Air Time AcademyAir Time Secrets for Advertising Success |
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They say that 50% of all advertising dollars are wasted, but nobody knows which half. We'll tell you which half, so you don't have to waste money ever again.
| TV Air Time - How the Experts Buy It |
| How to SAVE MONEY on Air Time -
DON'T MAKE THESE COMMON MISTAKES... |
| How Much Should *I* Spend? (CHART) |
| The Secret to Surviving Slow Economic Times is... |
Exposure creates awareness. Awareness inspires action.
Looking for Effective TV Air Time?Air Time Packages: Beware...Money spent reaching the wrong customer only increases your costs without adding new customers. YOU NEED TARGETED AIR TIME, NOT BARGAIN BASEMENT AIR TIMELOW-BALL AGENCIES and the Dangerous BAG O' SPOTS - Some companies promise a "package" where X-dollars gets you a specific number of "unused" or "remnant" airings. The trouble with these so-called packages is what's in the "bag." It's just a grab bag of "throw away" spots that air at undesirable times, on networks with hardly any viewers. Even if they did have some viewers, chances are, these viewers aren't the people you are trying to reach (i.e., wrong age, sex, income level). Would you really want to advertise your Tough-Guy Moto-Cross event on the "ladies' romantic movie channel"? If "remnant spots" are what they claim, then the package conceals a collection of undesirable junk spots, or airings so scattered that it's not possible for the same people to see your ad twice. Unless you have a product that appeals to random insomniacs who watch the Dust Channel, don't buy the "Bag O' Spots." BULK AIR TIME - This is a myth. Some agencies claim to buy air time in bulk in order to resell it to advertisers. This doesn't happen. Think about it. In order to have the right schedule on tap, the agency would have to buy up a huge chunk of airings in every market that they serve. Then, if no one asks for those exact airings, they eventually go to waste when the pre-purchased time slot passes. Who has that kind of money to waste? At best, what they may actually be doing is lumping your order with several other orders and airing all of the different commercials in a round robin rotation on whatever network is cheap. Sure, your ad may pop up randomly in the rotation (like a tennis shoe in the dryer), but it'll be on some network that isn't right for your product. EWWW!!! - STALE RATES!!! If you find a chart of air time rates posted on the web, be very afraid. If you are buying air time via an online form, and you're choosing from a chart of airings by price, be very afraid. These rates may give an exact price for airing on a particular network or show, but since rates change often (sometimes daily), yesterday's bargain may be today's high-priced and hard-to-get airing. Often, the airings are not even available at the quoted rate. We offer you airings on real cable networks like CNN, MTV, ESPN, and more, and on major broadcast stations (like NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, etc.). We won't stick you on low-power stations and obscure cable networks that nobody watches (unless you insist). We WILL make your advertising dollar go farther and work harder for you. You'll need the know-how of a media expert who can find you a real air time bargain. Let Cheap TV Spots® get you on the air -- on the right networks, for the right price.
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TV Air Time - How the Experts Buy It
air time prices - air time rates
If you have been searching on the web for prices so you can budget for your media buy, you probably haven't found much useful information. There's a reason.
Air time has to be tailored to your needs. How much you spend on your TV campaign depends on:
1.) Your business's gross monthly income (or your expected gross). Plan to spend at least 5-15% of your gross income on advertising.
IF YOUR GROSS MONTHLY INCOME IS $50,000 THEN YOUR ADVERTISING BUDGET SHOULD BE AT LEAST $2500 to $7500.
2.) How large an area you need to cover. Could be an area as big as the entire US, or as small as your neighborhood.
INTERNET BUSINESSES, MULTI-STATE COMPANIES, ETC., SHOULD MARKET NATIONWIDE. SMALL RETAILERS, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, ETC. TYPICALLY ADVERTISE ON NETWORKS THAT CAN BE VIEWED BY RESIDENTS CLOSE TO THEIR STORE OR OFFICE.
3.) The kind of person you want to reach. Some customers are highly sought after, and this drives up the prices on the networks where those coveted customers are watching. This is the trickiest part of the media buy to manage -- and it's where we can help you most!
