Television advertisement spending amounted to 62.8 percent of the total global advertising expenses in 2012. Television commercials have changed dramatically in the past twenty years Prior to the 90’s, commercials were limited to corporations because of the cost. Currently, small businesses can afford to stay within a moderate budget and purchase local airtime for a 30 second commercial. With local broadcast opportunities, small businesses can appeal to particular demographics by selecting the program and specific time of their commercial. With 99% of the American households owning a television and the average american watching television 5 hours a day, it is no surprise that television continues to dominate the media advertisement world.<!–more–>
 
In recent years, digital and internet videos have surged as a new medium for advertisement and promotion. TV continues to be the number one advertisement outlet, however with social media and mobile devices, the age of the digital video has arrived. It is estimated that internet video advertising will rise by nearly 40% percent next year, approximately $5.7 billion dollars. Embedding videos online became a complex issue with the diversity of browsers, mobile devices, and computers. The introduction of H.264 video format made online videos viewable in nearly every scenario. Internet video advertisements quickly benefited from the technological advancement and will ultimately challenge television for the top marketing medium.
 
A progressive approach to modern day advertising would be to invest in cross-medium videos. Television encoding standards now include the H.264 format in broadcast safe guidelines. 30 second spots for television can also now be embedded to a business’s website as well. With television and internet convergence, video has solidified its importance in the advertisement world as radio and print continue to see decline in investment. It is essential for any business to not only possess a user friendly website but to also benefit from a cross-medium video.
 
Digital technology has closed the gap between corporation and small business advertisement opportunities. Both are now able to produce promotional material in the top two mediums. With the tremendous impact and growth small businesses have on the economy, it is apparent the market for cross-medium videos will continue to rise and the need for television marketing will decline.