Watching a weekly show about the Packers, my roommate noticed an ad from her favorite pizza place, which doesn’t normally advertise on TV.
“Some TV sales rep talked them into advertising on TV,” I commented. “The rep probably said that pizza and football are good combinations.”
“That’s a good place for them to advertise,” she replied. “I would have been watching that show regularly if I’d known it was on.” She paused briefly and then mumbled, “I didn’t know it was on.”
Here’s the process many small businesspeople go through to advertise on a TV show such as this. The TV sales rep convinces businessperson of that this show is a good place to advertise and offers an attractive commercial package that centers around the show, likely with substantial savings. The businessperson agrees with the sales rep’s reasoning and purchases the package. A commercial is created for the business by the TV station. The production cost might even be reduced or free as a part of the package. The businessperson approves the commercial, and it airs during the show and possibly other agreed upon time periods.
The mistake on the part of the pizza place businessperson and all the other businesspeople who are convinced by a rep to buy is that they fail to ask the right questions. How is your station promoting this program? When do the commercials for it air on your station? How are you promoting it off air?
Businesspeople are wrapped up in their own decisions of whether to buy the package and what to put in the commercial. They don’t consider if viewers know about the program, what the station is doing to get or retain viewership to it, and how those two factors affect the response to their commercial. They don’t address these questions either before, during, or after they make the buy.
I agree that football and pizzas do mix well. Statistics show that the high point of the year for pizza orders is during the Super Bowl. That does not mean, however, that placing commercials for a pizza place on any football-related show is a wise move. You need to have asked the right questions and received satisfactory answers before you can judge. You don’t want people to be saying, “I didn’t know it was on.”
This week's marketing trivia challenge is When have you asked the right questions of a sales rep? E-mail me your answer.
“Some TV sales rep talked them into advertising on TV,” I commented. “The rep probably said that pizza and football are good combinations.”
“That’s a good place for them to advertise,” she replied. “I would have been watching that show regularly if I’d known it was on.” She paused briefly and then mumbled, “I didn’t know it was on.”
Here’s the process many small businesspeople go through to advertise on a TV show such as this. The TV sales rep convinces businessperson of that this show is a good place to advertise and offers an attractive commercial package that centers around the show, likely with substantial savings. The businessperson agrees with the sales rep’s reasoning and purchases the package. A commercial is created for the business by the TV station. The production cost might even be reduced or free as a part of the package. The businessperson approves the commercial, and it airs during the show and possibly other agreed upon time periods.
The mistake on the part of the pizza place businessperson and all the other businesspeople who are convinced by a rep to buy is that they fail to ask the right questions. How is your station promoting this program? When do the commercials for it air on your station? How are you promoting it off air?
Businesspeople are wrapped up in their own decisions of whether to buy the package and what to put in the commercial. They don’t consider if viewers know about the program, what the station is doing to get or retain viewership to it, and how those two factors affect the response to their commercial. They don’t address these questions either before, during, or after they make the buy.
I agree that football and pizzas do mix well. Statistics show that the high point of the year for pizza orders is during the Super Bowl. That does not mean, however, that placing commercials for a pizza place on any football-related show is a wise move. You need to have asked the right questions and received satisfactory answers before you can judge. You don’t want people to be saying, “I didn’t know it was on.”
This week's marketing trivia challenge is When have you asked the right questions of a sales rep? E-mail me your answer.
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