STATISTICALLY, THE WOMEN OF THE FAMILY ARE IN CHARGE OF 80% OF HOUSEHOLD PURCHASES. THAT MAKES WOMEN AGED 25-45 A HIGH VALUE DEMOGRAPHIC. NETWORKS PRICE THEIR AD TIMES ACCORDING TO WHO'S WATCHING.
Air time is priced like a commodity. In this way, at least, it's a little bit like buying lettuce at the grocery store. The price goes up and down, depending on the time of year, what kind you get, how much you get -- generally, good old supply and demand:
Supply and Demand
If supplies are limited |
Prices go up ^ |
If people really demand it |
If supplies are plentiful |
Prices go down v |
If just a few people demand it |
Air time rates depend on:
- LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - where you go on the air (a city, a region, the entire U.S.?)
- TIME OF DAY- from a fixed prime time slot (the most expensive) to overnight airing (the cheapest)
- NETWORK OR SHOW- the most popular ones, as determined by Nielsen Ratings and other ratings systems, usually cost the most
- AUDIENCE - age, sex, race, income level, interests
- AVAILABILITY - whether there are open time slots available. Fewer openings mean higher rates!
Air Time Prices Change Often - Using massive computers, the networks calculate and recalculate their air time prices often, depending on the ever-changing popularity of shows and channels. Even they do not know their prices, off hand -- they use computer databases to track their hundreds of times and shows, assigning prices that change with supply and demand, and whatever they feel they can get away with.
As your air time placement agency, we sift through the hundreds upon thousands of possibilities, match them to your product, message, and potential customers, and come up with the ideal strategic plan for your air time, tempered with the requirements of your budget.
We have researched our competitors in the low cost TV commercial production area, looking carefully at what they offer for their rates. We did find a few who charge less. Listen, if they're offering production cheaper than our bargain rates, they do not produce an effective ad. IT'S NO BARGAIN!! Your commercial would look like junk -- and make your product look like junk, too.
How to Save Money on Air Time
You have two basic choices for getting your air time:
do it yourself,
or hire an agency.
Which way you go is up to you, as the advertiser. After all, it's your money.
Don't make these common mistakes. First, ask yourself: am I choosing my air time based on any of these assumptions:
"I want my ad to air on my favorite network (show)."
"My customer is 'everybody'."
"I heard that agencies cost a lot of money, and that's why
I'm going it alone.""I just want the very cheapest spots, and it doesn't really
matter when or where they actually go on the air.""I have a limited budget, so I want to buy just one airing
on a really popular show."
Think again.
The Right Words in the Right Ear at the Right Time (OR: Choosing TV Air Time Is an Art Form) - The medium really IS the message. Where and when your TV spot is shown is just as important as what your commercial says. Too often, advertisers waste valuable ad dollars by choosing networks and times based on too little information, by picking sentimental favorites, or by buying based on sheer price, without thinking about who will see their TV spots. Even a carefully crafted commercial intended for Medicare recipients will probably not bring in business if it winds up on, say, a teen-oriented music channel.
Buy Your Own Air Time? -- YES YOU CAN! But...When a business owner, wanting to get a jump on things, calls a TV station or cable outlet directly for air time rates, her name, company name and telephone number goes into the TV station's database, along with the air time rate she is quoted by the salesperson (who gets a commission if he makes the sale). Once your name is in their database, you're stuck with that price, even if it is available for less money through an agency. You've just shot yourself in the foot. Ouch! We only mention it here because you can really get yourself into a mess that is hard, even for us, to get you out of. Did you know...? : There's no savings in do-it-yourself air time buys. When individual advertisers, especially small businesses, go directly to the networks for air time, they are charged the full rate including commission, which the network keeps as payment for the service of arranging your air time buy. ...its gonna hurt!Buying your own air time is like a do-it-yourself
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appendectomy -- sure, you can do it, but it'll hurt a lot, you might not know if you did it right, and you might just start setting off airport alarms with that surgical tool you left inside by mistake...
We're Cheap, not Sloppy: Blasting spots here, there, and everywhere is NOT what we do. We map out your air time plan as carefully as we craft your TV commercial message.
