You’ve been there.
A media rep calls you up or sends you an email about an amazing media opportunity. It’s a huge media value and they’re offering it to you for half off. On top of that, they’ll be able to give you some more added value things because you’re such a great client. The only thing is they only have a few slots available. That’s why they’re contacting you now. So you can get it before another advertiser gets it. It’s such a great deal and is sure to help you with your business. But you didn’t budget for it. After all, it is a last minute thing. But are you missing out on a big opportunity to promote yourself at a highly discounted price? Maybe. Maybe not.
Sales tactics aside, it can be hard to tell if a media opportunity is really worth it
Here are some questions you should ask to determine if it really makes sense for your business.
Media Vehicle
Where and when is this running?
Is that a good place and timing for your sales cycle?
Objective
What are you trying to achieve with this media opportunity?
Inclusions
What are all the things the media opportunity includes?
Target Audience and Reach
Who is the target audience and how many will it reach?
Is that who your core target is?
Estimated Return
Set a measurement that you’d like to receive from this. Examples: leads, visits to website.
Then based on your experience with other media opportunities, estimate what is your likely return.
If you have no idea how to estimate this because you’ve never run something like this before or because you haven’t tracked results before, you have two options:
Set a number that you feel would be worth it for the cost and ask yourself if you’re willing to gamble to achieve that result
Determine a qualitative return (e.g. client relationship building) that you may achieve from this.
Cost
What is the total cost? Also include production costs.
Value
Based on your objective, Is the cost worth the estimated return?
There are a few simple calculations you can use to help you determine this.
Cost per thousand reached
Cost per acquisition/lead
Cost per click
Deadlines
When does it need to be reserved by?
When do they need your ad (or anything else, e.g. logo) by?
Results
If you do purchase this media opportunity, enter in the Actual Return results, after it runs, so you can track its effectiveness.
You can use this form at the link below to list your results
Download the Ad Media Opportunity Evaluation Form
When you first start implementing this, you’re probably going to be wildly inaccurate in your estimated returns. But over time, you’ll be able to more accurately determine your likely results. The key is in going through the process of evaluating the true value of buying media and how it relates to your true marketing objectives, rather than just trying to compare “media value,” which can be highly subjective.