Planning is only the first stage in the media process. Once the media plans are developed, they must be executed. The person in charge of negotiating and contracting with the media is called a media buyer. Media buyers often specialize in one medium or another, so there are print media buyers, spot TV media buyers, network media buyers, and so on. The degree of specialization depends on the size of the advertiser or the agency. In small agencies, for example, media buyers do it all.
Media buying is a complicated process. Buyers must perform several functions in the process of converting a media plan into a successful buy. Placing an ad is not as easy as it may seem, especially when there are hundreds of television and radio sta- tions, newspapers, and magazines around the country with dif- ferent deadlines, different requirements, and different rates.
The job can be very tedious and time-consuming.
Fortunately, media buyers now have a variety of software programs available to assist them. STRATA Marketing, Inc.
(www.stratag.com), for example, has developed media buying software for each form of media. It offers media buy- ers various ways to keep track of orders, clients, and rate information, while providing a large variety of formats for generating reports.
These programs, and others similar in function, save media buyers a lot of time, thereby increasing productivity and software and support services. More than 5,000 users in
85 countries use Telmar systems for media and marketing deci- sion making.21
Telmar’s software suite is designed to help media planners, buyers, research analysts, and sellers work more efficiently and to help them make better judgments in the evaluation or sales process. The software allows advertising executives to estimate the effectiveness of multifaceted marketing plans that use various combinations of media including print, broadcast, in-store, special promotions, special events, PR, and other
“new media.” Its flexibility permits the user to analyze the po- tential effectiveness of any and every marketing tool used to reach the consumer.
Even with technology, though, it’s still up to the media planner to know the product, the market, and the media, and to then make the call. Computers can’t decide which medium or envi- ronment is best for the message. They can’t evaluate the con- tent of a magazine or the image of a TV program. They can’t judge whether the numbers they’re fed are valid or reliable, and they can’t interpret the meaning of the results. What they can do is help the process along.
blinking A scheduling technique in which the advertiser floods the airwaves for one day on both cable and network channels to make it virtually impossible to miss the ads.
media buyer Person responsible for negotiating and contracting the purchase of advertisement space and time in various media.
The advent of computer software has taken some of the more grueling, laborious work out of media planning. Planners can now crunch numbers, track results, and compute GRPs and CPMs right at their desktops. This saves an enormous amount of time and money. The Telmar site (www.telmar.com/) shown here is an example of one of the many programs available.
Source: Telmar Group Inc.
1. What is meant by continuous, flighting, pulsing, bursting, roadblocking, and blinking schedules?
2. How does an advertiser choose a media sched- ule? What options are available to him or her?
check yourself ✓
advertising appear where and when it was scheduled? Was the size of the audience what was promised? If not, payments must be adjusted or makegoods must be negotiated. Whatever the outcome, the client expects to see a post-buy report on what audience was actually delivered.
efficiency. More time can be spent analyzing information, eval- uating various vehicles, and exercising creativity.
The most successful media buyers have developed key skills in the following areas:
Knowing the marketplace. Media buyers have frequent con- tact with media representatives. As a result, they often gain in- sights about trends or opportunities. Some of the best media buys are the result of an alert buyer taking advantage of an op- portunity or anticipating a problem.
Negotiating the buy. Media vehicles have published rate cards, but everything is negotiable. Media buyers can often bargain for special rates on volume buys, uncover last-minute deals, negotiate preferred positions, or garner promotional support.
Monitoring performance. The media buyer is responsible for ensuring that what was purchased was delivered. Did the
1. How is a media buyer different from a media planner?
2. What are the important skills for a media buyer?
check yourself ✓
IMC: direct marketing, personal selling,
packaging, and sales promotion
fifteen
© Ben Torres/Bloomberg/Getty Images
363 continued on p. 364 ance. In another ad, we’re told that people who spend hundreds of dollars switching to GEICO are happier than a camel on hump day, than Dracula
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
LO15-1 Explain the importance of relationship marketing and IMC.
LO15-2 Discuss the benefits and challenges of direct marketing.
LO15-3 Explain the various types of direct marketing activities.
LO15-4 Describe the advantages and drawbacks of personal selling.
LO15-5 Identify the elements that must be considered in establishing a trade-show program.
LO15-6 Explain the factors that must be considered in designing packaging.
LO15-7 Describe the roles that sales promotion can play in a marketing strategy.
now, insurer GEICO has done quite well despite ignoring two of those three rules.
