6
Broadcast Promotion and Marketing

This chapter focuses on the promotion and marketing of radio and television stations to audiences and advertisers. It considers

Commercial radio and television stations spend considerable time and energy promoting the interests of others directly through advertising and public service announcements. Indirectly, they promote the interests and careers of recording artists and an array of other personalities.

Broadcast promotion and marketing refers to a station’s efforts to promote itself, and is directed toward the two groups whose support is necessary to ensure its continued operation: audiences and advertisers.

Without an audience, even the best programs attract little advertiser interest. Through audience promotion, a station seeks to persuade people to continue to tune in or to sample its programming.

In the increasingly competitive media marketplace, a station has to fight for its share of advertising dollars. Through sales promotion, a station seeks to persuade advertisers and advertising agencies to buy time.

Promotion is so important to success that many stations entrust it to a department headed by a promotion and marketing director, who reports to the general manager.¹ The size of the department varies.² It is determined by many factors, including station and market size, the competition, and the importance assigned to promotion by station management. In some stations, the director may have the assistance of only a secretary. In others, the staff may number a dozen or more, and may be organized to reflect the various functions of the department. In markets where a single owner operates multiple stations, the director may be responsible for promoting all of them.

Some stations do not give promotion responsibilities to a separate department. Audience promotion may be carried out by the program department, for example, and sales promotion by the sales department. In small stations, the general manager may play the prominent role in promotion.

Here, emphasis will be on the promotion and marketing director and the promotion functions, no matter who discharges them.

THE PROMOTION AND MARKETING DIRECTOR

Responsibilities

The promotion and marketing director is responsible for marketing the station and its programs to audiences, and its audiences to advertisers. In a small department, the director may have to handle all the details. In a large department, specific responsibilities may be assigned to different staff members, with the director supervising their work and carrying out general administrative tasks.

Whether directly involved or acting chiefly in a supervisory capacity, the promotion and marketing director has responsibility for a wide variety of activities. They include

Qualities

The qualities required of an effective promotion and marketing director are as numerous and varied as the responsibilities.

Knowledge

The director should have knowledge of the following:

Skills

The promotion and marketing director should display skills in

Personal Qualities

The promotion and marketing director should be

THE PROMOTION PLAN

A promotion plan is the product of discussions among the promotion and marketing director, general manager, and the heads of the program and sales departments and, often, the news department. Carrying out the plan is the function of the promotion and marketing director.

Developing and executing the plan is a six-step process:

AUDIENCE PROMOTION

The principal goal of audience promotion is to increase audience by maintaining current listeners or viewers and persuading nonlisteners or nonviewers to sample the station’s programs. The goal is accomplished through image promotion and program promotion.

Like the products they advertise, stations must stand out from the competition by winning a place in the public’s mind or positioning themselves. Image promotion seeks to satisfy that need by establishing, shifting, or solidifying public perceptions of the station.

Traditionally, radio stations have used their format as their image, so that people refer to a station as “the rock station” or “the news station.” Stations that air a significant amount of sports programming may project the image of “the sports station.” If the station has a heavy schedule of community affairs programming and is closely involved in community activities, the image of “the community station” may be selected.

In today’s competitive marketplace, such broad positioning statements often are inadequate. For example, how does “rock” position a station if the community has stations with contemporary rock, album rock, classic rock, and country rock formats?

Because of the similarity of program types on the major broadcast television networks, and the frequent changes in programming, network-affiliated television stations usually have looked to their local programming for image promotion. Often, their efforts center on local news, with themes such as “Eyewitness News” or “Action News.” Stations that are affiliated with Fox, The WB, or UPN often position themselves simply by identifying with the network (Figure 6.1).

Figure 6.1 This on-air news promo graphic reflects the practice of many Fox affiliates that position themselves by combining the name of the network with their channel number.

(Courtesy WDSI-TV.)

Independent television stations usually turn for their image to competitive programming, such as sports or movies. Some position themselves as “the alternative station,” by which they mean that they offer program types different from affiliated stations during certain dayparts.

Again, these general themes do not permit a station to occupy a niche. Remote trucks enable most stations to be “eyewitnesses” to the news. Fox may conjure up many images, from “The Simpsons” to NFL football. In addition, as noted in Chapter 4, “Broadcast Programming,” “alternative” programming is insufficient ammunition for an independent competing against an array of alternatives offered by cable and DBS.

Today, selection of an image must be based on a clear understanding of perceptions of the station and its competitors, the targeted audience, the audience’s needs and how the station fulfills them, and of specific ways in which the station differs from the competition.

