The honest timeline we set with every client, in writing, on day one.
Television is not a lead faucet you turn on. It works by making your business the one people already know when the moment of need arrives — the burst pipe, the toothache, the leaking roof. That recognition builds with repetition, and repetition takes weeks. Most of the movement TV produces shows up between day 60 and day 90, not in week one. We would rather tell you that now than explain it later, so here is what a normal build actually looks like.
Your commercial clears the platform's review and starts running. Your weekly report shows airings from day one. What you should expect from your phone: nothing yet. That is normal, not a warning sign.
The same viewers are now seeing your spot for the third, fifth, eighth time. Recognition is forming, and it is genuinely hard to measure from the outside. Some clients see early flickers in website traffic; many see nothing measurable yet. Both are within the normal range.
This is when advertisers historically quit — right before the effect typically lands. Around week 6, we reach out to you, walk through the numbers together, and if anything looks off-pattern, we act: a fresh cut of your commercial, or a change to when and where it runs. You will never have to chase us for a straight answer.
If TV is going to move your numbers, this is usually where it becomes visible: website traffic above your normal pattern, more “I’ve seen your ad” comments, search volume on your name. Your report will say exactly how confident the data is — and if it is still too early to call, it will say that instead.
Recognition is an asset that accumulates. Established local advertisers get cheaper results over time because every month builds on the last. This is the part cancel-and-restart advertising never reaches.
Every number we send you carries one of two labels, and we never blur them:
And the other side of that honesty: if we reach the end of a fair test and the data says TV is not moving your numbers, we will tell you that too — plainly, with what we recommend instead.
We publish this page so the 90-day frame is something we agreed on at the start — not something we bring up for the first time when you ask hard questions. Hold us to it.
Text us anytime at the number on your welcome message, or email hello@hummingbirdlift.com.