The
7 Steps
The
primary goal of media buying is
to match your goals (your target
audience(s)) with the magazines'
capabilities (their readership).
While that sounds simple, the
financial realities of publishing
almost always mandate that the
magazines use a certain amount of
creativity when presenting their
circulation statistics to
prospective advertisers. This
becomes like a game. You've got
to find the little things they
don't want you to know. This is
especially true when evaluating
circulation.
How
do you effectively match a
magazine's circulation with your
needs?
The First Step
your
marketing and sales teams need to
establish who your buyers really
are for the product you wish to
market. It's not enough to say
that you sell to the "broadcast
market" for instance. Your reps
or direct sales force may
actually be selling to several
different people at the same
station. Do you only sell to the
chief engineer? Do you only sell
to management? Is the CFO
involved in the buying decision?
My favorite "rant" from bygone
days is that "Buildings Don't Buy
Equipment." People buy, so
knowing the people (by job title)
to whom you sell is the first
critical step. Don't assume that
you know (if you are in
marketing). Poll your reps in the
field. Do internal and external
research. Just as you can't build
a building without a sound
foundation, you can't market
products without knowing exactly
who buys your product. (Just as a
side note, while you're polling
"the field" ask your customers
why they buy your product. You
might just find the "hook" for
your next promo in the answer.)
The
second step
is to match the
magazine's circulation with your
customer. If your customer is the
news director, or instance, you
want to be sure that the magazine
in which you advertise is the
primary read for news directors.
Magazines that say that they
"also reach" news directors may
be adaquate second tier buys, but
aren't going to be effective as
your primary buy. (There are
tricks to use when evaluating
magazine audit statements, but
we'll get into the reading of a
BPA statement in future
rants.)
Step
three
is to be sure that the
editorial matches the readership.
For instance, if a magazine says
it's the primary read for news
directors but when you read its
editorial you don't find anything
that a news director would find
informative, the magazine cannot
be an effective media buy.
At
this point you need to take a few
additional steps. You MUST read
the magazines. There is no excuse
for not reading a magazine you
are considering for advertising.
Also, you are the buyer, the
magazine is the seller. They need
to give you information, not rely
on old relationships, show you
how "fat" they've gotten, or trot
out their latest redesign. Make
the sales reps (in writing)
justify their circulation and
editorial as it applies to your
primary buyer(s). Do the same
with the magazine's editor.
You'll be amazed at how divergent
the editor and rep's viewpoints
can be. Ask the editor to tell
you who (by job title) he
pictures in his mind when he puts
together the magazine; for whom
he writes the magazine. If your
ideal customer is one of many job
titles the editor or space rep
puts forth, you should probably
look for a more focused magazine.
Step
four
is comparing all of the
above steps for all magazines
that are in contention for your
ad dollars. Make a spreadsheet.
Steps
5 and 6
are settling on the
primary magazine that you will
use to carry your message to your
target market, calling the rep in
and negotiating. Negotiate "value
added", web ad adjuncts,
research, use of mail lists,
printing (if you want the
magazine to print collateral or
inserts as part of your "deal"),
etc.
Step
7
is to "work your plan" as
the professional marketing types
say. Don't keep changing your ad
plan. If you studied it, pored
over it, gave it your best
effort, then you must give it a
chance to prove itself.
Advertising requires patience and
maturity.
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From
the rant hole...
I've
spent nearly 25 years selling
advertising in trade publications
to virtually every related video
and audio market. I think I
finally know enough to advise
existing and prospective
advertisers on how to be most
effective in choosing media.
There
are some tricks to this, but for
the most part it's common sense.
Once you know how to look at
readily available information
your advertising expenditures
will be far more effective and
buying advertising will be far
less unpleasant.
Some
part of being a better media
buyer is attitudinal. You don't
have to tolerate harassment from
space reps or publishers. You can
make studied and logical
decisions and stay with those
decisions. You can buy media once
and not have to revisit the
decision until you are ready. You
can eschew leaping into "special"
issues, deals and supposed
opportunities. You can, thereby,
stay within budget. You can train
the magazines to be receptive to
your marketing needs rather than
theirs. You can negotiate
meaningful "value added" deals as
well as attractive pricing
without infuriating publishers.
You can use the magazines to help
slide you into e-commerce. And
you can do all this while
maintaining a good PR
relationship.
What
I hope to do over the next few
months is produce a template on
effective media buying. If you
like this stuff, let me know. If
you hate it, let me know. If you
disagree, think I've finally lost
my mind or should be "put away"
be sure to tell me why. "Rants"
are fun, but "interactive rants"
can be really valuable for us
all. Send me your experiences
both good and bad with the
magazines. I love funny stories
about media guys especially. Lord
knows I've committed enough faux
pas myself to fill a
book.
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