Placing media during a political time period can be challenging due to the substantial amount of marketing dollars now available to candidates. This is especially true for network TV! If your market is unable to avoid placing TV during a political window, follow these guidelines to maximize your buy and hold your media partners accountable.
Anticipate challenges including:
1) Unreasonably expensive rates
2) Limited inventory
3) Bumped spots
Best rule of thumb, first in…last out! Consider using only :15 second TV spots which are less likely to get bumped.
Plan Ahead. Book Early and Negotiate Fixed Rates.
When establishing your overall network TV rates consider using the “fixed political rate” rule. Ask your media partner for a fixed rate that will offer the best protection from pre-emptions upfront, rather than lower unit rates that are more likely to get bumped. Stations that manage their inventory well can offer rates that will likely reduce pre-emptions.
Pre-emption: The practice of rescheduling or replacing a previously scheduled advertisement with another commercial
Bumped Spots? Move Quickly to Manage Pre-emptions and Make goods
Reschedule any bumped spots within the same flight window as an already established buy. Your market’s multi-media approach is diluted when effective reach campaigns are interrupted with pre-emptions.
It’s important that all make-goods are managed in accordance with your media buying policies, fall within existing flight windows, and include proper network TV programming.
Make Up Points, Not Rates
Make-goods should make-up the points/impressions lost, not the dollars lost, as you don’t want to decrease your reach. Making up points will provide the same audience size delivery, whereas making up rates may fall short in regard to both points and reach.
Advertising during political windows presents a unique set of opportunities and challenges. Being prepared to enter the competitive advertising landscape will enable you to optimize your campaigns and achieve meaningful results.
