Advertising Roundtable: The Inner Workings of the Advertiser's Mind

Moderated by Pat Trowbridge, Group Publisher, Fancy Publications.
Panelists: Sue Brown, President, Brown & Associates; Lua Oas Southard, C.O.O., Equine Resources International
Presented at the AHP Catch the Spirit 2002 Seminar, Park City, Utah

Media Kits: Why Less is More

Situation: Many companies these days spend thousands of dollars on beautiful, highly elaborate media kits.

• Is there evidence that these kinds of kits really work better than those that are less expensive?

• What do your clients feel is important to know when evaluating your publication for inclusion in their advertising schedule?

Our Perspective: Keep it simple!

A great media kit not only represents the quality of your publication but it allows your clients to quickly and easily identify what makes your publication special or unique with regard to its competitors. As a result, identify those one or two things that make your publication unique and/or special and then create your media kit around them.

When sending your kits to a prospective new client, be sure to include:

• Recent sample of issue 

• Rate card and ad sizes 

• Circulation and demographic information 

• Space closings, materials closings and film / materials specs

• Editorial planner 

• Statement of how your publication fits into the industry mix 

• Additional? You decide…

When following up with a prospective client, it will be helpful to have this information in your vest pocket:

• CPM vs. CQR (qualified reader per thousand)

• Know your competitors

  • Be able to talk about percent of duplication, if it exists

  • Be able to point to your publication's unique points of difference

  • Know your publication's strengths and weaknesses so you can be prepared with responses should the topic arise

• Know who you are talking to!

  • Learn about the client's product so you can talk knowledgeably about the product and the way the market seems to be moving with regard to sales opportunities

  • Discuss/demonstrate the ways in which your publication will specifically reach their target audience

A few insights and suggestions:

• Don't put everything but the kitchen sink into your kit. Keep it business-like, professional and to the point.

• Don't make your clients search for information. Instead make it easy for them to locate the information they want at the time they need it.

• Often media kits are ripped apart so that they fit into three-ring binders or are placed into file folders. Bear this in mind when designing your materials and you will save yourself a lot of time and money. Not to mention the aggravation your clients experience when your materials don't fit into their filing system. Often what doesn't fit is tossed out.

Promotions & Deals: Do They Really Work or Are They Wasted Time and Energy?

Situation: Publications will often offer special rates or value added incentives to clients in order to persuade them to place ads on an introductory or contract basis.

But a critical question to ask yourself is, "How often do these types of strategies work for my publication? Why or why not?" The answers might not be so difficult to implement into your future sales plans.

• Do these kinds of promotions reinforce your publication's brand positioning and strengths or do they seem to drive down the cost per page in the minds of your clients?

• What are your client's objectives? Do they match your publication's objectives and what you are offering them?

Our Perspective:

Find out what your client's business needs are and offer them ways to solve their "pain" through your publication. Not only will you probably close the sale but you will create a memorable bond with your clients. To do this, examine the following:

• What is the value to client?

• How much money do they have to work with? Are you asking them to do something that is outside of their means?

A few insights and suggestions:

• Offer comparable value promotions to all clients. This industry is pretty small and many of us service multiple clients.

• Offer fair value to your clients but don't break the bank. Do what is in the best interest of both your publication and your clients. After all, the best relationships develop over time and are when both parties feel they have received a winning solution.

• Remember, an established reputation within your segment of the horse world is as important as sheer demographic numbers. Also, space rates are seldom the #1 determining factor when client's choose a publication -- certainly they are important -- but if your pub can do a fantastic job of reaching your client's audience, then it is worth the price of entry.

Regional Publications: How to Get A Share of the National Advertiser's Budget

Tough one! We don't have iron-clad, "this-will-get-the-job-done" advice but here is our perspective:

• Consider creating a group of non-competitive regional pubs to prepare a program that will be a group buy for the advertiser. This will make your publication part of something larger and stronger, much more like a national pub can produce.

• Just because you represent a smaller regional pub don't overlook the obvious. Clients need to know the same information about your publication as they do the national pubs and how your pub can be valuable to them. Only by being able to discuss the following will you be able to give your clients a reason to consider you in their total media schedule. Be sure you can quickly and easily discuss the following:

  • Editorial profile

  • Uniqueness to competitive regional publications and to the national pubs

  • Financial stability of your publication

  • Competitive regional publications

  • Pinpoint your core audience and know how it compares to the national pubs

Closing A Sale: Getting to "Yes, Where Do I Sign?"

Situation: OK…you've created a great media kit, investigated the "pains" of each client and know how your pub can solve them and done your competitive homework; how do you get your clients to say, "Yes, where do I sign?"

Well, in all things that involve the imperfect logic of humans, there is no iron-clad advice we can give. Again, all we can do is offer our perspective…

Our Perspective:

• Be customer focused. If you're not someone else will!

• Understand what the client is looking for ? can't say this enough!! Without it you'll only be wasting your time and that of your clients.

• Cultivate friendly relationships with your clients.

• Don't be confrontational.

Websites: Life in the Fast Lane of Cyberspace

Situation: With the rise in popularity of the Web, more and more readers are looking to their favorite publications to provide timely information and answers beyond the printed page. But how do publications and clients handle this new technology and its place within a very traditional industry?

Our Perspective:

• Use your website to offer added value to your clients where appropriate.

• Offer special features or enhancements that can only be found on your website. Give people a reason to visit on a regular basis.

• Build a symbiotic and complimentary relationship between cyberspace and the printed page -- it'll be a smart long-term investment.

• Consider adding online games, promotions, interactive features to your website to encourage visitors to stay longer and come back often. Involve your clients in this!

• The web is an instant gratification experience; take advantage of it. Investigate offering your clients the ability to show a clip from their video, commercial or CD-ROM.

• Update your website often. People want to know what is current right now -- not last month or even last week.

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