02.20.07
Media Buying Blunders to Avoid
For any company, $1 million is a lot to lose. Depending on the size of your company, so is $1,000. Companies with $100 million in revenue may spend as much as $10 million on advertising, so they need to spend it wisely. This is especially important for marketing-driven companies, since media buying can be the biggest expenditure after salaries and benefits, as much as 5% -10% of their overall budget.
Even if yours isn’t a $100 million company, you don’t want to waste your hard-earned drtv advertising dollars because you don’t know how to reach your target prospects most efficiently. Nor do you want to put out the wrong message because you’ve failed to craft an ad that most appeals to potential customers.
When you watch out for these ten common drtv advertising gaffes, you’ll get the most media buying bang for your buck.
Mistake #1: Not understanding your target audience. When determining an advertising plan, consider everyone who might purchase the product, beyond the obvious consumers. Some products and services have broader target audiences than others. A product for kids, for example, might focus on parents and grandparents, as well as children; they all have an influence on the purchase decision.
When you’ve decided who you’re targeting, consider how: what will best motivate a consumer to respond to your ads? Research services like Nielsen for television and Arbitron for radio ads can often help you unearth this type of information. Arbitron’s information will be more valuable to you than what individual stations will offer, since station information is designed to sell you on advertising with them. Competitive Media Buying Reports can also allow you to see where your competitors are advertising to enable you to make better decisions. A seasoned media buyer can help ypou analyze this information so that you develop the most efficient media plan.
Peter Koeppel is Founder and President of Koeppel Direct
