When approached by a Cable sales rep, it is important to read past the price per commercial.    Just because you are getting a lot of commercials included doesn’t mean there are a ton of people watching! That is because not all TV commercials are created equally.

TV commercials are priced based off of supply and demand. So you need to make sure you are getting what you paid for, not just spots they can’t sell.  To really squeeze the most out of an advertising buy, nothing will beat an experienced media buyer at an agency. 

If that isn’t in the cards, here are some quick tips to negotiate like a pro.

  • On which networks are your spots going to run?  What percentage will run on the stations that your audience watches?  Make sure to negotiate the majority of spots on the right networks and not let the seller push you to networks that don’t fit your brand.  How many F-150s do you plan to sell with a commercial on Oxygen?
  • What time are the commercials running?  Is it 6am to midnight?  Monday through Sunday?  Are your potential customers watching these networks at 11am on a Tuesday?  What about 6am on a Sunday?  Try to negotiate the majority of your spots in your prime time.  If you sell pizza you probably don’t want to pay for spots before 11am.
  • Does this cover the area I need?  Many cable providers sell based on Cable Zones.  So if you are based in Atlanta, you don’t have to run spots in the whole DMA.  You can buy one or a handful of the 45 cable zones that Effectv has in the Atlanta Cable market.  If you have an option don’t pay for areas that are unlikely to buy from you.
  • Show me the bonus!  After you have your first or second round of negotiation in place start to talk about the added value.  We talked about picking times and networks you want, but there is still value in the other areas. Ask your rep to give you some bonus spots!  Negotiate them as free or low cost spots.  If you are willing to commit to a longer term you should expect more bonus spots!
  • Make sure you get what you paid for.  Even the best media schedules don’t run perfectly all the time.  After the invoices come in make sure they match what you ordered and paid for.

These are just a few tricks that professional media buyers use.  Good agencies also have access ratings, buying software and  3rd party tools that they can use to evaluate the right audience. 

Final Notes

The sales person may try to sway you with research, it is likely good information if the rep has been there for a while.  Just know that it’s always made to put them in the best light. Ask questions, and if it sounds too good to be true it probably is!