Sponsor (Jan-Apr 1958)

As media competition grows, SPONSOR ASKS: Should stations be ranked by total tv Three station presidents challenge the ranking of television markets li\ standard metropolitan area. Number of sets not population should he criterion, they say. John F. Dille, pres., WTRC, Elkhart, hut.. WSJV-TV, South Bend, Ind.. WKJG and WKJG-TV, Fort Wayne, Ind. Markets should be rated by coverage, not metro area It is a continual source of amazement to me that many agencies still rank television markets by the size of their standard metropolitan areas instead of by the actual coverage of the tv station or stations. There is little to be said for the SMA concept of ranking tv markets other than simplicity, non-controversy and tradition. On the other hand. ranking tv markets by tv coverage is not onl\ utterly logical and completel) justified from a research standpoint, luit it enables an advertiser to make extreme!) efficient buys. The plain fact is this: there is often little correlation between the size of a metropolitan area and the coverage of its television stations. In other words. advertisers who rank markets by SMA when developing a market list for a spol bu) very often short change themselves in terms of potential audience reached. When markets are ranked 1>\ their l\ (overage area, they are ranked by the number of people effective!) reached by television, which is exactly what tin; advertiser is buying. Man) large agencies have established criteria based on Grade B areas or surveys which determine the efle :tive coverage areas of tv stations. This automatically places all markets in terms of actual homes delivered — which is just what the advertiser wants. Furthermore, the interurbia trend has diminished the importance of the metropolitan areas. Population is no longer clustered about the cities but often spreads out in elongated tongues which link city to city. Ranking by tv coverage will reflect the new population patterns and deliver maximum homes to the advertisers. Wholesalers and retailers have long recognized the importance of reaching people outside of metropolitan markets, and have channeled their thinking into area concepts. As a result, they often make extremely economical buys. A great many stations have a rich, exclusive area to offer advertisers — an area which often cannot be reached in its entirety by any other means — although their home city is not listed among the top 30 metropolitan markets. Furthermore, many stations have satellites and advantageous combination buys which an advertiser may overlook unless he uses an area approach. John C. Cohan, co-owner & general manager, KSBW-TV, Salinas and KSBY-TV, San Luis Obispo, Calif. I Advertisers should ask: "Am I getting maximum circulation?" There is only one reason for ranking tv markets and that is to establish potential circulation for the purpose of I mi \ in» television time. If markets are ranked by metropolitan area rather than by tv coverage, then the rankings will not reflect the potential circulation. In the West, for example, you can have a metropolitan area of more than 50,000 but with little circulation outside. On the other hand, you can have a television station which is not listed as a metropolitan area but will deliver circulation over a wide area, thus giving the advertiser much more potential. The challenge of our time is to improve our advertising and selling methods. From 1946 to 1956, America increased its productivity by 64% yet distribution increased by only 22%. Many of the yardsticks we use to measure advertising potential are today outmoded. Nor is there any one yardstick that will accomplish this. However, every buyer of television time should ask himself the question: Am I getting the most circulation for my advertising dollar? Simple arithmetic quickly reveals that a television station delivering 100,000 sets at a rate of $350 per hour in a single station market, is a better advertising buy than a station serving 300,000 sets at a rate of $600 per hour in a three station market. Buying television time by metropolitan areas only, rather than by tv coverage creates a situation in which the advertiser does not get the most for his advertising dollar, particularly when you study those metropolitan areas from No. 60 to No. 150. A station which is predominant in 50 communities, none of which are of sufficient size to be classed as a metropolitan market, will deliver much more audience to the advertiser than a station in some metropolitan markets on the list. To cite just one example: Our home county, Monterey, has a population in excess of 185,000 with no metropolitan areas in the county. Another California counh. covering about the same SPONSOR • 26 APRIL 1958