Know the Television & Radio 'buy-in' presentation by heart. In section #29 of your "New Rep Learning' book, you'll find some useful RAB information about Television advertising.
SMART Situational Analysis
My Budget Is Committed To Newspaper
First, find out a couple of things: 1. Is the budget committed to newspaper because the decision maker thinks newspaper is the best medium he can use to accomplish his marketing objectives.
2. What does he know about Radio and what -- on a scale of one to ten -- does he think Radio is worth as a medium that can accomplish his objectives. You‟ll hear that a budget is „committed‟ to newspaper advertising until you can‟t stand it. Newspaper is the one medium that prices itself in a way that very effectively „commits‟ a budget: if you back off the agreed-to amount of annual advertising, your rate goes up and you pay penalties. What‟s this mean? It means that you have to sell Radio so well that the client will suffer the penalties in order to switch his budget (or a portion of it) to Radio. Not easy...but possible. Assume, when you meet people, that Radio -- as a medium -- is a 3 on a scale of 1-10. Assume that it rests here as a result of some ignorance and some misconceptions. Your job is to: 1. 2. Help the client come to know Radio‟s TRUE POTENTIAL for advertising his business. Help the client come to know exactly HOW you will go about using the medium to MAXIMUM EFFECT.
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3. 4.
Show him how Radio fits into the context (compares to) of all the available mass media. Show him Newspaper‟s limitations in terms of: A. Its limited subscription and ad readership levels. B. Its limited ability to bring about change....to motivate.
Hopefully, you will only need to show the client that Newspaper -- the informational medium for the „now buyer, -- is not as effective as Newspaper in combination with a motivational medium, i.e., an electronic medium. The easiest way to go is to explain that each medium functions differently and therefore it effects the consumer differently. You need both. The best piece you can use is called “Two Good Reasons to Add Radio to Your Newspaper Advertising.” You can find this in the NEWSPAPER section of the “Key Concepts” presentation book and in the COMPETITIVE MEDIA/NEWSPAPER section of the SMART System. If you are one who believes that you should know the enemy well, you should read the “Selling Against Newspaper” tutorial in the COMPETITIVE MEDIA/NEWSPAPER section of the SMART System. If you are successful in getting the client to see that newspaper alone is not as good as a combination of newspaper and radio, you will have to show him how to cut his newspaper budget back to afford radio. You have the ability to figure the Reach, Frequency, Gross Impressions, and Cost Per Thousand of his present newspaper usage and then compare that to the media delivery of a combination newspaper-radio campaign using the same budget. The Newspaper-Radio „buy-in‟ presentation entitled “Here‟s How Two Big Mass Mediums Reach Critical Mass” will help you establish the premise that the combination delivers more Reach, Frequency and Gross Impressions than newspaper alone. Accompanying this generic presentation is a worksheet called the “Newspaper Analysis Data Collection.” It will show you how to analyze his particular use of newspaper; to customize the presentation. For every dollar spent on a radio station in your town, three dollars are spent in the newspaper. There is a huge incentive for you to become expert at: 1. 2. 3. Why advertisers rely so heavily on print. Showing them why Radio and Newspaper in combination is superior How to split the budget and come out ahead in A. Reach, Frequency, Gross Impressions and Cost Per Thousand B. Effecting consumers in an altogether different way than you can with newspaper.
From the “Client-Level Marketing Playbook, here are some additional responses to the situation where someone says:
We prefer the Newspaper Medium.
