Okay — that headline is somewhat of a trick question.   I’m guessing that your funeral home is “streaming” services. . . . . but, are you “streaming” in your advertising and branding strategy?

As of March 2025 “streaming” represented 43.8% of overall TV watch time in the United States.  And, it is something that has caught my attention.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

My wife, Angie, and I would sit in a perfect sub-set of ages and income levels of who funeral homes and cremation providers would want to reach via advertising.  And, we do see some attempts to reach us — most often by mailings from the local funeral home providers inviting us to a seminar on preneed. . . . .and, once in a while on Facebook.   — But we are not big social media consumers so those attempts miss us more often than not.  Matter of fact, I am really only on Facebook to check that Funeral Director Daily is hitting that medium daily and Angie says she cannot believe most of what she reads on Facebook so she just stays off of it.

However, we are also in the perfect sub-set of people who have watched television via cable TV for the past 50 years.  Now, however, we have seen a change in the landscape, both in costs and access, to the television programs we want to watch.  And while we haven’t dissed our cable TV yet, we have added more and more streaming options to our mix of viewing. . . . . and, the channels we choose, and the programs we watch, are a discussion point when we are with our friends.

That’s what is behind my interest in viewer options that I’ve now learned are described in their own vocabulary — that of CTV or “Connected TV”.  Turns out that that 43.8% of television watched via streaming is an increase of over 10% in only the past two years.  There is no doubt as this article from Nielsen titled “Connected TV is transforming advertising” states “CTV—encompassing devices like smart televisions, streaming media players and gaming consoles—is fundamentally reshaping how we access and engage with video content.”

Here’s a couple other quotes (with a little addition from me) from that article that may be of interest to you:

• “. . . .a substantial 56% of marketers globally report planning to increase their spending on over-the-top (OTT)/CTV in 2025”

 

• “CTV stands out as one of the few digital channels where planned spending increases have grown year-over-year, with the most significant growth concentrated in the Americas.”

 

• “The channel offers brands (or funeral homes) the chance to connect with specific demographic and audience segments based on their viewing patterns, demographic profiles and declared interests. This improved targeting can help marketers more efficiently allocate advertising budgets and drive potentially higher returns on investment from television campaigns.”

 

And, according to this article from AOL.com. Amazon’s entry with their advertiser-supported Prime Video channel has disrupted the streaming advertising medium and reduced the costs to advertise on the various streaming channels available.  It reminds me of the original disruption by cable TV on Broadcast TV when one was able to choose a specific, demographically advantaged for your product, cable channel to advertise on instead of the high-priced broadcast channels. . . . . and that “cable channel demographic focus” was very good for us with preneed advertising back in the 1990’s — both in terms of audience and price.

I would suspect that the proper demographic streaming channel, or program, for your funeral home could be a very cost efficient method of delivering your message in a “dynamic” format to potential client families.

According to the AOL.com article, advertising rates on streaming channels are as low as $30 on a cost per thousand impression format.

About Cost Per Thousand Impressions:  Here’s what Gemini AI says about “Cost per thousand”:

Advertising Cost per Thousand (CPM) is the price an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions, or opportunities for people to see their ad. The “M” in CPM comes from the Latin word mīlle, meaning 1,000. This pricing model is effective for increasing brand awareness and broad reach, allowing advertisers to budget for widespread exposure of their message across platforms like websites, social media, and even traditional media like out-of-home advertising.

What about Super Bowl Cost per Thousand (CPM):

The cost-per-thousand (CPM) for a Super Bowl ad can vary, but a 2024 Super Bowl ad cost approximately $7 million for a 30-second spot, with an estimated 120 million viewers. This places the CPM at roughly $58.33 when calculated as (Media Cost / (Impressions / 1000)). While official figures can differ, the Super Bowl’s high viewership makes it a premium advertising platform, with CPMs remaining competitive despite the escalating costs of the spots themselves. 

What about Funeral Director Daily Cost per Thousand (CPM):

I believe that Funeral Director Daily delivers highly targeted decision makers in the Death Care profession to our sponsors.  And, we do so at a low per thousand cost.  FDD brings daily top-of-mind awareness to potential customers and does so at a CPM of between only $17 and $23 per thousand depending on the size and placement of one’s ad copy.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

According to SimilarWeb Legacy.com drew a total of over 43 million visits in July 2025.  That’s a whole lot of people accessing a website.

When families search for obituary notices, share memorials, of look for service details, they are often visiting Legacy.com.  And now, when people visit Legacy.com your funeral home can stand out “Locally” — reaching the right people at the right moment.