The pitch is certainly simple—“15 minutes can save you 15 percent or more on car insurance.” Ads encour- age consumers to call or visit a web- site to get a quote and compare rates with their existing carrier.
But GEICO’s campaigns are anything but unified. One, accompanied by the tag line “So easy a caveman could do it,” humorously portrayed the disgust of cavemen at the slogan’s insensitiv- ity. In another, a gentle, British- accented, computer-generated gecko whimsically proclaims the ben- efits of GEICO to anyone who will lis- ten. A not-so-wise owl challenges the belief that “everybody knows” GEICO can save you money on car insur-
Our goal in this chapter is to reinforce the impor- tance of relationships in today’s high-tech, overcommuni- cated world and to demonstrate how a variety of marketing tools can be integrated with advertising to enhance an organization’s rela- tionships with its stakeholders.
Direct marketing, personal selling, packaging, and sales promotion play different but overlapping roles in IMC programs. Each offers many opportunities, but also has limitations.
The rules of using direct-response advertising are straightforward: Use a simple pitch, keep the campaign uni- fied, and don’t worry too much about the creative, since it’s the offer that closes the sale. For several years
volunteering at a blood drive, or than the Pillsbury Doughboy on his way to a baking convention. And when he’s not crying “wee, wee, wee” all the way home, Maxwell the pig demon- strates the GEICO smart- phone app to a couple of skeptical flight attendants. And in yet another campaign, a man made of money dramatizes the claim that you shouldn’t overpay for insurance.
Why so many different executions? Doesn’t that just con- fuse consumers?
GEICO’s approach is guided by a clear “share of voice”
strategy (see Chapter 7). In the 1990s, GEICO con- trolled less than 3 percent of the car insurance market, behind giants like State Farm and Allstate. At the begin- ning of 2014, after spending millions on advertising, GEICO passed AllState to become the nation’s second largest auto insurer.1 The investment has paid off in other ways too—91 percent of shoppers recall being exposed to a GEICO message over the past year versus 80 percent and 78 percent for the brand’s top competi- tors, respectively.2
So consumers are apparently not confused by all of the ex- ecutions. In fact, the reason GEICO runs
so many different campaigns simultane- ously is that each is intended for a differ- ent audience.3 As a large insurance company, GEICO sells policies to cus- tomers from many demographic and psychographic backgrounds. Knowing that one campaign will not be equally ef- fective with everyone, the company uses
some of the spots, like the caveman, to appeal to younger audiences. Others, like the gecko, reso-
nate more with older audiences.4
Committing a relatively large amount to ad- vertising is also part of the company’s over- all IMC strategy, since GEICO relies on a
much smaller sales force than its competitors. As we will see later in this chapter, personal selling is an effective but expensive way to market a product. Using a smaller sales force means lower costs, which GEICO passes along to customers. But it also means advertis- ing must do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to reaching new customers. That can be a smart move, but only if the ads are effective.
Ted Ward is the chief marketing officer at GEICO. When he started with the company in 1984 the ad division relied ex- clusively on direct-mail campaigns. He notes that, “We have essentially a direct-to-consumer business model. We try to strip out costs to deliver the lowest price—it includes having very few agents in a process by having a superior technology model, which back in the 70s was direct mail; in the 80s and 90s, a telephone; and in the last 10 years, the online delivery of rates.”5
GEICO’s partner in creating the ads is the Martin Agency, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. The agency and adver-
tiser have an unusually long working rela- tionship, more than 15 years. The value of a close and comfortable fit between advertiser and agency is reinforced in Ward’s recall of how the gecko was born.
“I was sitting around with . . . [an] art direc- tor at Martin, shooting the breeze after some focus groups and literally it was on a napkin and the rest just played out.”6 continued from p. 363
© Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
Source: GEICO
CHAPTER 15 | IMC: Direct Marketing, Personal Selling, Packaging, and Sales Promotion 365
Not that Ward was completely sold. “It was not my favorite campaign, personally,” he recalls. “I quickly became much more fond of him as we sold more policies. I’m a big fan of anything that makes our phone ring or website click. He really has helped us brand-wise.”7
The GEICO story suggests some important lessons. Direct- response advertising should be focused, but it doesn’t have to be boring. And GEICO’s success reveals that an advertiser does not have to choose between generating an immediate response versus building brand equity. Great ads can do both. ■
LO15-1 Explain the importance of relationship marketing and IMC.