The required understanding should emerge from the research carried out in completing the first three steps of the promotion plan. Focus groups, interviews, and surveys can provide valuable insights into current perceptions of the station and its competitors and suggest an appropriate image. However, the positioning statement must say exactly what the station is. “More music” says something, but “More music, 12 in a row” says much more. Research may reveal that a major competitor is perceived as having disc jockeys who talk too much. “Less talk” could be a strong and effective positioner. If technology is determined to be a significant listener benefit, “The all-digital station” may be considered.

Occasionally, research suggests a statement that tells what the station is not. One station changed its format to light adult contemporary and wanted to avoid the notion that it was playing elevator music, which, according to focus groups, was the perception held of a competitor. The positioner that resulted was “No hard rock. No elevator music.”

The diversity and wide appeal of programming on all television stations make it difficult for a station to develop a positioning statement that sets it apart from the competition. Some stations select an umbrella theme, such as “Making a Difference,” and use it as part of all their promotions.

More frequently, stations affiliated with the major television networks try to position themselves through locally programmed dayparts or local programming. Local news plays such a key role in influencing public perceptions that it usually is chosen for image promotion emphasis (see Figure 6.2). Anchors, reporters, technology, comprehensive coverage—all can enhance the station’s image. Successful promotion, however, demands that the station identify viewer and nonviewer perceptions and proceed to tackle those that are important in establishing or reinforcing the image necessary to attract or retain desired demographics.

Figure 6.2 The importance of local news promotion to a station affiliated with one of the major TV networks is demonstrated in this billboard bearing the station’s slogan.

(Courtesy WRCB-TV.)

For instance, a station may view a veteran anchor and the stability of its reporters as major competitive advantages. Research may reveal that viewers perceive as a benefit the fact that the anchor and reporters have worked at the station for a long time, in contrast with the frequent turnover in personnel at other stations. The research may also indicate that certain of the station’s newspeople are seen as lacking warmth. That kind of information provides a basis for an image campaign stressing stability and market familiarity, presented in a warm and appealing manner.

Program promotion revolves around a station’s efforts to promote its content. In radio, the principal emphasis is on the station’s format and personalities. Television stations, on the other hand, draw attention to individual programs or dayparts.

Stations have discovered that effective program promotion requires more than a recitation of format or programs. An important key to success lies in stressing the benefits to the audience by identifying the ways in which the programming is meeting, or could meet, its desires.

News and public affairs programs may meet the desire for information, music for relaxation, entertainment programs for amusement, and so on. Promoting the benefits of tuning in reinforces listening and viewing habits among the current audience and can be a strong motivator for others.

Affiliated television stations can rely on the network to promote network programs. Accordingly, much of the station’s promotion effort is directed toward local news or syndicated programs. In theory, independent stations must promote all their programming. In practice, however, most direct their efforts to the promotion of entertainment programs or those for which the station has staked a claim in the marketplace.

Before embarking on an audience promotion campaign, a strategy must be developed. It must take into account several considerations, including the following:

Promotion Methods

The methods by which a station seeks to accomplish its audience promotion goals are limited only by the imagination of those involved in planning the promotion and the available budget. There are four major methods: (1) advertising, (2) publicity and public relations, (3) on-air and off-air promotions, and (4) public service. In most campaigns, a combination of methods is used.

Advertising

Advertising refers to the purchase of time or space. In some cases, stations trade for time or space with other media. Instead of making a payment, they offer to the other media advertising time on their stations that would cost an equivalent amount of money.

Stations may plan, develop, and supervise the advertising themselves or engage the services of an advertising agency.

In audience promotion, the major advantage of advertising is that the station has control over the content as well as when and where it appears. But some stations consider advertising expensive, especially when compared to some of the other available promotion methods.

Among the advertising media that stations use are newspapers, magazines, outdoor, transit, and broadcast.

Newspapers

Daily or weekly newspapers are published in most communities and reach people who are not regular listeners or viewers. It may be assumed that most readers are interested in being informed. For that reason, many stations use newspapers to advertise news programs, special news features, or other informational programming.

Often, advertisements are placed in the newspaper’s TV/radio or entertainment sections. If a program with special appeal is being promoted, an ad may be placed in another section. Advertisements for sports programs, for example, probably will reach more of the interested audience in the sports section. Advertisements for business, travel, and several other kinds of programs will reach the most interested through placement in appropriate sections.

The television supplement published by many newspapers on Sundays represents a valuable vehicle for television stations. It is used by viewers and usually remains around the home for at least a week. An advertisement for a program on a given day may be placed on the page containing program information for that day.

Many stations engage in tradeouts with newspapers, and network-affiliated television stations often participate in co-op advertising with the network, especially at the start of the fall season. The network agrees to pay part of the cost of advertising its programs. The station benefits, since it lists its call letters or channel number and, often, some of its programs in the advertisements.

