Sponsor (1956)

5. HOW TO FOLLOW-THROUGH AFTER THE BUY (cont.l who are in a position to make or influence decisions. Of course, it goes without saying that it is equally important to discourage presentation of undesirable ideas, which might even include a good availability but to the wrong client. Certainly boxing is not an ideal vehicle to reach women, to use an extreme example. Now, you are not doing anyone a favor when you shield your account people and clients from presentations or contact with the trade. Remember how familiar Mr. Advertising Manager and Mr. Account Executive were with The Saturday Evening Post and The New York Times? Space reps have been calling on these men for years. Well, because radio and television are so much younger both industries have to work doubly hard to catch up and achieve similar familiarity and acceptance; you can have the way paved for you by encouraging contact between account people and industry representatives. It is infinitely easier to work with people who understand the basics of your medium than with those who have never been exposed to it before. Here's a case in point. Recently, a network made a television presentation to one of our out-of-town clients who had never been in television before, and while the program being presented by the network was not bought, the presentation had stimulated enough interest to result in a buy on a competing network. Mere exposure to the facts did it! The man went to work and helped one of our clients get into network television, even though perhaps from other than altruistic reasons. Another problem in selling tv within the agency is the unfortunate connotation of spot as being for the client who cannot afford the luxury of network. Again, it is up to the timebuyer to point out that agencies are in the advertising business, not show business. Often, dollar for dollar, spot announcements are a more logical buy, especially where emphasis on frequency is an important part of the effort. Again, don't bank on generalities or assume that anything is known about timebuying. Explain the efficiency of a 12-plan, the degree to which spot can penetrate a market, and the low cost for such penetration. Present whatever success stories you can muster. If you base a budget on 10 announcements per week but expect to be able to deliver 20, you are short-changing the medium by not stating the expected end result and may find the money diverted because the account considered your budgeted frequency too low. Explain how the original schedule bought can usually be vastly improved and in not too long a period of time. Now, in the case of evening tv announcements, perhaps the money will go further if only I.D.'s are used, rather than chainbreaks, the former as you know generally costing only about half as much. Or maybe you anticipate trouble in chainbreak availabilities. Try getting together with the copywriter. Perhaps the story can be told in 10 seconds, and if you explain the cost ratio and availability situation to him, he may come up with something he never tried before because he never understood the problem. I have seen this one tried a dozen times, and it does work! Incidentally, copywriters are a terrific help in creating interest in radio and television. Most of them, if it is at all possible to generalize, have strong beliefs and convictions, and are usually not shy about expressing themselves. It is very possible that a clever copy theme, an impressive storyboard or jingle, can initiate an entire campaign. Work with these creative people, and in turn they, too, will be selling broadcast media along with you. This is a very sound way to stimulate interest in radio and television and may help you get many a former print advertiser. What do you do when you run into the client or account man who insists on reviewing all the availabilities himself, making his own selection? This circumstance is generally directly traceable to a delinquent timebuyer somewhere along the line whose ability and judgment did not warrant complete confidence. If you inherit such a situation, it behooves you to pass along the mass of availabilities requested, but certainly not without your own recommendations with clearly outlined reasons as to why you have recommended the buy. By merely passing along availabilities without careful screening and selection, you automatically put yourself in the class of a clerk. Very briefly. I have tried to point out how important a timebuyer's position can be. Whether it is or not is up to the timebuyer. There are no real limitations that cannot be overcome by ability, imagination, and ambition. Laziness or simple inertia will surely reduce the job to mere mechanics. But if you want to be an imporant factor in the radio and television decisions on your accounts, you must first be respected by the account people and clients you work with, most of whom will soon learn to be guided by your greater knowledge and good judgment. 6. All-media buying vs. specialization Speakers: Edivard R. MacDonald, associated director of media relations, Young and Rubicam, N.Y.C., and Arthur Pardoll, director of broadcast media, FC&B. N.Y.C. EDWARD B. MacDONALD: Since Y&R's organization of its Media Relations Department is frequently referred to as representative of the all-media buyer system, we'll start by outlining just how we are set up. I was prepared to note that we had 150 men in the Media Relations Department, when somebody informed me that we have 167 today; maybe by the time this report is finished, since they are hiring a couple of people, why, it will be 172. And this is just in New York. We have an over-all media director. Pete Levathes, with an executive assistant (for whom I am substituting in this report). That is Pete Matthews. And then, at my particular level, seven associate directors. Below that. 26 buyers on all-media basis, and since they each have an assistant I guess that means we have 26 assistants. Then we have a series of service groups, as we call them. This consists of a statistical section (which takes a lot of the load off the buyers in terms of preparing, for example, analyses of how a medium circulation pattern falls down, as against client sales patterns); an estimating section; a contract section (which, again relieves the buyer of a lot of detail I ; a typing section I which helps to relieve one's secretary and leave her free to help out on other matters); a files or library section (to which we turn for ready availability of information on different media I . In addition we draw upon a 150-man Research Department (in New York alone). We draw upon them for a vast amount of research information. We draw, and draw very importantly, very closely, on an every-day basis, upon the Radio-TV Department. I don't know the exact number there, but it is well up over 100, too. They have the prime responsibility for advising upon talent — not tv talent in particular, but talent in general in the radio-tv area. 280 FALL FACTS BASICS