Selecting a media buying services firm could be a difficult and confusing task. This report offers guidance when choosing the buyer that is right for your company.
1. Media Buying for Advertisers - Cost
As a general rule, established media buyers and advertising agencies get a 15% discount from television and radio stations. This means that an ad you'd buy for $100 will cost the buyer only $85, the difference being retained by the buyer as payment for services. For this reason, using a media buyer shouldn't cost your organization any more than doing all the work yourself.
With respect to the size of your budget, some buyers may rebate some of the discount back to you. Although this may seem attractive, it may not be the best strategy - associated with pension transfer things in life, you get what you pay for. As you'll see from the other five ways to choose a media buying services company, additional services are important, and will often increase the percentage that the buyer charges you. With large placement budgets, useful well worth the investment.
2. Media Buying for Advertisers - Media Strategy vs. Media Placement
Of the many companies for which we buy media, a number of our clients are very educated and some, quite frankly, are not. That's okay, however, you need to make sure you know where you fall in that category. If you are experienced in buying media, you will probably find yourself more comfortable with a buying agency that places your buy. However, if media buying isn't your strong suit, you will get much better results with somebody who has the ability to help you develop your media strategy.
While you begin the process of choosing your media buying agency, first identify where you need the most assistance. The truth is, anyone with money can buy media. It takes someone who is good at it to do it well. Make sure that your buyer recognizes that you expect him or her to conduct the study and verify the buy will yield the best results.
3. Media Buying for Advertisers - Experience
As stated above, anyone can buy media. Obviously, you want someone who will get you the best placements at the most effective price. Unfortunately, it's difficult to gauge a good buyer from a bad buyer, and although the media sales reps know, they are not likely to tell you. When you explore your media buying services agency, inquire about the staff that do the particular buying and negotiating. Our agency, as well as many others out there, decide to hire people who have sold media before. Why? Many times, it yields better results.
In negotiating a media buy, it is all about give and take - each side have to win. When the buyer "wins" too much, it makes sense often pre-empts (when your advertisement is pulled and replaced by something else) and less than optimal schedules. When the media outlet wins an excessive amount of, you end up paying a lot more than you should for advertising. Inside experience is very helpful in a buying negotiation. A skilled buyer will understand both sides of the equation. He or she will know where there is wiggle room and the way to get the most out of a financial budget while keeping the integrity from the buy intact.
4. Media Buying for Advertisers - Posting
Perhaps probably the most important services that the media buying agency can provide is posting. Many buyers won't speak with you about posting because, unfortunately, they don't do it. As a matter of fact, few individuals even know what posting is or experience how it works. Here's a quick explanation.
Whenever you buy media, you're charged based on the number of people that the station predicts will be watching a particular show. Of course, like weather predictions, media companies can easily miss the mark. Sometimes more people watch than were expected; sometimes less people watch. If more people watch, you made a lucky buy and also got more than your money's worth. On the other hand, if a placement fails to deliver, the media outlet owes you those eyeballs. Obviously, the station doesn't tell you when they under-perform; you have to tell them that you want ads to compensate for their shortfall.
Posting is done on a weekly, monthly or quarterly schedule in which the buy is when compared to actual viewers or listeners. When you are short, the station owes you. If you achieve more than you paid for, nothing happens. If you aren't posting, you may be throwing large sums of money away. As a matter of fact, in 2008, due to the writer's strike and the election, our agency found typically 25% under-performance on TV for our clients buying in New york. In other words, the majority of television advertisers in North Carolina completely lost 25% of their advertising investment. 25%!
As you may guess, posting requires a great deal of time which is why many buyers don't offer it as a service (or they provide it, but don't promote it). Often, when one buyer far less expensive than another buyer, the less expensive buyer is not posting. In most instances, it's a better idea to pay the higher percentage since you will get back those funds - and more - with the gains you get from posting.
5. Media Buying for Advertisers - Tracking
The best way to know if your advertising is working would be to track it. There are lots of ways to track advertising - some that cost time and some that cost money. Either way, tracking is an important part to any media campaign.
For many buyers, the only tracking that is done is tracking the buying schedule. Although this is very important (see Posting above), tracking the success of your advertising can also be important, as it can help you determine future media buys. Many media buying agencies use creative techniques to track success. Sometimes, this might be as simple as setting up a series of unique telephone numbers for each ad. In some cases, however, tracking can be very involved.
When you sit down with possible media buying agencies, ensure that you discuss their knowledge about ad tracking. Often, they'll be hesitant to offer their best ideas before you sign a contract, but you should be able to get a feel on their tracking skills.
6. Media Buying for Advertisers - Other Services
As you know, many media buying companies are self-contained agencies that offer no other services. On the other hand, there are also buyers that are part of agencies offering a wide range of marketing services. You will find benefits to both models.
"Pure" media buying companies focus on that one aspect of their business, and couldn't care less in which you get your creative or any other services. Depending on your particular circumstances, this could be the best thing.
On the other hand, there are also benefits to dealing with an agency that offers a wide range services including advertising production. First and foremost, integrated agencies in many cases are able to suggest ideas that go beyond just your buy. Further, producing and purchasing the media helps streamline the process for you, and in most cases, creates a stronger buy because the buyer has an intimate understanding of what the advertising is hoping to accomplish.
In the end, you need to know as much about your media buyer as you possibly can so you can choose which services might be of best use to you. Also, if you are already working with an advertising agency, discuss this with your buyer so that they might make sure that you have the best experience possible.