Magazines

Many radio and television stations operate in markets where no general-interest magazine is published. However, large-market stations often have access to the so-called “city magazine” and use it to promote image and format or programs. Additionally, some stations place advertisements on regional pages of nationally circulated magazines, such as Time and Newsweek.

A very useful magazine for television stations is TV Guide, which offers advantages similar to those of the newspaper television supplement. Even though it has discontinued the use of tradeouts, many stations advertise in the publication because of its ability to target viewers directly.

Outdoor

Billboards offer several advantages as an advertising medium. They are available in a variety of sizes, can incorporate special effects, and can be illuminated so that their impact can be felt around the clock. Obviously, they are most useful if they are located in areas with heavy traffic, especially if it is slow-moving.

Many radio stations favor billboard advertisements because they can stimulate drivers to take immediate action by tuning in the station whose frequency is displayed (Figure 6.3). Billboards serve also as useful reminders of television programs, which people can view when they reach home. They have proved valuable to both radio and television stations in promoting the station’s slogan and its logo, a distinctive symbol that identifies the station and incorporates its call letters and frequency or channel number. Use of the logo is not restricted to billboards, however. It may be employed advantageously in a variety of media (Figure 6.4).

Figure 6.3 A talk station includes its unambiguous positioning statement in all its promotions, including billboard advertising.

(Courtesy WGOW-FM.)

Figure 6.4 A station’s logo may be incorporated in advertisements in all visual media, as shown in this print ad.

(Courtesy WSKZ-FM.)

Transit

In many cities, buses travel great distances daily, and advertisements on the outside are seen by vehicle drivers, pedestrians, and bus riders. Bus boards come in various sizes and often are displayed on the front, back, and sides of the bus. Advertisements on the inside are seen only by riders, but usually they are read, since they have little competition for attention. Interior cards are available in trains, also, and platform posters are seen by a sizable number of commuters.

Taxicabs operate in most communities, regardless of size. Like buses, they travel many miles each day, and advertisements on the front, rear, or rooftop are seen by vehicle drivers and pedestrians.

Other transit advertising media used by many stations include display cases at airports, the walls of bus shelters, and bus benches.

Broadcast

Broadcast advertising refers to the use of radio advertising by a television station or television advertising by a radio station. It does not include the use of one’s own station, an activity known as promotion and discussed later in the chapter. Using audience demographic information for particular television programs or dayparts, a radio station can direct its television advertising to the kinds of people who are most likely to listen to the format or program being promoted. The television medium’s combination of sight, sound, color, and motion can be very persuasive and influence people to sample the product.

Many stations avoid television because of what they consider the relatively high cost of producing and airing commercials. However, some stations are reducing the production cost problem by using syndicated spots for their format and a tag line or other device to draw attention to their call letters and frequency.

Radio’s mobility means that advertisements on radio can reach people virtually everywhere, no matter what they are doing. Radio stations attract specific demographics, and television stations can reach the sought-after audience by placing advertisements on stations whose formats attract those demographics.

Many television stations consider radio stations particularly effective during the evening drive-time period to advertise their early evening news programs. Some use their anchors to give headlines and invite listeners to view.

The advertising media described above are not the only ones available. Additional outlets or locations include station vehicles, telephone directories, the sides of buildings, malls and shopping centers, shows, displays, conventions, ballparks, time and temperature displays, skywriting, and direct mail.

Publicity and Public Relations

As used here, the term publicity refers to space in print publications or air time on other broadcast stations in which information about the radio or television station appears and for which the station makes no payment.

In a sense, publicity, advertising, and anything else a station and its personnel do influence perceptions of the station and may be considered public relations. Here, the focus is on personal contacts between the station and its various publics.

Publicity

In seeking to gain publicity through other media, broadcast stations recognize that other stations rarely are interested in publicizing their activities. Why should they aid the competition? However, they may be interested if the information is of wide public interest. Usually, such information deals with events or actions that do not reflect well on the station and represent the kind of publicity it could do without.

As a result, most stations concentrate their publicity efforts on the print media, particularly newspapers. Their activities generally center on the preparation of publicity materials and the organization of publicity events. Among the more common materials are these:

Like publicity materials, publicity events are intended to attract the attention of the media, particularly newspapers. It is hoped that, as a result, stories about the station will appear in print. The following are typical of events staged by many stations:

Other kinds of events may be organized to capture media attention and publicity. Not all succeed, and that is one of the shortcomings of publicity as a method of audience promotion. The station has no control over the use of promotional materials delivered to the media or over whether reporters and photographers will attend a news conference. Screenings may result in negative comments or reviews and may prove damaging to the station’s hopes. Usually, there is media interest in celebrity visits, though the focus of reporters and photographers may be on the celebrity exclusively and the station may not even rate a mention.

