In a marketplace overflowing with channels, algorithms, and endless digital noise, it’s tempting for executives to chase the newest shiny platform. But the data tells a different story. When it comes to driving overall marketing performance, no medium multiplies impact like television.
A Kantar study revealed that removing TV from a campaign can slash its total effectiveness by nearly 39%. That’s not a marginal effect, it’s a collapse in campaign performance. Even more striking, when TV is included, it doesn’t simply generate awareness; it amplifies the results of every other channel. TV increases leads from digital campaigns by 12%, strengthens paid search and direct mail performance, and creates a lift across affiliates and social platforms.
This phenomenon isn’t theoretical. Research from Thinkbox visualizes the same principle through what marketers now call the multiplier matrix. The chart shows how different channels influence one another, and the numbers are unambiguous. When TV is part of the mix, social media effectiveness jumps 31%, print and radio gain 31%, cinema ads soar by 54%, and direct mail improves by 20%. In other words, TV acts as the gravitational force of the media ecosystem, amplifying every other orbiting element.
Why Television Still Commands Attention
Skeptics often dismiss television as an outdated medium in a digital-first world. But the enduring power of TV lies not in nostalgia but in human psychology. A recent study by Patrick Barwise, Steven Bellman, and Dr. Virginia Beal, Why Do People Watch So Much Television and Video?, offers an important clue. People watch television because it satisfies three timeless psychological needs: connection, emotion, and habit.
Television remains one of the few environments where audiences give sustained, undivided attention. It invites storytelling that builds emotional resonance, something banner ads and 15-second reels struggle to achieve. In a living room, stories unfold communally. Shared laughter, tears, and excitement create a neural bridge between what viewers feel and what they remember. Brands that appear in these high-attention, emotionally charged moments gain a kind of trust halo that extends beyond the screen.
In the language of branding, TV is not just an awareness driver; it’s an identity shaper. It associates the brand with feeling, not just function. And in a world where decisions are increasingly emotional before they are rational, that’s a competitive advantage.
The Power of Integration
Still, no single channel, TV included, can carry the full burden of growth. The lesson of modern media is integration, not isolation. The best-performing campaigns are orchestrations of complementary strengths: television and online video provide reach, emotion, and legitimacy; social media transforms that awareness into conversation and community; search and direct mail convert curiosity into measurable action.
When these channels are aligned around a single idea, their combined force is far greater than the sum of their parts. The data from Thinkbox and Kantar merely quantify what great marketers have always intuited: storytelling works best when every touchpoint sings in harmony.
From Channel Thinking to System Thinking
Leaders who still see marketing as a collection of disconnected tactics risk missing the larger opportunity. The shift from channel thinking to system thinking is what separates average campaigns from cult-brand performance. Cult brands—Apple, Nike, and Harley-Davidson among them—understand that emotion, repetition, and relevance reinforce one another across mediums. Every exposure is a chance to deepen belief. Television remains the amplifier in that system. It provides the spark that ignites the rest of the engine.
The Takeaway for Leaders
If you’re refining your media strategy this quarter, remember: cutting TV might look efficient on a spreadsheet, but it’s often catastrophic in the field. The smartest play is not to abandon the classics but to reimagine them as catalysts for the modern mix. Because even in a digital world, when all else fails, add TV. It still works harder for everything else.