BIG Ideas from Integrated Advertising Network

There are strengths and weaknesses with all options available to use for advertising your product or services.

Radio is intrusive and local, it offers mobility and low production costs. You can target your message by station format and/or time-of-day or day-of-week. One weakness of radio is that it offers no visual but with the right copy, the listener can create their own "theatre of the mind" image. Radio is looked upon as a frequency medium, however, it can be quite expensive to build reach without purchasing a number of stations.

Maximize radio dollars by looking at all dayparts and obtaining guarantees on rotation throughout days of the week and hours within each daypart. Look at stations other than the leader and leverage one station's delivery against others you are considering.

Don't forget about added value. It can come in many forms including no charge spots, billboards, and sponsorships or streaming exposure to catch those who listen on their computers while at work.

Local television stations provide plenty of choices for reaching consumers from local news and sporting events to syndicated and network programming. Cable networks also provide a wide-variety of programming (and many are award-winning) but the number of households you're reaching can be vastly different. Be sure you understand the difference between reaching 1% of television households and 1% of cable households. Cable is subscriber based and therefore does not reach all television households in a market.

Cable targets a desired audience demographically and geographically. Most system operators offer zones within their coverage area which provide the ability to reach your primary marketing area rather than the entire television market. Cable viewers are perceived to be more upscale and the Cable Advertising Bureau reports that cable viewers are above average consumers of most products and services. Most cable operators provide no-charge, bonus spots (autofill) which provides your business with added exposure at no additional cost.

The single most-watched telecast in cable history occurred October 5 where 21.8 million viewers tuned to ESPN's Monday Night Football and witnessed Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings defeat the Green Bay Packers. TBS recently delivered a 33-year ratings high with Major League Baseball playoff coverage. The October 6 playoff game between the Twins and Tigers drew 6.54 million viewers! Total viewers for games 1, 2 & 3 of the Twins-Yankees Division Series averaged 6.63 million viewers. All offered exceptional exposure for your business at minimal cost.

There are pros and cons to both cable and television (as there are to all media options). It's important to define and understand what your needs are to determine which (or both) will best deliver your message to your target consumer.

A guideline used for many years and in today's economy, probably never truer. Few, if any, media outlets are achieving "sold out" status these days. With a bucket of perishable inventory, media outlets are constantly balancing the need to sell as much as possible at the highest rate possible and at the same time, not letting any inventory go unsold at some price.

Our clients deserve the most we can get them for their ad budgets, 100% of the time.
So we listen to needs and do our best to understand challenges. Defining the target audience, establishing reach and frequency goals as well as how many weeks to advertise all help in establishing a budget. We treat media budgets as if they are our own to get the most exposure for even the smallest of budgets.

In most cases, media plans focus on dominating in one medium before moving on to another while fully understanding that a mix of two or more increases reach & frequency because light users of one tend to be heavier users of another. Consumers tend to be loyal to specific media vehicles (specific television stations for news or favorite programs, radio stations, online sites, etc). Leverage one station's ability to deliver the target audience against the other thru multi-station negotiations instead of single station. We don't consider the number one station as a "must buy" and look to radio audience duplication provided by Arbitron for guidance. Using more dayparts in radio and/or television increases reach and extends budget.

Is your primary marketing area within a specific radius of your location? Then zoned cable or newspaper may be the best medium to use. Do you have multiple locations throughout the market? If so, utilizing mass-reaching mediums such as radio or broadcast television may be the best vehicle to reach a larger concentration of consumers. Value-added opportunities are always sought and can take the form of increased ad size or color in print, no charge radio and/or television spots and additional website impressions.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each media vehicle. It's important to evaluate all to determine which will most effectively deliver the message within a limited budget.
and now more then ever, there is always a better deal, and a harder bargain to be driven. Working with IAN ensures that you always get the most targeted mediums at the lowest possible cost

Diane Schiller Senior Media Planner & Buyer