While we’re a Jacksonville advertising agency, most cities have a similar situation: You see the a few category killer clients who dominate TV and radio year after year. There’s the local personal injury attorney, the car dealership, the local restaurant chain, etc.
They command the lion’s share of the air waves and win a lion’s share of the business. (Lion roar sold separately.) Running commercials at the levels they do is meant to serve two purposes. First, it gets the advertiser more business. Duh. Second, it’s meant to scare off competitors from entering the fray. Most people think they can’t compete against the media hogs so they don’t even try.
Jacksonville media buying isn’t unlike media buying in Scranton, Chicago or Honolulu. It’s a numbers game. And if you know how to play, you too can become a lion instead of the proverbial lamb. Here are some tips to get you started.
Look for value first – New clients often come to us with a lot of excitement, ready to make a big splash. They want to be seen on high profile shows right away. In more cases in not, we steer them in another direction. Often times, marquee shows such as American Idol charge a premium because of their buzz. If you look simply at the audience and the rate for that audience, you can almost always get a better value by being on several lower rated shows with more frequency and a cumulatively a bigger audience. Look at it this way, instead of talking to one room of 50 people, why not talk to three rooms of 30 people and reach almost double the audience. If the price is the same, the 2nd choice will deliver much better results so long as the audience is the same. A professional media buyer in Jacksonville or anywhere else can help you analyze the numbers and make a smarter buy.
It’s better to own one form of media versus having a presence on many – The clients at the top of the mountain have the funds to have billboards, radio spots and TV commercials. You probably don’t. Instead of competing with them on all fronts, find an area that you can own. It might be a couple of AM radio stations OR (not also) billboards in just one part of town. At the onset it’s important just to be remembered for something and that takes frequency. If you dilute where your message appears, the only one who will remember where you’re advertising is you. Pick an area where you can have a presence, dominate it and expand after that. It’s how most of those lions got where they did.
Paying a professional if worth it! – Ok, so we’re a little biased on this. However, the truth is media buying is a serious investment and unless you’re able to negotiate based on cost per point, perform a post-buy analysis, negotiate in added value and have buying power beyond your own money, your buy isn’t going to be the best it can be. As a Jacksonville advertising agency, we work with clients in several markets – from small towns to major metros. In nearly every case we’re able to quickly offset our commission buy we’re able to secure. We’d have a tough time doing your job without any training or guidance. You’d probably have the same luck with media buying.
We hope these tips give you some food for thought. If you’re interested in exploring TV commercials, radio spots, Internet banner ads, billboards or print advertising (yes, it still exists) give us a call for a free consultation. Do it the right way and you won’t just be on air, you’ll be walking on air.