Media Buying for Advertisers |
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Choosing a media buying services firm could be a difficult and confusing task. This report offers guidance in choosing the buyer that is right for your company. 1. Media Buying for Advertisers - Cost Typically, established media buyers and advertising agencies obtain a 15% discount from television and radio stations. This means that an ad you would buy for $100 will cost the buyer only $85, the difference being retained by the buyer as payment for services. For this reason, using a media buyer shouldn't cost your company any more than doing all of the work yourself. Depending on the size of your budget, some buyers may rebate a portion of their discount back to you. Although this may seem attractive, it might not be the best strategy - associated with pension transfer things in life, you receive what you pay for. As you'll see from the other five methods to choose a media buying services company, additional services are essential, and will often increase the percentage that the buyer charges you. With large placement budgets, these services are well worth the investment. 2. Media Buying for Advertisers - Media Strategy vs. Media Placement Of the numerous companies for which we buy media, some of our clients are very educated plus some, quite frankly, are not. That's okay, however, you need to make sure you know in which you fall in that category. If you are experienced in buying media, you might find yourself more comfortable with a buying agency that merely places your buy. However, if media buying isn't your strong suit, you're going to get much better results with somebody who has the ability to help you develop your media strategy. As you begin the process of choosing your media buying agency, first identify in which you need the most assistance. The truth is, anyone with money can purchase media. It takes somebody that is good at it to get it done well. Make sure that your buyer recognizes that you expect him or her to conduct the study and verify that the buy will yield the greatest results. 3. Media Buying for Advertisers - Experience As mentioned above, anyone can buy media. Obviously, you would like someone who will get you the very best placements at the best possible price. Unfortunately, it's tough to gauge a great buyer from a bad buyer, and although the media sales reps know, they are not likely to tell you. Whenever you explore your media buying services agency, inquire about the staff that do the particular buying and negotiating. Our agency, as well as many others out there, decide to hire people who have sold media before. Why? Many times, it yields better results. In negotiating a media buy, it is all about give and take - each side have to win. When the buyer "wins" too much, the result is often pre-empts (when your advertisement is pulled and replaced by something else) and less than optimal schedules. When the media outlet wins an excessive amount of, you end up paying more than you should for advertising. Inside experience is very helpful in a buying negotiation. A skilled buyer will understand each side of the equation. She or he will know where there is wiggle room and the way to get the most out of a financial budget while keeping the integrity of the buy intact. 4. Media Buying for Advertisers - Posting Perhaps probably the most important services that a media buying agency can provide is posting. Many buyers won't speak with you about posting because, unfortunately, they don't do it. As a matter of fact, few individuals even know what posting is or experience how it works. Here's a quick explanation. When you buy media, you are charged based on the number of individuals that the station predicts will be watching a particular show. Of course, like weather predictions, media companies can certainly miss the mark. Sometimes more and more people watch than were expected; sometimes less people watch. If more people watch, you made a lucky buy and also got more than your money's worth. However, if a placement falls short, the media outlet owes you those eyeballs. Obviously, the station doesn't let you know when they under-perform; you have to let them know that you want ads to compensate for their shortfall. Posting is done on a weekly, monthly or quarterly schedule in which the buy is compared to the actual viewers or listeners. When you're short, the station owes you. If you get more than you paid for, nothing happens. If you aren't posting, you could be throwing large sums of money away. As a matter of fact, in 2008, due to the writer's strike and the election, our agency found typically 25% under-performance on TV for our clients buying in New york. In other words, the majority of television advertisers in New york completely lost 25% of their advertising investment. 25%! As you might guess, posting requires a great deal of time which is why many buyers don't offer it as being a service (or they offer it, but don't promote it). Often, when one buyer is much less expensive than another buyer, the less expensive buyer is not posting. More often than not, it's a better idea to pay the higher percentage because you will get back those funds - and more - through the gains you get from posting. 5. Media Buying for Advertisers - Tracking The easiest method to know if your advertising is working is to track it. There are many ways to track advertising - some that cost time and some that have a price. Either way, tracking is an important part to any media campaign. For some buyers, the only tracking that's done is tracking the buying schedule. While this is very important (see Posting above), tracking the prosperity of your advertising is also important, as it will help you determine future media buys. Many media buying agencies use creative methods to track success. Sometimes, this may be as simple as generating a series of unique telephone numbers for each ad. In some cases, however, tracking can be very involved. When you sit down with possible media buying agencies, make sure to discuss their knowledge about ad tracking. Often, they will be hesitant to offer their best ideas before you sign an agreement, but you should be able to obtain a feel on their tracking skills. 6. Media Buying for Advertisers - Other Services You may already know, many media buying companies are self-contained agencies that offer no other services. However, there are also buyers which are part of agencies offering a wide range of marketing services. There are benefits to both models. "Pure" media buying companies focus on that one aspect of their business, and couldn't care less where you get your creative or other services. Depending on your specific circumstances, this could be the best thing. On the other hand, there are also benefits to working with an agency that offers a wide range services including advertising production. First of all, integrated agencies are often able to suggest ideas which go beyond just your buy. Further, producing and purchasing the media helps streamline the process for you, and in most cases, makes for a stronger buy since the buyer has an intimate knowledge of what the advertising is looking to accomplish. In the end, it's important to know as much about your media buyer as possible so you can choose which services may be of best use for you. Also, if you are already working with an advertising agency, discuss this together with your buyer so that they might make sure that you have the best experience possible. |
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