Through Legacy’s Local Advertising Program, your funeral home can be the only advertiser in your geographic area. That means that when someone from your community views an obituary on Legacy, they see only your funeral home’s message — not a competitor’s. This kind of exclusivity is rare in digital advertising but highly effective: it builds familiarity, reinforces your reputation, and ensures that your community sees you as the go-to provider.

Even better, this targeted exposure is relatively inexpensive compared to many other digital ad placements. Large platforms often require high budgets to achieve meaningful visibility, but Legacy’s program delivers exclusivity and precision targeting at a fraction of the cost — making it accessible even for smaller funeral homes.

To learn more about this program to bring more local exposure to your funeral home you can click here.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

I received a broadcasted mass e-mail last Thursday inviting me to tune into the newest podcast for our profession.  This one was titled “The Graveyard Shift” and was promoted by Passare.  It is probably good and informative, but I’ve also been invited to listen to a podcast that originates from Great Britain with the same title — “The Graveyard Shift”.

Two podcasts with the same title carries home my point that there are lots of opportunities to get news, opinions, and advice from the Death Care world in which this blog — “Funeral Director Daily” is one of them.  It’s a lot different from when I started in the business and the arrival of the monthly National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) official publication of their member magazine “The Director” was an eagerly awaited arrival.

Related — Here is a link to the Passare Graveyard Shift podcast

John Naisbitt in his early 1980’s best-selling book Megatrends predicted that the world would soon pass into what he called the “Information Age”.  His thesis, especially for the United States was that we had been through the Agricultural Age, the Industrial Age, and the invention of the telephone entered us into the technology age of which we were still in during the 1980’s.  His prediction, and I think it has came true, was that we would soon enter the “Information Age”.

His belief was that “information would become very valuable”, that we would pay for it like never before, and that our technology would make it widespread and easily accessible. . . . Not like having to go to a library or somewhere similar as was the case for a couple of centuries prior.

I think we have reached that point. . . and we have reached it in the funeral and cemetery business.  It does create a world where “caveat emptor” is necessary however.  “Caveat emptor” is Latin for “Let the Buyer beware”.  I also believe that in a world where anybody can distribute information that is a pretty important thought.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

No longer do we simply have NFDA proof-reading articles and fact-checking those articles, as they did in the decades-old “The Director” magazine before they are distributed to America’s funeral businesses.  Today, we have scores of information sources distributing their thoughts to us all in a world where there is more information distributed than ever before and nothing is fact-checked.

I’m old enough to remember when we received, at least what we believed was “fact-checked” news at 6 pm every evening on television and in the newspaper every morning.  Surveys tell us that in the United States, very few people under the age of 50 get their news in that fashion at this point in time. . . . . and, how they get their news is in more of an opinion setting — such as podcasts or blogs.

You don’t have to look any further than the emphasis that has been put on the latest presidential contest and how campaign news was sought. . . It was almost all social media — TikTok, Instagram, podcasts, and the like.  And now, we have even more of those political types starting podcasts to inform people because they have seen them successfully work and move markets.  Or, in the political world — votes.

I think Death Care has two branches of news, opinions, and marketing to formulate.  One branch is easily seen in the vendor and practitioner side of the business — that is podcasts and publications that serve the practitioner with knowledge and in some capacities “plug” the vendor.  Quite frankly, Funeral Director Daily fits into that category as a blog publication.  There’s lots of others in this lane — both in podcasts and in blogs or journals.  It’s up to the practitioner to recognize if the authors of such podcasts and/or publications have the knowledge, reputation, worthwhile advice, and value to be worthy of their time in listenening or reading.

The other branch that I see is that of “Marketing’ by Death Care consumer providers.  I think it is a real new world out there on how your future consumer clientele will choose your funeral home/cemetery and how once they choose you will pick the services that you offer.  Your future clients are now also part of Naisbitt’s “Information Age” and are looking to you for the information about Death Care that they need to make decisions.

And, just as funeral providers have to filter their “caveat emptor” situation, so do your potential clients.  How you tell them what you do and how believeable that you can be in that situation will make a difference in your business in the future.  It’s an area where “Reputation” will mean everything going forward to help with this belief.

It’s my opinion that, just like incumbent politicians with name recognition, legacy family owned funeral homes have a great reputational advantage  —  if you wonder about the “new consumer” and if they will choose your firm, now is probably the time to find the right marketing partner for you to connect via social media and other avenues with these people.

Because every day the start-up operations or the acquisition-company owned firms in your community are trying to use their expertise to pry these clients away from you.  Again, in my opinion, doing nothing won’t help your cause.

Related — It’s probably pretty likely that Welton Hong and his team at Ring Ring Marketing can help your funeral home be heard “Loud and Clear” in today’s Information Age.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”