Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1958)

MONDAY MEMO I from ARTHUR S. PARDOLL, group media director Foote, Cone & Belding, New York I Causes of chronic sales trouble | show up in mediaman's case histories Anyone in the business of selling media rarely has an opportunity to see the impressions he makes or how he looks to prospects he tries to sell. Most of the salesmen who sit across my desk in the course of a typical week present well organized material and state their case concisely, but there are exceptions. It is in this area, where there is a strong need for improvement, that I would like to indicate a constructive course of action. Case #1: Joe was in to see me recently. His previous visit was almost six months ago. I never hear from Joe unless a station manager or other brass come into town. It seems that Joe has to impress station management with the caliber of people he has access to for interviews. I think that Joe could do a better selling job if he would make more frequent calls instead of waiting for special occasions. Moral: If you have to sell at all, it must be done on a continuing basis. Infrequent sales contacts will inevitably result in loss of awareness and visibility of your medium. Case #2: A short while ago Henry made an appointment to report some hot news. He had nothing to say about his own station, but he spent 25 minutes on a principal competitor. Henry dwelt at great length upon the many wrong things his competitor was doing. In fact, he painted an unmistakable picture of his competitor as a completely opportunistic, greedy, and unethical operator. When Henry left, I felt like buying neither station. Moral: A certain amount of negative selling is appropriate. If you overdo it, you don't sell at all. Case #3: Once I was somewhat taken aback by a respectable print organization which made a comparison with television. The national cost of a network program was charged off against the basic network of some 50 stations. In effect, this approach discounted the contribution made by the entire lineup of well over 100 stations, and thus resulted in an erroneous picture. Moral: The job of selling against broad classes of media is best left to those who know them best. Industry bureaus should better educate salesmen to do the job. I wonder if bureaus are discharging this obligation effectively. Case #4: On some occasions a medium will prepare a very intelligent solution to a serious problem. An example of this was a forceful documentation by a leading newspaper supplement of the need for more intensive advertising support in major markets. The supplement showed that because of the multiplicity of competition in the larger cities, even the more popular network television programs don't achieve ratings in key markets as high as they do in smaller markets. Obviously, a print medium which concentrates in key metropolitan areas can serve to provide reinforcing coverage in those areas Moral: Many advertisers can use more than one medium to sell their products effectively. Case #5: One morning I spent a few hours at the annual presentation of one of the bureaus. It was a great show — fancy screen projection and valuable research. It was a good presentation, but we only see this once a year. Moral: More frequent industry presentations serve as reminders of media values. They help strategists and buyers to arrive at a balanced point of view. Case #6: Then there is the case of the well-informed, concise salesman for whom it is always a pleasure to open the door. Bob always tries to find out what the marketing objectives are. He also makes it a point to be fully familiar with the organizational structure of the agency. Moral: The salesman who displays interest in marketing objectives and knows the organizational setup of his prospects is far better prepared to sell creatively. These cases point to the need for stronger, more vigorous selling today. While it is important to point out competitive differences, this should be done constructively. The seller's function is to help buyers arrive at an intelligent judgment. Selection of media is largely based upon the information furnished by media. Therefore, continuing educational presentations should be made even when there isn't an immediate opportunity to secure a contract. And there should be more intermedia selling, which promotes the employment of two media types for a particular advertising campaign. Arthur Stephen Pardoll, b. New Haven, Conn. Graduate of Yale U. After graduation served with Young & Rubicam in various capacities including research, timebuying, space buying. In 1948 joined Sullivan, Stauffer & Bayles as timebuyer on major accounts and later became business manager of radio-tv department. Moved in 1953 to Foote, Cone & Belding as director of broadcast media and later was named group media director. Likes tennis, reading, and classical music. Holder of Bronze Star medal. Broadcasting June 30, 1958 • Page 105