Rates...depends on who's asking! Each broadcast network, cable, or satellite system offers different rates depending on who is buying. (Do they purchase a large volume of air time, are they ready to buy right now for cash, do they have a good track record of on-time payment, etc.?) Essentially, the price depends on who's asking. Only an advertising and air time placement agency like Cheap TV Spots, who has cultivated a good relationship with the broadcast networks and cable/satellite systems (they remember us for our efficiency, high volume of business, and because we always pay our bills), can navigate the air time buying maze and get you priority placement at a good rate.
How we're paid: We receive a small commission from some of the broadcast networks and cable/satellite systems for placing air time with them. A fee (usually 5% to 15%) is included in the price of each airing. This fee is for the time and effort of marketing and arranging for the air dates, and frankly, it helps us defray production costs for your high quality, low cost TV spot, allowing us to go the extra mile for your message. We are frequent buyers of air time, so we receive the generous discounts available to us as a full-service TV advertising agency, and we pass along 100% of this discount to our clients. Air time really does cost less when you buy through Cheap TV Spots.
The complexity of air time pricing, plus our aggressive stance toward finding the best times, networks, and programs for your message (and your budget), are why we encourage you to let us place your air time.
A Shameless Plug: When it comes to air time, let us do the asking, for you. |
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Allowing a full-service TV advertising agency like Cheap TV Spots to place your air time means you'll win on price, and you'll win with an unbiased analysis of your best targeted placements, without the hassle of trying to learn the ad biz on the fly. You get better times, better rates, and the benefits of the industry knowledge and excellent reputation that Cheap TV Spots has built. |
Advertisers need a good agency, not a price list. We're open minded, objective, and pragmatic. We can help you steer clear of the pitfalls that keep many advertisers from reaching their desired customers. The real savings on air time are in allowing a budget-conscious, full service advertising agency like Cheap TV Spots to work closely with you to find the best audience for your product or service, then to place your air time where and when it works the hardest for you. Because our success depends on yours, we make your air time buy as carefully as if it was our own. |
FRESH AIR TIME!Let us be your air time agency. Order Your Air Time Today! |
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How Much Should I Spend on Air Time?
People often ask how much they should be spending. Ultimately it is a tradeoff between what is affordable for your business, and how much advertising is necessary to achieve your marketing goals. It also depends on the type of business you are operating.
NOTE: THESE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. This is NOT a "price list" or "rate quote." The amounts listed are for budgeting purposes only and should not be construed as exact prices. These are examples of what other advertisers in your business are spending, so you can budget for your own campaign.
The table below shows the minimum you should typically prepare to spend per month for a 2-3 month, budget-savvy campaign. Your actual advertising expenditure will vary by location and goals.
For faster results, make a larger air time buy.
Air Time Minimal Spending Rules of Thumb |
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| Type of Business |
Product or Service |
Typical Minimum Air Time Buy per Month |
Marketing Goal |
Retail shop, 1 location (except restaurants. See below.) |
automotive repair, specialty store, single franchisee | $1,500-$2000 (for local area cable TV such as CNN, Home & Garden TV, etc.) $2,000-5,000 (for a local broadcast station like NBC, ABC, CBS, etc.) |
Local recognition, advertise ongoing specials, and increase business. Plan to be on the air for at least 3 months to be effective. |
| Local restaurant or local chain, 1 or more locations | family style dinners, take-out, fine dining, etc. | $2,000-$4,000 (for local cable TV) Average: $3,000 $4,000-$6,000 (for broadcast) |
The restaurant business is highly competitive. Hit hard to get noticed and develop a following. |
| Product manufacturer or distributor | market test of new product | $10,000 - $25,000 per market (for concentrated airings in one selected test market, preferably at least 100K cable TV viewers) Can also be tested nationwide on satellite. |
Determine if product demand exists in the market test area by number of calls. Actual orders and up-sells depend on the activities of the call center. Recommended length of test: 6-8 weeks. |
| Direct Response Advertiser, "1 800" product (not sold in stores) local or regional | "1 800" product (not sold in stores) with broad audience appeal | Sales: $3,000 for airing on cable TV per each established market. $6000-10,000 for local broadcast | Sales: Generate customer calls to call/fulfillment center. |
| Market Test: $5,000 for cable TV airings in one local test market, at least 100K viewers. | Market Test: Determine level of product demand in a specific geographic region or demographic. Recommended length of test: 6-8 weeks. | ||
| Direct Response Advertiser, "1 800" product (not sold in stores) nationwide | "1 800" product (not sold in stores) with broad audience appeal | Sales: $10,000 - $20,000 for airing on nationwide satellite or for a cable campaign. Satellite packages available. |
Sales: Generate customer calls to call center or fulfillment center. Actual orders and up-sells are responsibility of call center. |
| Market Test: $10,000-$25,000 Can be tested efficiently nationwide on satellite or via nationwide cable. Can be tested on local broadcast if nationwide testing is not an option. | Market Test: Determine where product demand exists nationwide. Actual orders and up-sells are responsibility of call center. Recommended length of test: 6-8 weeks. | ||
Do Any of These Businesses Sound Like Yours? Read On:
Start-up Businesses - You need new customers to survive. You'll need to do more marketing than an older, established business, which has previous customers, general visibility, and trust in the community. Remember, you're trying to make your mark!
