquisition costs – When people already know you, you don’t have to spend as much to convert them into customers.
Final Thoughts
Allocating 20–40% of your TV advertising budget to brand awareness can set your business up for long-term success. By using tools that measure brand lift and tying those results back to future sales, you can get a clearer picture of how awareness campaigns affect your bottom line.