The Weyland Whitepaper

Extra Money from Existing Clients?

I had a conversation this week with famous Texas broadcaster John Barger.  John is one heck of a salesman and he brought something up that many of us seldom think to ask when we're working with local direct clients. It's the simple question, "Where else do you make money?"   

John says he met with the owners of a golf course who were adament in saying they didn't need to advertise golf.  They were always booked up.  John then asked, "Where else do you make money?"  The client told him that they made a lot of money from doing weddings at the club house.  The average sale and gross profit margin for weddings was high for them and they said they could definitely be doing more of them.  Boom!  A sale.

How about opthamologists?  They sell glasses.  "Where else do you make money," you could ask.  The doctor probably sells contact lenses as well.  Now you have two schedules instead of just one. 

Vacuum cleaner stores sell vacuums.  "Where else do you make money," you ask.  "We make a lot of money selling janitorial supplies." 

Think of all of the different ways your clients might be making money but you just don't think to ask.

Tell us about non-traditional ways some of your clients make extra money and how you might help them make even more.

Integrated Marketing-

During the recent Texas Association of Broadcasters convention I sat in on a panel that discussed integrated marketing (what we used to call NTR) and I was facinated by some of the new revenue opportunities available to broadcasters.  There are podcasts, morning wake-up phone calls, myspace pages, new ways to sell web sites and they're all facinating.  Shamefully, many stations will never even explore the potential of most of these opportunities, much less package and sell them.  Why? 
They're still stuck in the past or they are afraid of trying to sell something they don't understand.  This is a mistake. 

You can live it or live with it. A friend of mine used to whine and complain about government spending and government waste.  He finally determined that he could not change the bureaucracy so he filled out paperwork and started getting government contracts for his modular housing business.  I don't hear him whining any more about government spending.

I remember back in the old days when our management team told us that in addition to selling radio spots we were going to start selling ads in a country music publication.  We were floored.  For years we had been taught that newspaper was the enemy and now we were supposed to sell it.  Some of our team weren't even able to reach their broadcast quota, much less take on a whole new medium.  In time the idea completely fizzled out and died and we didn't have to sell newspaper ads in addition to spot schedules.  That was then.  This is now, however and the playing field has changed dramatically.

We must be able to look beyond the ends of our own noses if we are to remain relevant.  New electronic media are springing up every year and instead of fearing them we should be embracing and selling them.  Instead of thinking of ourselves as terrestrial broadcasters selling only radio and television commercials, we should be broadening our horizons and repositioning ourselves as content providers. 

Just consider the elements we could be integrating into our local direct sales.

Podcasting-If you have a music oriented station but one of your jocks interviewd a major star, put the interview on a podcast and invite listeners in on-air promos to access it.  Rotate spots in the podcast.  On television, reporters and news editors could provide extended, more in-depth  interviews with newsmakers.  Promote extended interviews during newscasts.  Sell and rotate spots in those extended interviews. 

Text messaging-Listeners/viewers register to get regular updates on their mobile devices and email on news and weather updates, contests, celebrity news, etc.  Do it and sell it.

Wake-Up Calls-A company called MediaBounce  (www.mediabounce.com)  has a technology that allows your audience to register on your website and have a personality phone them every morning and wake them up.  The personality records a daily joke, news headlines or a weather forcast.  The listener or viewer automatically receives a call every morning.  The personality could say, "Good morning.  Time to get up.  Today's forecast calls for __________.  By the way, remember to stop by McDonald's and pick up the new Chicken Mc___________ sandwich for just ninety nine cents."  Sell a sponsorship.

Myspace pages-We learned in the forum that audiences are very interested in myspace pages for your personalities.  Set up those pages and sell sponsorships.

Always sell these additional sponsorships.  Never give them away for free.  Package them with spots at a higher rate than you would normally get and tell the client, "We're aware of new media and we're all over that.  When you buy from us we automatically make sure that not only are you advertising on the station, you're also on the Internet, Podcasts, myspace pages and you're even rotated on our telephone wake-up service for our most loyal listeners/viewers."  Worried about new media encroaching on your clients?  Instead of doing nothing, embrace new ideas and make money in the process.  Remember, you can choose to live it or live with it. 

What is your station doing to embrace new technology?  What works for your clients?  Let us know.

Selling Against Other Media #2

Here's part two of our series, Selling Against Other Media.  Today we focus on broadcast television.

Since it’s inception in the 1950’s television has become one of the most effective advertising vehicles in history. Despite television’s higher cost (both production cost and spot cost) advertisers can’t seem to buy enough of it. Twenty six cents out of every dollar spent in advertising still winds up on television.

Television advertisers enjoy the best of three worlds; sight, sound and motion. When used correctly, television can be a highly effective medium because it takes advantage of a basic human instinct. Like cats, (another predator with eyes centered on the front of the face), people preternaturally like to watch things move. Television plays right into that basic human instinct.

Broadcast television generally offers a very high reach potential. That is, many people are likely to be watching a broadcast television program at any given time, especially in prime time. And advertisers (national, regional and local) will pay premium rates to reach these larger audiences.

Many businesses perceive that television advertising is more “glamorous” than other media, that somehow television is a more prestigious advertising vehicle than say, radio, billboard or direct mail. Advertising agencies may recommend television to their clients because with higher rates and more expensive schedule costs, the agency’s commission is higher. Agencies also make big bucks from television spot production.

Television’s higher cost presents a problem for some advertisers. That is, television spots may be so expensive to buy that you can’t afford to run your commercials as frequently as you’d like. So when buying television, there is always a trade-off. You’re buying a large audience (reach) but you can’t afford to advertise as often (frequency). Compromising lower frequency for higher reach is the gamble you take with broadcast TV, so the commercials that you air had better be efficient and effective.

Here are some of the reasons local advertisers like broadcast television.

• Sight, sound and      motion-Local direct clients can use sound along with photos, animation,      graphics and video.
• High reach-Broadcast      television stations have massive CUME audiences, usually bigger than the      newspaper’s readership number.
• Formatted by program-One      television station could reach many demographic groups with an array of      different program choices.
• Level playing field-The      biggest advertiser on a station can only run thirty seconds or less. A small advertiser can also run a thirty      second ad. The largest client on a      television station might run two spots in a program. A smaller advertiser could also own two      spots in a television program.
• Prestige-Many clients      perceive that advertising on television represents the pinnacle of      success. Some advertisers stroke      their egos by appearing in their own commercials.
• In-home advantage-Viewers      invite commercials into their homes. 

Here is what competitive media may be saying about broadcast television and how you might respond.

• Objection-Commercial time on broadcast television is      expensive-Television’s cost per spot is much higher than with radio or      cable.

Response-You get what you pay for. If we reach a significantly larger audience than other media, we deserve to be paid for it. 

• Objection-High-cost production-Because of all of the elements      involved-video, graphics, and sound, television commercials generally cost      more to produce.

Response-This is no longer necessarily true. With the advances we’ve made technologically it is now possible at many television stations to make agency-quality commercials for a fraction of the cost. 

• Objection-Long production lead time-Due to the tedious nature      of television spot production and a shortage of production facilities it      can take a while to produce a new spot.

Response-In the past this may have been the case. But again with modern production facilities we’re able to work much faster than before.

• Objection-No frequency-Because      of television’s higher cost per spot it’s difficult for a local business      to buy a lot of television.

Response-That depends on a number of factors, including how and when you buy us. Let’s work out an ROI analysis and see whether or not you can afford not to use us.

• Objection-Almost all viewing is done at home-People don’t      usually watch television at work or in their cars.

Response-This may be true, but don’t discount the time people spend in front of their televisions at home. Hours upon hours at a time in many cases. Other media still don’t compete when it comes to time spent watching television at home.

• Objection-Increasingly fragmented home audience-The      proliferation of competitive devices like video games, DVD players and      computers is impacting the number of hours that people watch television.

Response-We’ve had competitive media in homes since the first VCRs and Atari game machines first came along. Before that we had other competitors like Monopoly and card games. Television viewing was then and still is today number one in the home. 

• Objection-Digital video recorders allow commercial      zapping-TiVo and other DVRs are becoming commonplace in most homes.

Response-Research also shows that since the inception of DVRs that people are actually watching more television than they did before. Clever television commercials can cause people to stop fast-forward and watch.

As you can see there are many ways to take advantage of the “holes” in other media and at the same time defend broadcast from attacks by other media. The most effective and least used strategy for getting dollars from other media is to go after products and services that are completely over represented on other media and under represented on yours. 

For example, most tire stores advertise in print, the newspapers and the Yellow Pages. Smart broadcast sellers cull one client from the herd and say, “Look. The Yellow Pages/newspaper is a good medium. That is, it’s a big lake with lots of fish in it. I also represent a big lake with lots of fish. But Mr. Tire Man, in your particular product/service category, wouldn’t you agree that the newspaper/Yellow Pages is being a little over fished? When somebody comes to the newspaper/Yellow Pages, they’re shopping all of your competitors. Every single one of you has a line in the water when you use the newspaper/Yellow Pages. But look at our nice lake. We have thousands of consumers who will need tires sooner or later and we don’t have one single tire dealer fishing on our lake. You’d practically have a monopoly here on our lake.”

