Getting More Exposure without Spending More
Although it's an election year and the economy isn't out of the tank yet, there is good news for businesses that spending money on advertising. If you purchase media, you have more negotiating power than ever before. This, in turn, can bring more added-value to your marketing initiatives without having to spend additional advertising dollars.
With other businesses cutting back on their ad spending, you can be at an advantage with your budget, because media reps will be more willing to negotiate to get your business. Even if your marketing budget has been reduced or stagnant, you can still have a great schedule.
First of all, no matter what type of business you have, it is valuable to the media. Not only are you going to potentially spend money with them for advertising, but your customers are also an asset, along with what your business offers.
Assign a value to your assets. This is important when it is time to negotiate your advertising schedules.
Assets include what you can use to leverage your media buy. Can you include media with onsite signage? Assets include more than brick and mortar. Do you do special events that the media can be a part of? What about promotional materials such as brochures? Does your website may reach a large audience? What is your email database quantity? Whatever you are using to reach your audience, this is worth something to the media.
Once you've assigned a value on everything you can offer the media, it's time to
negotiate! Offer your assets in exchange for more spots, bigger ads and extra exposure.
There are several other ways you can save your company money and get more "bang for your buck" with the money you do spend which include:
On-Air Giveaways: Media outlets love to do giveaways. Do you have something to offer them to give away on the air or for online contesting? Give them something to give away, along with talking points about your business and what you offer. Having a deejay talk about your park may seem more credible than your spot to a consumer.
Trade: Trading for air time is a great way to increase your schedule without paying hard costs. However, if you trade, make sure you are trading "dollar for dollar," meaning, you want to be able to decide when and where your traded spots are running, not ROS (run of schedule). It would be wasteful if your traded spots ran overnight or in a time period when no one is listening or seeing your advertising.
Billboards/Sponsorships: Radio and TV stations have opportunities to "sponsor" a weather forecast or traffic update. Never buy media without asking for a billboard, for no extra charge.
Third-Party Tie-ins: Your media reps are certain to have other clients that could benefit from associating with your business. If you are buying media to promote an event, offer event inclusion to your reps' other clients. For example, one of their clients may be
trying to launch a new product or service. Let them set up a one-day product demonstration in exchange for more exposure on their radio or TV station.
Digital (website, email blasts, e-coupons): All media outlets are using digital components to reach their listeners and viewers. Ask for inclusion on their next email blast. Being associated with the radio or TV's brand is a great way to extend that loyalty to your business.
Other ways you can enhance your print media buy without spending additional dollars is to ask for:
Larger ads: Since you are already committing to advertising in their publication, ask for a larger ad.
Higher frequency rates: If you want to run 3 ads in a publication, ask for the 12x rate. They may not give that to you, but they are probably willing to compromise by offering you the 6x rate.
Color: Ask for color even if you are buying a black and white ad. You can provide them with a black and white and color version of your ad, and if they have space on a page that is already going to be in color, they may give it to you instead of running a "house" ad, just to keep you happy and also make their publication look better.
Website exposure: Ask for exposure on their website as added-value to your print schedule, as well as inclusion on e-blasts.
Do you like the added-value ideas outlined in this article? Don't have time or have a person on staff dedicated to solely to marketing or advertising? Let Dion Marketing Company help you get the most out of what you plan on spending. Contact us and we're ON it!