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“It‟s the great „workhorse‟ medium and a must for most advertisers. I‟m sure you put a lot of thought into why you use and how you use it. I wouldn‟t try to talk you out of it. I‟m a Radio Marketing Specialist. I don‟t sell commercial schedules. My company invested in a guy like me whose job is to work with decision makers to show them what the Radio medium is all about and -- most importantly -- how to use it to maximum effect. I‟d like to meet you for four minutes and hopefully demonstrate that knowing me will be valuable to you in the future.” “It‟s the great „workhorse‟ medium and a must for most advertisers. I‟m sure you put a lot of thought into why you use and how you use it. I wouldn‟t try to talk you out of it. As the new ARS Radio Marketing Specialist -- and the only Radio Marketing Specialist in town -- I would like to have an opportunity to show you how I might help you get more out of your advertising budget in the future. I won‟t take up much time but I will do some thinking and a lot of work for you if you‟ll give the opportunity to. May I come by to meet you? I‟ll be on my way within four minutes.” “You know, every medium has its strengths. Newspaper is an incredibly valuable medium. You know that. But, newspaper simply doesn‟t reach everyone. Even the Sunday paper is delivered to only 60% of the market. The subscribers who read a 1/4page ad is 30% so the net reach is 18% of the market. And yet you sell a lot of product to that group. All I would like to do is show you how easy it is to double your reach into the market without increasing your budget at all. The real payoff is that Radio can do some things for you that print cannot do. Showing you what Radio can do and how to make it work to maximum effect is what my job is all about. If you‟ll give me an opportunity to work with you, you won‟t regret it.”
“I would never propose that you quit advertising in the newspaper. I‟m sure you know exactly what you‟re doing with it. I‟d just like to have an opportunity to present Radio‟s unique abilities but -- most importantly -- how some advertisers go about using so well. If we can show you how to make it work really well, you might try it and find a great way to pull market share from the competition.” “Here‟s a thought: even the biggest Newspaper advertiser who can afford five full-page ads per week in the paper, can only reach about 1/3 of his target consumer group. With half of the budget he spends in the newspaper, he can afford to advertise on all of this
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town‟s top stations, reach 2/3 of the market and hit each consumer 4.7 times! I know you are not going to pull out of newspaper but you should give me an opportunity to show you what Radio can do if it is used properly...what it can do to increase your reach and frequency with no increase in budget. It will be well worth your time.”
Again, never criticize or even question the decisions. Reinforce them. Point out Radio‟s strengths. Imply that they are largely unrealized by most major advertisers. Double back to point out some of Newspaper‟s weaknesses. Be enthusiastic about the POSSIBILITY that Radio may represent HUGE potential for them if they understood it better and used it properly. As you proceed calls and follow calls, use some of the points in the scripts to plant seeds. Balance your information with Radio‟s virtues and Newspaper‟s limitations. Know the Newspaper & Radio „buy-in‟ presentation by heart. Read the “Selling Against Newspaper” treatise in the COMPETITIVE MEDIA section of SMART for a more in-depth understanding of the medium and how it compares to Radio. In section #29 of your “New Rep Learning” book, you‟ll find some useful RAB information about Newspaper advertising. Since many advertisers are using their co-op and vendor dollars in the newspaper, we include here some responses to the situation where someone says,
Our Co-op sources require us to use Newspaper “We have faced this very situation over and over again. In most cases we figure a way around it, a way you can have the best of both worlds with no increase in budget. May I please come in and discuss it with you?” “Yes, in effect they do. They certainly make it easier and more rewarding to you to use their co-op funds in the newspaper. It seems that the way the system works, if you try to use certain co-op funds in Radio, you can, but you lose something in the process. I‟ve dealt with this problem before and what I find is that, if an advertiser determines that Radio is an absolute necessity for reaching a large consumer group that cannot be reached with print, we can find a way to A) get co-op funds behind Radio, and 2) offset any loss in newspaper presence. May I have an opportunity to present some very compelling reasons why Radio should be added to your newspaper advertising and we can do it with no increase in expenditure? It will be well worth your while.”
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“We have a very interesting and well-thought-out presentation that demonstrates how Radio can be added to a newspaper campaign at no extra cost. It has been very well received by other retailers. May I have an opportunity to share it with you. If you think the case holds water, I know we can solve the co-op problem.” “It really depends on much value you place on Radio Advertising. Retailers who have seen how well Radio can work for them in reaching people who don‟t see their newspaper ads, find a way to get co-op reimbursement. May I have an opportunity to make a case for how much Radio can do to grow your business?”
Read the CO-OP & VENDOR SELLING section of SMART if you need a more in-depth understanding of co-op advertising and want more responses to objections about using co-op funds for Radio.
99% of the time, the problem here is that the advertiser is stuck on the notions that 1) newspaper is the best medium for him 2) he would like to have a bigger newspaper budget...what he has is already inadequate. 3) he has no understanding or appreciation for the Radio Medium and what it might do for him.
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