Paul Evseroff is an account manager with NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations (OTS) where he consults with businesses seeking to advertise with NBCUniversal OTS to help them plan their media buys and tell their stories. Evseroff has more than 25 years of experience, has created more than 500 TV ads over the course of his career and won several Telly Awards.
Q: What are the top three considerations for media planning and buying?
A: Any media planning and buying strategy should keep these three points in mind:
- Identify the realistic expectations the business hopes to get out of the campaign. There are many times where businesses have inflated opinions of what they think they will achieve with a media buy (like huge sales growth in a short period of time) vs. what they will get (such as steady growth over a longer period of time). Spending less or more on advertising doesn’t necessarily equate to more success. You need a commitment over a prolonged period of time to achieve reach and frequency to generate results. For those unfamiliar, reach refers to the number of people seeing or hearing your ad while frequency refers to the number of times a person is exposed to the ad. The right reach and frequency are important for media buying success.
- Determine if your message will resonate with the viewer. Advertising is all about your message. You need it to resonate with your audiences to create a perfect buying experience. When your target audiences see and hear your message, you want them to nod their heads in agreement, feel passionate about your product or service and take buying action. Businesses should hone their advertising messaging with specific target audiences in mind.
- Don’t advertise based on how YOUR business thinks/feels. . Advertising and marketing are not about the business or the CEO; it’s about the audience. What’s important at the end of the day is how the target audience feels about the advertising and its messaging. Many advertisers care too much about what the business leaders think of the advertising. So, how do you know how an audience feels? You can leverage existing demographic data on your target audiences or dig deeper with research to identify their interests and motivations. And testing ad creative in real-time can identify which version drives more conversions of clicks, calls and sales.
Q: As we look ahead toward 2021, are there big trends you’re seeing in media planning and buying?
A: First, the pandemic has clearly had a significant impact on media planning and buying in 2020, and it will continue to do so leading into 2021. We saw ad spends in the second quarter of 2020 decrease significantly across most industries as millions of Americans stayed at home and cut back on purchases. We’re starting to see more businesses increase advertising as consumers feel more comfortable going back into businesses and back to their normal spending habits. Advertising messages focused on comfort, safety and caring will likely be used more often in 2021 as these messages resonate with the general public and help them ease back into frequenting businesses again. If people feel safe, they’ll spend money.
Second, we’ll continue to see industry variations. For example, the entertainment and hospitality industries were negatively impacted by a downturn in their businesses due to COVID-19. On the flip side, some industries, such as those invested more heavily in e-commerce, have seen record profits in 2020 and will likely continue to spend more on media buys. However, a lot of consumers are getting tired of simply buying online as they miss the experience of exploring a traditional brick and mortar store. There’s only so much e-commerce comingled with cabin fever one can take. We’re seeing the auto and RV industries spending more on advertising due to drive-cations as Americans want to travel with their families while avoiding air travel. Health care and pharmaceutical advertising is also growing strongly.
And third, the trend from linear to nonlinear media will continue to grow. Linear media, such as live TV, is presented to consumers at a scheduled time while nonlinear media, such as on-demand TV programming, is more interactive allowing viewers to watch content whenever and wherever they like. More advertisers are starting to go from 100% linear buys to a split between linear and nonlinear buys on connected TVs (CTV) and over-the-top TV (OTT) where you can watch programs on demand, on your own terms. Both linear and nonlinear media have a time and place based on the goals of the business to capture attention of consumers. Advertisers are realizing a 100% linear buy means missing out on nonlinear impressions. Nonlinear media consumption is growing by leaps and bounds every year. Think about all of the streaming services that are commonplace today, but didn’t exist just a few years ago. As a result, on-demand advertising will only continue going up because consumers have made it clear that they want the control nonlinear media provides. Linear will never go away and is still a powerful media platform to advertise on. Running on both linear and nonlinear will ensure your business is seen by the biggest possible audiences.
Q: As we all know, 2020 includes a presidential election, which brings a lot of political advertising. Should businesses avoid advertising, particularly TV advertising, during an election cycle?
A: Election candidates are spending a great deal of money on advertising; however, that should not scare away businesses seeking to advertise during the election cycle. It all depends on the goals of the business. There are ways to continue media buys in a coordinated, cost-effective manner for advertisers who need a response now. For example, car dealers, retail and restaurants are just a few of the industries that rarely stop advertising because they need to continually drive traffic to their businesses. Remember, great messaging can always stand out from the increased competition for ad spots. Clearly media time will open up a great deal after the election, but businesses should not shy away from advertising if they need responses now.
Q: Do you have additional tips for businesses seeking media buys?
A: It’s important for businesses to know that holding on to your money will not get consumers in the door. Figure out a creative way to get your message out there and let people know your business is alive and open for business.
Also, believe in the success of your business. You can come back after the pandemic if you do it wisely. Go after your customers and let them know you care about them. It’s about cash and caring. Consumers are more willing to spend with businesses they feel care about them.
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