Established Businesses - Well-established businesses that rely on repeat business from existing customers can spend less than a business that needs new customers to survive, such as a start-up, or a business that offers products or services that are typically a one-time purchase.
Heavy Competition - No matter what business you're in, you'll need to spend as much as other businesses like yours are spending. You may even need to spend more, if there is lots of competition. Restaurants, for example, need to spend more than other single-location businesses because of the highly competitive restaurant industry.
Low Margins - If you have a small profit margin and rely on high sales volume, you need to spend more on marketing than a business that gains a high profit margin from a small number of sales. Why? You need to attract more individual customers. This is especially true in competitive business sectors where price is the main selling point. Why do you think car dealers advertise so much?
Television is an "awareness" medium.Exposure creates awareness. Awareness inspires action. In general, it takes several viewings of your commercial (typically at least 8 viewings) to register your message in the customer's mind. With a minimal schedule, it takes about 3 months to build sufficient awareness to inspire action. With a combination of more frequent and more targeted airings, customers reach the key level of awareness much more rapidly, and take action sooner. |
NOW LET'S LOOK AT YOUR MARKETING AND ADVERTISING BUDGET
If you're like many small or start-up businesses, you may not have a clear picture of your marketing and advertising budget. Think of your marketing budget as a percentage of total revenues. Very generally speaking, in an "up" market, when business is booming, an average business can expect to spend 5% of revenues on marketing. In a "flat," or "down" market, when business is slow, expect to spend 10-25% of revenues.
Spend MORE during slow times? YES!Studies show that businesses who continue to advertise during a recession tend to recover THREE TIMES AS FAST as businesses who reduce or stop advertising during that period. Also, their existing customers tend to remain loyal through the down period, increasing their spending when the economy picks up again. Why more? First, if your revenues are down, your usual marketing costs represent a larger percentage of that revenue. Second, you will want to try to catch up to previous sales levels, and that will take more advertising. |
Let's look at a really cheap TV ad campaign. Ms. Smith, owner of an auto body repair shop that is not part of a chain and has only one location, wishes to promote her services within her county, especially within just a few miles of the shop. She has already purchased a Cheap TV Spot, so she is ready to go on the air. Cheap TV Spots jumps in to locate cable networks in her area that give her the best air time bargain (greatest target audience for the lowest cost). Ms. Smith's sales are around $12,000/month. Since she knows there's lots of competition, she decides to budget $1,200 (10%) per month for advertising, which she puts into television airings. This amount is enough to place a minimal schedule which, over the course of several months, will provide Ms. Smith with plenty of positive exposure for her advertising message.
Ultimately, you get what you pay for (just ask Pepsi® and Pizza Hut®). If you already know where your audience will be watching, a single airing on a highly rated network during a popular TV program (again, based on Neilsen and other ratings systems) can provide more - and more effective - exposure than a large number of un-targeted spots scattered randomly among various networks and times. Additionally, by selecting the network and TV program carefully (based on your target demographic and your message), your commercial is seen by the people most likely to buy from you, at a time when they are most receptive to your message. This is why companies like Pepsi and Pizza Hut pay millions to air their commercials during the Superbowl.
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