Respected media business analyst Borrell Associates, Inc. forecasted earlier this month that political advertising will reach new heights nationally this year at $4.2 billion. The bulk of that, nearly 75%, is expected to be local and centered on issues rather than candidates.
"January's Supreme Court ruling put a 10 percent lift in our 2010 forecast adding more than $400 million to media coffers. The decision prohibits the government from banning political spending by corporations. In many ways this year will be a prelude, where political weapons are tested and strategies and tactics are refined – a training exercise for 2012's battle royale. If the results from the opening salvos are any indicator, 2010 will be remembered as a year of change in the basic structure of political campaigns," From the executive summary of "The Endless Campaign," Borrell Associates, Inc. released in early February.
Political Advertising guru John Kimball (former NAA chief marketing officer), identifies 5 key elements to success in newspapers getting their fair share of this expected expenditure.
1. Understand the political ad market.
2. Take on the competition.
3. Communicate newspapers unique selling propositions.
4. Give political consultants and candidates what they wont.
5. Find the buyers.
We tried to keep all these elements in mind when designing our program for 2010.
Based initially on previous political seasons.
In 2008, CPS created extensive political packaging options. Those packages did not sell.
Instead, what happened was, we were asked to create customized packages.
In talking with clients including, candidates, public relations firms, agencies, political consultants, and other press associations… We were told that the trend is increasing going that direction, toward more customized quotes.
They want to reach more precise targets and they are looking for looking for more precise options.
As a result we came to the conclusion that
OUR STRENGTH (as a placement agency)
IS OUR DIFFERENCES.
Namely, all the different papers in the state, their understanding of their own markets and the advertising apparatus set up by each for those markets.
As Colorado Press Service, we have:
• Prime access to nearly 150 CPA member papers, and roughly that many again, that are not part of the membership (including monthlies, bi-monthlies, specialty products, etc…)
• Extensive everyday working knowledge of deadlines, contacts, formats, mechanical information, publication cycle and other requirements.
• The one bill, one check, one call advantage.
• The ability to save time and money by that familiarity.
• An existing relationship with those papers.
By focusing on the paper’s differences, we focus on the strength of the industry.
One size does not fit all. And that is represented in our membership.
A membership which includes large dailies of with circulation of 500,000, small weeklies with less than 500 circulation, and everything in between. But what is special about all of them is that they uniquely connected to their own communities, each serving their distinctive markets.
Each paper to survive, long-term must offer the best way to reach that community.
That means:
• Hyper LOCAL news.
• LOCAL community involvement.
• Localized information.
• Responsiveness to regional differences.
Modern marketing is it based on the 3 Ds. Is what are marketing:
• Desirable? (Does the customer want what we are selling?)
• Distinctive? (Is it different enough from everything else being sold to stand out?)
• Deliverable? (Can we make good on our promise?)
So going back to our previous experience where were asked to created extensive customized options.
How best to position ourselves to customize?
In 2008, CPS created extensive political packaging options. Those packages did not sell.
Instead, what happened was, we were asked to create customized packages.
In talking with clients including, candidates, public relations firms, agencies, political consultants, and other press associations… We were told that the trend is increasing going that direction, toward more customized quotes.
They want to reach more precise targets and they are looking for looking for more precise options.
As a result we came to the conclusion that
OUR STRENGTH (as a placement agency)
IS OUR DIFFERENCES.
Namely, all the different papers in the state, their understanding of their own markets and the advertising apparatus set up by each for those markets.
As Colorado Press Service, we have:
• Prime access to nearly 150 CPA member papers, and roughly that many again, that are not part of the membership (including monthlies, bi-monthlies, specialty products, etc…)
• Extensive everyday working knowledge of deadlines, contacts, formats, mechanical information, publication cycle and other requirements.
• The one bill, one check, one call advantage.
• The ability to save time and money by that familiarity.
• An existing relationship with those papers.
By focusing on the paper’s differences, we focus on the strength of the industry.
One size does not fit all. And that is represented in our membership.
A membership which includes large dailies of with circulation of 500,000, small weeklies with less than 500 circulation, and everything in between. But what is special about all of them is that they uniquely connected to their own communities, each serving their distinctive markets.
Each paper to survive, long-term must offer the best way to reach that community.
That means:
• Hyper LOCAL news.
• LOCAL community involvement.
• Localized information.
• Responsiveness to regional differences.
Modern marketing is it based on the 3 Ds. Is what are marketing:
• Desirable? (Does the customer want what we are selling?)
• Distinctive? (Is it different enough from everything else being sold to stand out?)
• Deliverable? (Can we make good on our promise?)
So going back to our previous experience where were asked to created extensive customized options.
How best to position ourselves to customize?
We concluded:
Quick, Easy, Clear access to All Those Differences.
Methodology
Starting in October, we sent out surveys to every paper asking them to
1. Identify what rate we should use to sell political ads during the 2010 political season.
2. What online options were available?
3. Color costs
4. Commission available to us to sell your individual papers.
With that info, we loaded into our database, we ran through multiple scenarios or “starting place” type quotes (like the top 10 dailies in the state, or the largest legal newspapers in each county, etc…, and tried to continue to distill that info down to quick, easy to use information.
I think it is working out already.
For example, I closed yesterday on a quote placing ‘page killers’ in 9 papers that was turned in one day in the afternoon, answered the next morning, tweaked for that afternoon with new options. The client, a political consultant, targeted papers in house districts for certain state legislators that were ‘on the fence’ on a bill regarding rafting on Colorado rivers.
We have seen other similarly targeted placements already.
Quick, Easy, Clear access to All Those Differences.
Methodology
Starting in October, we sent out surveys to every paper asking them to
1. Identify what rate we should use to sell political ads during the 2010 political season.
2. What online options were available?
3. Color costs
4. Commission available to us to sell your individual papers.
With that info, we loaded into our database, we ran through multiple scenarios or “starting place” type quotes (like the top 10 dailies in the state, or the largest legal newspapers in each county, etc…, and tried to continue to distill that info down to quick, easy to use information.
I think it is working out already.
For example, I closed yesterday on a quote placing ‘page killers’ in 9 papers that was turned in one day in the afternoon, answered the next morning, tweaked for that afternoon with new options. The client, a political consultant, targeted papers in house districts for certain state legislators that were ‘on the fence’ on a bill regarding rafting on Colorado rivers.
We have seen other similarly targeted placements already.
Additionally, in an effort to find the buyers, give political consultants and candidates what they want, and to communicate newspapers unique selling propositions we have established a target list and have already started pitching the unique opportunity newspapers offer to reach voters in periodic emails, followup contacts.
The key, I think, is get them involved in the conversation, respond to their suggestions, and find products that fit. With so many offerings and unique ways of reaching Colorado communities through Colorado newspapers, and with papers ability to deliver voters, there is no reason not to buy.
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