Monthly Archives: February 2020

Oldies but Goodies!

The phrase “oldie but goodie” is sometimes used when describing someone older in age, a favorite grandparent, maybe an old horse, or even a piece of equipment or technique. But most typically, “oldie but goodie” is used when referring to music, movies, jokes, things that relate to entertainment.

While most people don’t equate commercials to entertainment, I suggest that the really great commercials are just that; they are entertaining, and this is why they are classified as great.

Recently, GEICO has brought back several classic commercials dating back to 1997. A few include “Woodchuck Chucking Wood”, “Pinocchio”, “Hump-Day”, “The Squirrels”, and my favorite, “Maxwell the Pig”.

Another example of this is the State Farm campaign, “Jake and his Khakis”, and the infamous line, “and what are you wearing, Jake from State Farm?”

So when is it ok to rerun an old ad or ad campaign? The short answer is … when it’s a good ad, or better yet, when it’s a GREAT ad!

Have you written a great ad or two in the past? Both State Farm and GEICO have suggested, and possibly even proven, that it’s ok to pull them out of the old production file and air them again. I would caution though that a little time should pass before you re-air them, a minimum of two years. However, I have also heard more than one great ad, specifically holiday ads that hit the emotional button, re-aired year after year that are still very impactful.

It’s easy to write and produce boring basic ads. However, the ideas for great ads are hard to come up with and even harder to create and produce. When they have run their course, don’t file these great ads away forever. The “Oldies but Goodies” will always be good, and at some point, worth airing again.

Turning Intangible into Tangible

The primary difference between tangible and intangible is tangible is something which a person can see, feel or touch, whereas, intangible is something which a person cannot see, feel or touch.

Selling radio advertising has long been described as selling an intangible, and by definition, it’s a fair description. But, it’s only an intangible if you allow it to be. If the only tangibles your clients receive from you or your station is an invoice, you’ll soon become “intangible” to them!

Most small to medium-sized business owners are always weighing in their minds and wondering if what they are currently doing for advertising is the right thing, and they’re typically looking to try something different. At cutback time, the media rep with the most tangibles in their clients’ files, more often than not, escapes the chopping block. How thick are your clients’ files of your tangibles?

·      Do they have more than just one-page proposals and packages?

·      Do they have presentations that clearly define what you proposed to do for their business?

·      Does it include photos of the events and scripts and/or audio copies of the ads that ran?

·      Have you delivered articles about their industry that can help them grow their business?

·      What about helpful business and marketing tips like our ENS Media SoundADvice program provides, complete with your photo and station logos?

·      Do they have wrap-up reports, post-campaign analyses or annual recaps, showing what they purchased compared to what you delivered, or better yet, over-delivered?

King of Sales Jeffrey Gitomer says it best, “Dude, you’re going to lose all of your customers if you fail to reach them with a message of value every week.”

Become an asset to your clients and prospects by doing more than just selling them ads. Be the media rep that provides tangibles. Then, instead of being just a “salesperson”, you’ll be on your way to being a well-respected media rep that will survive the chopping block.

NEW – Our 3 and 4-part SoundADvice radio e-marketing branding programs are now being offered to individual media reps! If you would like to see an example and learn how SoundADvice can position and brand you, or an entire sales team, as advertising professionals in your market, click here and we’ll send you a complimentary sample of one of our most recent weekly SoundADvice series.

Ask for What it’s Worth!

Here’s the scenario. A media rep meets with a client, completes the fact-finding meeting, and the client tells the rep, “I would like to promote this event or this area of my business and here is my budget. Let me know what you come up with”!

The media rep goes back to the station and they begin to brainstorm ideas. During the session, they come up with a great idea but, to promote it correctly, it will certainly take more budget than what the client suggested. The media rep is hesitant to ask for more investment than what the client originally stated.

The question is, “Now what?”

1)   Do you put the great idea together and show an investment of only what the client stated?

2)   Do you scale the idea back to match the stated budget? Or…

3)   Do you layout the great idea and show the investment that it will take to implement it?

The correct answer is, of course, #3. Ask for what is it worth! Business owners are starving for good ideas and if the idea is strong enough and they are convinced that they will have a successful promotion, the client will find the money.

The worst thing that can happen is that they won’t be convinced, and they’ll say no. Then you either go back to the drawing board or you can have option two prepared for the level of investment the business owner initially suggested.

When the client says, “let’s do it”, the upside is huge! Besides the obvious of making a larger sale, campaigns with more bells and whistles, i.e. increased frequency, remotes, promotions, etc., will always have a better chance of being successful than a basic schedule, if executed correctly. But, the larger lesson is that the confidence gained by the media rep and lesson learned will be invaluable. The fear of asking for more or adequate dollars is often-times a key reason why campaigns fail to work as well as they could or should. Overcoming this fear can be key to becoming a successful media rep.

Come up with a big idea. Ideas = Dollars! Then, ask for what the idea is Worth!

Media Rep Malpractice

Most commonly used in the context of medicine and law, malpractice is defined as, “improper, illegal, or negligent professional activity or treatment”. But malpractice is no stranger to the advertising world either. You can google “advertising malpractice” and find many interesting stories, mostly regarding fraudulent advertising claims.

The one word in the definition of malpractice that I want to focus on is negligent. First, so we are on the same page, the definition of negligent is, “failing to take proper care in doing something”, and I would add to this definition, “that we know should be done”.

As a media rep selling advertising, what is your job? Is it to sell ads? Is it to help your clients get results from their advertising investment? Is it to service the account so they have the best chance of achieving success? The answer is, “Yes!”

Once you convince a prospect to do business with you, they become your client. It’s then your job to service that client so they have the best chance of getting a return on their investment. Anything less is negligence, or “Media Rep Malpractice”.

The most common case of MRM (Media Rep Malpractice) is not updating copy. The only excuse for not updating copy on a regular basis is because your client asks to keep the same ad running. Even then, you’re responsible to advise them that airing the same ad over and over isn’t in their best interest. When you do, you are no longer negligent. Equally as common is once the sale is made, we don’t show up again until the schedule is over.

Media reps are just like doctors and lawyers; there are good ones and bad ones. Are you doing what you should to make sure you’re a good one? Always provide solid and truthful information, never over-promise, and always over-deliver. If you do, you’ll never be accused of “Media Rep Malpractice”.