Sponsor (July-Dec 1954)

ALL MEDIA BUYER "I low long do \ "ii have between tliifirst disc ussion and 1 1 1 • a< tual presentation to the i I kiii ?" sponsor asked one ^ M( I > 1 1 " \ 1 1 1 1 1< Ii .1 three "i foui weeks. I 'in mil' thai time I'i stantl) in tou< Ii w iili the i onta< i people to keep up-to-date on new developments. I he buyei called in In -• ■ retai j and asked hei foi .i til> tin one "I bis clients. She i ame ba< k a moment latei w iili a foldM I. ii ge enough to Bei \ e as an ovei • nightei and crammed with pamphlets, brochures, memos, notes. "That's just the materia] I accumulated and Btudied before making the n mendation for the budget |n<-- ition," the bu) ii i oncluded. I he presentation to the client ma] be made entirel) b) the contact man in the product group with or without othei members oi the group. But often the media buyei is asked to make the media pitch himself. In am case the presentation i the outgrowth <>f work and planning done l»\ the product group — and the buyer as representative oi the media department is expected to shape the media strategy . Same old story in Rochester . . . WHEC WAY OUT AHEAD! Consistent audience rating leader since 1943. WHEC ROCHESTER, N.Y.f 5,000 WATTS \ Repmenlativti . . . EVERFTTMcKINNlY, Inc.. N.w York, Chicago ICC f O'CONNCIL CO ,lo. Angelc. Son Francitce Since a few months ma) elapse between the over-all budget allocation and the actual campaign, reversals "I the original approac h occui frequentl) . "Particularlj because "I last-minute 1 1 a\ ailabilities,' Bigh the buyers. \ Bpe< iaIK suitable network t\ availabilit) maj < ause a buyer to -hilt gears mi tin in ommendation oi budget alii hmi he had made oi iginall] . '"I might find, for example, that such a network availabilit) i tempting i nough to either ask for an additional appropriation or else to take mone) awaj from othei media." a buyer told SPONSOR. I he fact thai he's the man w ho tells the client, for the agency, how a budget should be spent </\\c the KMi allmedia buyer important executive -talus. He has a bij: responsibilit) towards his clients. In hi own department he is given the research, mechanical and clerical tools bj the media operations group, and the help of his all-media buying assistant. From the other men in the product group he is accorded the respect and status of the media strategist that he is. Contrast the all-media l>u\er"s status with what can happen to the one-medium buyer. When conditions are at the worst, his job on a particular account can start somewhat along these lines: He conies in one morning to find a memo announcing he is assigned to a new account. An hour or so later he sees the account executive. The a e gives him a briefing about the product and the amount of money he has to spend. He then gives the timebuyer a tentative market list. "Now let's see what \ou can come up with in morning radio time say, three or four announcements per market per week, except for the starred cities — figure on eight or nine announcements a week there.'" List in hand and a few hast) facts in mind, the timebuyer leaves the account executive's office without much idea as to the whys and wherefores involved in the campaign-. ""( >m not to wonder wh\ . ( >ui> just to bu) and buy . . ." The Y&R buyer, on the other hand. must evolve his own buying approach from the patchquilt of factors about the pi odu< i and media he has to consider. Since as mam as six or eight months ma) pass between the budget allocation and the start of the campaign, he must remain flexible in his ideas about the besl media breakdown. He also has to >ta\ informed about the client's ever-changing distribution and sales pattern. "( )l i ourse some product problems just natural!) lend themselves to certain media, one N ^.K man explained. "The introduction oi new products in main < ases would almost -urely require a -pot campaign that i-. locally placed radio, u and newspaper advertising. I hi follows since few new product are launched with complete national distribution.'1 Other types of product problems usuall) cannot be solved through such a pat rule. In making his recommendation for media allocation, for example the buyer mu-t consider the copy department's time or space requirement. He ma) find short air announcements are impractical because the product stor) requires at least a minute to do a selling job. Though his title i "media buyer," the Y&K buyer has responsibilities approximatel) comparable to those of an associate media director at a semiintegrated or departmentalized agency. i For discus-ion of the organization of a semi-integrated media department, see "The group approach at Benton \ Bowles,'1 SPONSOR 26 July 1954. i On his accounts, the all-media l»u\er reii:nsupreme. There are. at Y&R. fi\e associate media directors. These. howe\er. act mainl) as media buying supervisors, in that waj providing a top-level recourse to bu\ers who run into some major difficulty on one of their account-. \\ ho're tin people with final responsibilit] in "l&R's media department.' To get a graphic picture of the lines of responsibility, take a look at the chart on page .Tt. B) comparing tinchart with the organizational chart for Benton & Bowles" media department. \ou can see that integration start at different levels at these two agencies. \t B&B the associate and assistant media directors are the all-media men. Below them. timebuyers and spacebuyers are assigned to accounta by groups groups for which the associate media director does the planning. \t Y&R the media buyer, of course, doc the planning himself. Top boss of the Y&R department of media relations i Peter Levathes, v. p. and director of media. Though he s the head man of the media department. I.e 76 SPONSOR