We’ve all heard the answer. You go where he goes
to get his food.
In advertising we would call that “local market
targeting” - determining where our purchasers reside
and then going after them. Or to borrow the saying, “fishing
where the fish are.”
For national advertisers a common practice is to simply
treat all customers and prospects alike – that is
nationally with no regard for individual local market strengths
and weaknesses. In other words, a national media plan calling
for the same advertising program everywhere.
But even though you have a national product the simple
fact is that (with rare exceptions) all sales are not the
same everywhere. Or put another way … all sales are
local.
For example let’s look at a few product categories.
Pasta Sauce. The best one-third of the
country (in terms of Brand Development Index BDI – ranking
markets based on brand sales compared to the national average)
indexes at 130. Pasta sauce sells great in the Northeast
but not so good in the South.
Mayonnaise. The per capita consumption
of a leading Mayonnaise brand is 89 per cent higher in
the best third of the country (189 index).
Adhesive Bandages. Heavy users concentrate
in the Middle Atlantic (114 index), South West (111 index)
and West Central (108 index) Nielsen marketing regions.
While your product may be available in all 210 DMA’s
there is clearly a marked difference in individual market
brand sales. So why not have your advertising schedules
follow gleefully along?
Or take another measure – Category Development Index – ranking
markets based on product category sales compared to the
national average.
The whole idea of analyzing BDI / CDI data is based on
the concept that a brand’s consumers are not evenly
distributed geographically as well as demographically.
Armed with this and other input look at some of the ways
you can set your market priorities depending on your strategies:
High category and brand sales.
High category but low brand sales.
High brand sales but only average or below-average category
development.
High index geographic areas can be targeted with little
waste. Because of the large differences in the sales value
of DMA’s and because you can include or exclude them,
spot television has the greatest targeting leverage in
all of television. It is a powerful way to target consumers.
Greater than broadcast network, greater than syndication,
greater than cable.
So with the clear advantages of market-by-market media
planning why do so many national advertisers continue to
employ national media exclusively?
From an agency’s point of view in addition to lower
administrative costs Network TV is definitely easier to
plan, buy, track and pay. Spot requires teams, dealing
with multiple salespeople, market by market analyses topped
off by plenty of additional man-hours.
As Erwin Ephron, a widely respected and often-quoted industry
media maven states:
“ Big media agencies like big media ideas. Data fusion, optimization, media-mix.
But big media agencies hate small media. Too many pieces, too many touch points,
too many posts. Big media are more cost effective and a far better cultural fit.
That’s why network TV and magazines get most of the dollars. It’s
not just that most sales are local; half our media are local, also. But yet they
are often ignored.”
And on the subject of cost efficiencies some advertisers
find it is more cost effective to buy Network TV over Spot
after a certain percentage of the country is purchased.
For example, let’s consider some standard broadcast
dayparts:
HH CPP SPOT EQUIVALENT TO NETWORK
DAYPART
# SPOT MKTS
% U.S.
Day
91
83.4%
News
32
55.2%
Prime
47
65.2%
Day (50%) News (25%) Prime (25%)
80
79.9%
SOURCE: 2004 Marketer’s Guide
to Media
From the above one can see that the break-even point for
buying daytime spot over network is 91 markets (83.4% of
the U.S.), 32 markets for News, 47 markets for Prime and
80 markets for a multiple daypart combination.
This network over spot cost advantage however is negated
with the services of the Mosbygrey Media Services Group
whose documented and proven spot television efficiencies
actually better those of network. This is achieved through
a proprietary buying process now in its 30th year executed
for some of the country’s most sophisticated advertisers
(we will supply the list on request).
Put us to the test. We don’t promise that we’ll
find your horse but do know that we can bring extra distance
to your ad campaign with our planning and buying abilities.
And you can bet on that!
