Page 194 - Duct Tape Marketing

178 Part III: Creating and Placing Ads

ߜ You can trade your product to a third-party business that then trades a
like value of time or product to the station. (For example, you trade
$1,000 of plumbing services to a contractor who then trades $1,000 of
contracting services to a station’s remodeling project, and the station
gives the contractor $1,000 of airtime which you get as your end of the
deal.)

Unless you’re making a direct trade with the station, bartering takes time and
expertise. For assistance, look online or in the Yellow Pages for Barter
Services or inquire with your media planner about making barter contacts.

If you decide to barter for your ad buys, here are the advantages:

ߜ You can buy airtime without spending actual money.
ߜ You can leverage your budget. You may be able to trade for airtime at

one and a half to two times your product value (for example, $1,500 of
airtime for $1,000 of product). Even a straight trade ($1,000 of airtime for
$1,000 of product) saves money over a cash buy because your product
price includes profit.

When bartering, proceed with exactly the same care you would exercise if
you were making cash purchases of media time:

ߜ See that the schedule delivers adequate reach and frequency.
ߜ Verify that the station reaches your target audience.
ߜ Be sure that the timing matches your marketing plan.
ߜ Include an expiration date on the product certificates you provide as

part of your agreement. You don’t want to end up paying for this year’s
advertising out of ad budgets in years to come.
ߜ Be careful that on-air promotions involving your products are consistent
with your business image and contribute to the strength of your brand.

Broadcast Ad Guidelines

Whether you’re producing a television ad or a radio ad, some general broad-
cast advertising guidelines apply.

Establishing your own broadcast identity

Over time, you want listeners or viewers to recognize your business
before they even hear your name. Consider the following identity-building
techniques: