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.
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!
What is the best length for ads? The correct answer is… whatever it takes – to make it a GREAT ad! The only wrong answer to this question would have been had you suggested just one of these options.
We need to first understand, believe, and realize that no one listens to your radio station for the ads. It’s our job to get them to listen with creative, compelling, well written, and well produced ads that are strategically on target. The length of the ad has very little to do with how effective it is.
If you are a proponent of 60 second ads, you can probably put up a great debate as to why 60’s are better than 30’s, and vice versa. What I can tell you is that bad 60 second ads are simply a bigger waste of money than bad 30’s.
What about 10’s or 15’s? One of the very best ad campaigns I’ve ever heard is the QUIKRETE campaign titled “Long Story Short”, created by Fitzgerald and Company. They are 10 second ads with a brilliant strategy and were executed perfectly! To hear these ads, click here. They’re great entertainment and can be used as examples when discussing length of ads with clients and in training your team to either ask better questions and/or write better ads. Yes, asking better questions always leads to better ads.
The reason for this article isn’t to debate the best length of ad. The fact remains, regardless of the length, the “better” the ad, the “better” the results. Our point is… what are you doing on a daily or weekly basis to help train your team; sellers, writers and production departments on how to write and produce better ads?
Better ads will lead to better results for your clients, AND, your station will sound better, allowing you to create more revenue with bigger and longer-term contracts.
If you would like to discuss this topic, or if you would like help in training your team on creating and writing better ads, contact us and let’s discuss how doing this can help you generate more revenue. The pay-offs can be huge!
So one of your biggest accounts has just announced they intend to cut some of their traditional media in favor of digital. They currently use outdoor, radio, newspaper and TV in their traditional media portfolio. How much time and effort will you invest to present your stations to avoid becoming one of the victims of the pending cuts?
Allow me to share a hidden truth in pending cuts… long before that cut-back announcement was made, the client was already forming hard to change perceptions on which media they should cut.
“Preventive maintenance” is always more effective, and less costly, than “damage control”.
Do you have a preventive maintenance program or does all of your energy go into making the sale, looking for new business, and damage control?
A well-planned system of regularly thanking your customers, a continuous education system like our SoundADvice highlighting broadcasts’ relevance, and regular post-campaign analysis and wrap up reports can put you in the driver’s seat when advertisers hungry for change begin to wield their cut-back knives.
If you’re surprised by a cancellation or cutback, it’s probably because you didn’t have a preventive maintenance program.
Many of the stations we consult are surprised when they discover the number one reason advertisers don’t often schedule 52-week or 12-month campaigns.
So, what would you guess is the number one reason advertisers do not schedule 52-week campaigns? I’ll give you a hint. It’s not because they don’t have enough of a budget to advertise 52-weeks of the year.
Here is a countdown of the top four reasons!
Reason #4: They believe their business to be seasonal and want to invest their budget only during peak sales periods.
Reason #3: Because they’re not sure what their inventory levels will be, or what they’ll have to sell, ten or eleven months from now.
Reason #2: (this is often disgustingly true) because they believe radio stations will offer much better “deals” on sold inventory if they wait until the last minute to schedule each month.
The #1 reason why businesses don’t schedule 52-week or 12-month campaigns is … “we don’t ask them to”.
Advertisers tell us that most radio account executives have never shown them a 52-week plan or validated a solid benefit to booking 52-week schedules.
So, there you have it, the number one reason you don’t have more 52-week business is because you don’t ask for more 52-week business. It truly is that simple.
Ask and you just might receive!
Are you planning a company sales conference or association convention? If so, click here to inquire about scheduling our Selling Advertiser Annuities Workshop to help your salespeople capture more 52-week business.