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Advertising -
Getting The Most “Bang For Your Buck”
Here are some
guidelines to follow when an operator, such as yourself, goes
shopping for a prospective new advertising agency.
Follow this 10 point checklist when choosing an ad agency:
1. Make sure that
the agency is willing to find out what your problems really are.
When talking to a prospective agency, ask questions that require
tough answers & watch out for snow jobs. Don’t guess! To get to
real problems & understand your situation, an agency has to be
prepared to dig.
They need to be willing to talk to your customers, interview your
employees, conduct focus groups. Find out what is the best, most
cost-effective way to promote your business. As operators, we
don’t always know exactly what those ways are. Challenge the
agency to discover them with you..
2. An agency that
wants to do too much may be as bad as not going far enough.
Be sensitive to an agency who pitches you on a series of unrelated
programs that don’t seem to tie together, accomplish a common
goal. Merely "filling the air" with clutter won’t solve your long
term needs. Make sure that your program is focused, simple &
clear.
3. A parade of
people no longer impresses most clients.
In these days of budget cutbacks & organizations that employ one
person to do three or four jobs, massing agency troops who swim
around like sharks to impress a client doesn’t cut it.
The agency that demonstrates how few people are needed to do an
affective job stands the best chance of getting the client’s vote.
Excess numbers of people suggests wasteful, over-budget & lack of
understanding.
4. Be aware of the
agency that tries to woo you with too many statistics. The K.I.S.S.
theory still works. (Keep It Simple, Stupid!)
Many ad agencies & radio stations share one common weakness: They
try to over-power you with statistics & numbers.
Look for: An agency that will create a presentation that is
fast-paced, enthusiastic & tells more about how your needs will be
served than about agency experience & expertise.
5. Tell me less of
how you came to be & more of what you’ll do for me.
While agencies like to talk about their accomplishments, (who
doesn’t) during an agency presentation, you want to know how the
agency can help you, meet your needs.
Find out what the agency thinks your needs are. That’s the first
priority. The agency that keeps repeating
"and-then-we-did-this-and-then-we-did-that" over & over, is in
dangerous water.
6. Understand that
some agency people actually lie. Here is what they lie about:
Results: All too often an agency feels it important to inflate the
results of a campaign, media buy or sales program. Clients
generally see through such truth stretchers because someone in the
industry knows the truth.
Creative: One agency claimed it had originated a unique campaign
for one of its clients.
Unfortunately for them, a member of the client search team knew
that it was the client who had come up with the idea, not the
agency.
7. Get it in
writing. Money talks & bulls... walks.
Agency executives quite often make promises during their initial
presentation that cannot be kept. Such promises made during the
heat of a pitch should be recognized for what they really are -
agency bs.
Before you sign a deal with a new agency, get it in writing. Do it
with the understanding that after you begin the relationship,
every time a gray area is identified, you'll both clear it up
before moving on.
8. Get engaged
before you get married.
It is perfectly normal to tell an agency that you want to have
them produce a complete promotional campaign a to z, implement
that plan, analyze the results & THEN talk about going to the next
level in your commitment to them.
Get them to inform you how you will fit into their priority system
knowing that you probably won’t be one of their big "cash cows".
9. Always maintain
the right to say "no" & don’t be afraid to use it.
No ad should ever be placed before you see & approve it. No radio
spot should ever be aired until you’ve heard the work & approved
the finished product.
If you feel that any media production doesn’t fit or is not to
your standards....refuse it! Remember, you’re paying for it.
10. Never agree to a
program without understanding what it will cost & what you expect
it to produce as results.
Yes, if you spend a ton of money over a period of time, you stand
a good chance of increasing traffic & sales. But if it costs too
much & you can’t pay the bills, you can still go broke! Our
industry is filled with the wreckage of well-meaning folks who
advertised themselves out of business.
Remember: You are not McDonalds. Make your advertising work within
reasonable guidelines. If an agency wants you to promo an event
for a week or ten days prior, get a new agency.
Exception: A
guest star or attraction that will sell advance tickets. Always
set goals for what results you expect your advertising to produce.
EDITOR’S NOTE: You might want to go back & re-read this
article again, but this time, replace the word "agency" wherever
it appears with the words, "radio station" as the same standards
apply to both.
Source:
The 4-Part Manager's Survival Guide,
"Bar/Nightclub Management & Marketing" , a
powerful tool for
creating traffic & increasing sales using proven marketing,
promotions & improved operations techniques.
Details here.
If you have any questions on a project that you're currently working
on, or would like some input, drop us an email:
using this
convenient form.
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