Use your strengths against other media’s weaknesses and get more local direct advertisers. It may take time to whittle down a die-hard newspaper or Yellow Pages user so do it in stages. Over time give your client ammunition he can use against his reps from other media. Help the client chisel out a budget for you by cutting back on his buys on other media.

Let us hear from you.  If you work for a broadcast television station how do you defend yourself from salespeople from other media who are calling on your clients?  What do you tell clients about media they're using outside of television?

Selling Against Other Media #1

In this multi-part series we'll look at the pros and cons of various advertising media.  First we'll look at radio.  If you work in radio you will definitely want to read this.  Respond if you have anything to add.  Keep in mind that while you are prospecting other media, other media are also prospecting you.  You should know what to say when a competitive medium points out radio's weaknesses.  Tomorrow we'll look at broadcast television.

Radio is still a favorite advertising medium for local direct clients and it has been since the 1930s. Clients can “narrowcast” on radio, that is, they can pick and choose among many different formats to reach specific demographic groups. Over 95 percent of all Americans still listen to the radio every week. Most people listen to the radio in their cars. A radio commercial may be the last advertisement a consumer is exposed to before he parks his car and makes a buying decision. For all of radio’s in-car advantages, in-home listening for radio is generally low.

Because radio spots don’t cost a lot of money advertisers can afford more frequency which means they can afford to run more ads. The trade-off for radio’s higher frequency potential is its potential lack of reach. Because of the high number of radio stations in a given area the radio audience is split many ways. So in order to achieve a high reach the advertiser would have to buy more stations and sacrifice radio’s low cost incentive in the process.

Radio stations can broadcast live and/or endorsements. A product or service endorsed by a listener’s favorite personality lends credibility to that business. In many cases a listener will walk in to a business and tell them that the personality recommended them. Clients can also tie in to station promotional activities that give their businesses extra exposure.

Radio production is inexpensive and even free to local clients in most cases. Due to lack of graphics and video, radio spots can be produced or changed very quickly.

Here are some of the things advertisers like about radio.

• High frequency-Low cost means you can buy more spots.
• Emotion-A well written and produced radio commercial      can evoke an emotional response in the listener.
• Promotions-Clients may buy live or endorsed      commercials. Clients may also tie      in with other clients during promotional events.
• In-Car-Radio still dominates in-car advertising.
• Competitive protection-Radio stations try to avoid      running commercials from clients from the same product/service category      back to back or during the same quarter hour.
• Level playing field-The largest client on a station      can only run sixty seconds or less. A smaller advertiser can also run sixty seconds. The largest advertiser on a station can      only run about a spot an hour. A      small client might also own a spot an hour, for a day.
• Immediacy-A client can change copy quickly, sometimes      within one hour.

Here are some of the problems other media salespeople like to point out to clients about radio and ways you can respond.

• Objection-Low      in-home listening-People listen to radio only in their cars. Hardly anybody listens at home.

Response-This is not true. What about people who wake up to their alarm clock radios and then listen as they’re preparing for work and school? And what about at-work listening? Many people listen to the radio all day while they’re working. Yes, radio dominates in-car advertising. What’s wrong with that? And at the same time we reach people at home and at work.

• Objection-Radio      commercials are not tangible. You can’t hold the ad in your hand and carry      it into the store like you can with newspaper.

Response-Couponing on radio only fails when there is very little in it for the listener. If you really want to test radio then give away something substantial, like 42-inch flat-screen plasma televisions, instead of just a five percent off your regular price. I guarantee you’ll be inundated with radio listeners who hear your commercial and respond within minutes. Sound ridiculous? Not really, Mr. Client. What you’re really saying is that somewhere between a five percent discount and a flat-screen television would be a good test for our listeners. Use radio and newspaper together. Let us showcase your newspaper ad in our radio copy. That will help your newspaper ad stand out from all of the clutter in the paper.

• Objection-Audio      only-Limited information means no videos, pictures or other visuals. Radio      is limited to audio and “theater of the mind”.

Response-Did you say limited to theater of the mind? There is no limit. Radio can inexpensively paint a limitless supply of mental images in listener’s minds.

• Objection-Low      reach-Radio audiences are fragmented which means smaller audiences for      each station.

Response-Yes, and at the same time our rates are lower so you can afford to reach out to our listeners multiple times.

• Objection-Too      many stations-Like a Chinese menu, most communities have so many stations      with so many different formats that buying radio can appear confusing or      complicated.

Response-It’s not that complicated, Mr. Advertiser. You are trying to reach a specific demographic group. In this market that limits your options to ____ stations.

• Objection-Increasingly      fragmented audience-People are listening to other devices like MP3      players, satellite radio and compact discs in their cars.

Response-Since eight-track tape players came on the scene people have had access to other media in the car. Even now there is plenty of evidence that free radio is still by far the dominate medium in the car.