Effective Media Buying will Boost Your Sales and Save your Business Money

All advertising campaigns involve media buying. The best media buyers possess a highly specialized skill to understand customer experience and behavior. With this knowledge it is possible to know the best medium needed for a particular campaign. The savvy media buyer also knows and understands the criteria used to measure results, thus being better equipped to properly manage costs.

Important factors that are critical to the buying process are: costs, demographics, products, services, and goals. The buyer must fully understand that the best possible return on investment is reliant upon the resources available (i.e. television, radio, internet, print, etc.). Space and time are also elements of consideration for the most effective media buy.

There are two types of media buyers; General Marketing Media Buyers and Direct Response Media Buyers. The General Marketing Buyer works to execute plans put in place by media planners. They negotiate prices and create a to-do list based on the media plan. General Media Buyers are generally dependent on published cost guides.

The Direct Response Media Buyer is more independent, being well versed in negotiating a functional rate and obtaining a variety of media channels from the suitable stations. They follow the sales, making the necessary adjustments to the media plan. Direct Response Media Buyers work to fortify the results by using unique phone numbers to each station where they place advertising spots.

The following is a summary of the most important components of media buying:

Always buy TV and radio on a “tonnage” basis.

Establish your target market with the goal to reach as many people as possible in that specific market.

Always shoot to reach the most viewers with enough frequency to make an impact. This goal will be achieved by advertising to at least two of the four major TV stations (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX. You should buy time on all four if rates are competitive.

Another alternative is to purchase time in specific programs, although this can come at a higher price.

Additional tips for Media Buying:

Provide a commission for small advertising companies and freelance media buyers; you can to give away up to 15% commission or throw in some other services for free.

 

Another possibility would be to setup your own “in-house advertising agency”. As long as you hire the right people, this will reduce the cost of all commissionable advertising you buy.

 Make sure that you hire only people who understand media and media buying.

RF

Media planner: Job description and activities

Job description

Media planners enable their clients to maximize the impact of their advertising campaigns through the use of a range of media. In order to ensure that campaigns reach their target audiences as effectively as possible, media planners combine creative thinking with factual analysis to develop appropriate strategies. They apply knowledge of media and communication platforms to identify the most appropriate vehicle for building awareness of a client’s brand.

Media planners work with the press, television, radio and new media, in particular the internet, as well as more unusual platforms, such as, for example, brand promotion on the sides of buses and taxis. Some agencies combine the role of planner with the role of media buyer.

Typical work activities

Media planners usually work on a number of projects at the same time, usually for a number of different clients. Typical work activities generally fall into two main areas, with levels of client contact increasing with seniority.

Preparation:

• working with the client and the account team to understand a client’s business objectives and advertising strategy;
• liaising with the creative agency team, clients and consumers to develop media strategies and campaigns;
• making decisions on the best form of media for specific clients and campaigns;
• applying detailed knowledge of media owners in a range of geographical locations;
• thinking creatively about ways to represent particular clients;
• undertaking research using specialist industry resources;
• researching and analyzing data to translate ideas into a quantifiable task;
• identifying target audiences and analyzing their characteristics, behavior and media habits;
• presenting proposals, with media and cost schedules to clients.

Implementation:

• recommending the most appropriate types of media to use, as well as the most effective time spans and locations;
• working with colleagues, other departments and media buyers either in-house or in a specialist agency;
• making and maintaining good contacts with media owners, such as newspapers, magazines and websites;
• managing client relationships to ensure respect and trust in your judgment;
• proofreading advert text and content prior to release;
• maintaining detailed records;
• developing evaluation techniques for your campaigns.

Contact: Roger Fredinburg

Phone 714-927-0495

P.O. Box 5243 CentralPointOR 97502

radioroger@aol.com

Ho Hum Productions

 Checklist: Creating A Sales And Marketing Strategy

Small business owners who are concerned about their sales and marketing capabilities could begin to see improvement by breaking down the term “sales and marketing” into discrete, manageable elements. You end up with a checklist that can be reviewed in order to prioritize areas needing improvement – a checklist that will serve as the groundwork for an effective marketing strategy.

MARKETS. How much do you really know about your current markets or future market? Why do your customers buy from you? What could you offer that would attract more non-customers? How can you sell to more of the profitable customers? If you add features or services, will people pay more for them or will they attract more customers? Are there bulk, institutional, industrial, or corporate markets beyond normal retail that you are ignoring?

COMPETITION. Who are they and why are they after you? What is the overall market trend and how are you holding up in terms of market share and profit position? How do you really rank against competitors? What substitutes are there to your products and how much of a threat are they?

POSITIONING. Where do your products/services fall in relation to the total market? Is this truly the position you want? Are you “all things to all people,” or should you move more toward a high-end position (charging a premium for a differentiated service), or a low-cost position (undercutting others’ prices but at a profit, due to high efficiency)? If you are truly “in the middle,” you should examine how well you’re doing regularly (with the help of a good accounting system)..

PROMOTION. Feel invisible? How can you change this? What promotion tools make the most sense to promote your products yet are consistent with the marketing image you want to project? How do you know if they pay off? Are you promoting on the Internet effectively?

PRICING. What is your pricing strategy? Are you charging for everything you do?

SERVICE DELIVERY. How well and how consistently are you delivering/producing your products/services? What people problems must be addressed? Do you really train people in their overall role and mission, How do you know your customer service is satisfactory?

STRATEGY. How can you build customer loyalty? How can you increase sales to existing customers (more frequent use or buys, selling a broader product line to them) or new customers (existing and new products)? How can you penetrate into new areas profitably? What costs can be removed without affecting the value equation?

MANAGEMENT. What risks exist today and which are on the horizon? What is the likelihood and impact of each? How can you reduce both? Are there alliances that make sense? Are there trade groups you should be in? Are there natural ties that no one is exploiting?

INFORMATION. What information is your accounting system giving you about profitable lines, costs, and margins? If “none,” why not fix it and start making better decisions? What advice can you get from a trade group or local retail association?

Obviously this is just a start for developing an effective marketing strategy, but suggestive. It feels good to be able to check “OK” next to some of these, but it should also be empowering to prioritize those few that need your attention.

Roger Fredinburg/Ho Hum Productions