Marketing budgets change from project to project, but one thing that the right media buying agency can control is how far that dollar can be stretched throughout a campaign. Alongside a cash TV and/or radio media buy, there are a few added elements that should never be left out of negotiations. Trade, promotion, and bonus are three ways to stretch your ad dollars and should be considered when reaching out to media organizations for advertising your next initiative. Below are three ways to maximize your advertising dollars.
1. Trade
Trade comes into play most often when advertising for ticketed events. These tickets can be traded with TV and radio stations on a dollar-per-dollar basis in exchange for ad inventory that can help stretch your media budget.
2. Promotions
Station promotion is a great way to add no-charge frequency, while simultaneously obtaining your objective of creating an exciting marketing initiative or event through unique and exclusive promotional programs. These promotional spots can be in the form of sweepstakes, coupons, vignettes, and other opportunities. It’s essential to get creative here! The more exciting the promotion, the better chance you have of gaining added value exposure and additional spots from it. Stations will run this inventory at no-charge increasing your exposure for the same budget.
3. Bonus
Bonus spots come from having a good relationship with your advertising representative as well as solid negotiation skills. In this situation, you should go into the working relationship expecting bonus, not asking for bonus. Taking a deeper dive into the ad schedule and figuring out when a TV or radio station may be light on their demand is a crucial step in layering on bonus spots to a plan. You’ll get a lot more inventory if you ask for bonus in January, than if you ask for bonus the week of black-Friday. So, layer your cash in when inventory is tight, and take your bonus when they have the inventory at another time.
Layering on trade, promotion, and bonus spots to a cash schedule is key to a successful media buy. It’s not uncommon for Immerse Agency’s negotiated media buys to have as much if not more no-charge inventory than cash inventory!
Pro Tip: Use your added-value inventory to compliment your cash schedule, not layer on top of it. Thus, lay in your cash first at the most important times of year for you to maximize sales and plug the holes and gaps with the n- charge. This ensures preemptions have less of an impact on your bottom line and you sustain your branding across what would otherwise be dark periods on-air.