Publicity does have several advantages. Program listings are consulted and listening or viewing decisions are made as a result. Stories and photographs about the station in newspapers keep the station’s call letters and frequency or channel number before the public. Comments on, or reviews of, programs attract public attention to the station, and the promotional benefits of publicity are achieved at little financial cost to the station.

Occasionally, a station reaps major publicity benefits unexpectedly. That was the case for a Baltimore station after the Baltimore Orioles began the season with ten straight losses. A disc jockey vowed to stay on the air until they won their first game. That happened 258 hours later. During that time, the vigil was covered, and the station mentioned, by the major broadcast TV networks, CNN, ESPN, the wire services, every major radio network, and hundreds of newspapers in this country, and by media around the world. That is the kind of publicity that money cannot buy!

A station can take steps to ensure publicity. At the least, the promotion and marketing director should initiate a media relations program with noncompeting media, especially the local newspaper. Establishing and maintaining contacts with entertainment reporters and with city, business, feature, and lifestyle editors can produce continuing benefits. They will result in a heightened awareness of the reporters’ and editors’ priorities and information interests and enable the station to satisfy them with news releases and ideas for stories. Joint sponsorship of charity or public service events with another medium provides an additional vehicle for favorable publicity.

Public Relations

As indicated earlier, the term “public relations” covers essentially everything that affects how people perceive the station. Perceptions may be influenced by something as basic as the way a secretary answers the telephone or the carefully planned involvement of the station and its staff in a community fundraising activity.

The principal publics with which a station tries to develop good relations are listeners or viewers and potential audiences. Influential publics, such as government leaders and leaders of community groups, also are important. Since advertisers also may be listeners or viewers, their perceptions of the station must not be ignored.

In striving to develop relationships with its publics, a station can do much to ensure that it will be regarded as a responsible, trusted, and valuable member of the community. For that reason, all employees must understand their role in the effort and must be encouraged, in all their dealings with the public, to act in ways that reflect well on the station.

At most stations, activities are planned to support the public relations effort. Opportunities abound, but the following are among those used most often:

The activities described above are indications of the kinds of planned public relations efforts by stations. However, the list is by no means exhaustive. Each station should consider ways in which it can play a role in the life of its community. The result can be a better community and heightened public awareness, as well as enhanced public perceptions of the station.

Promotions

Promotions refer to efforts by the station to promote itself to the public directly rather than through other mass media. When a station uses its own air to promote its image or programming, it is engaging in what is known as on-air promotion. Off-air promotion describes those promotion activities carried out directly with the public off the air, such as through the distribution of giveaways and advertising specialties on which the station’s logo is displayed.

On-air: Radio

Since a radio station determines how it will use its air time, promotional announcements, called promos, and other on-air promotions may be scheduled frequently, and may cover a wide range of programs, personalities, or station activities and achievements.

Format is a major factor in on-air promotion. Most stations with a music format draw attention to music content and personalities. Stations with a news format are likely to stress the range of news and information services provided. A talk station may emphasize personalities and issues.

Through its on-air promotions, a radio station strives to keep its call letters and frequency in the forefront of the listener’s mind, to remind regular listeners and inform those sampling the station of its programming, and to point to the benefits of listening. Most stations also use their air extensively to promote their image through image promotion announcements or by including their slogan with other promotional announcements. The following are examples of ways in which radio stations use announcements to promote themselves on the air:

Contests

Many stations have concluded that one of the most effective ways of attracting attention and listeners is through contests. Their conclusion is not surprising, in view of the lengths to which some people will go to win a prize.

Contestants have eaten live worms and a precooked leather football for Super Bowl tickets, and goldfish for concert tickets. They have buried themselves underground and changed their names legally for cash. At a marriage ceremony on a busy street corner, the groom dressed as a prisoner, complete with ball and chain, and the bride wore a police uniform to show who would be boss in the union. Why? That is what they said they would do if they won a station’s “How Far Would You Go for a Trip to Jamaica?” contest.

The large number of stations that conduct contests suggests that they are a very effective promotional tool. However, not every contest idea will lead to a surge in audience. Some never move beyond the idea stage because further consideration shows that they are lotteries, and the broadcasting of lottery information is a criminal offense in many states.

There are three elements of a lottery, and all three must be present if a promotion is to be considered an offense. They are prize, chance, and consideration. Obviously a prize is anything of value that a contestant may win. Cash, merchandise, trips, and services are examples of the prize element. Chance exists if the winners or the value of the prizes are determined, in whole or in part, by chance or lot. It is not a factor if the outcome rests on the skill of contestants or on the use of subjective standards, as in a beauty or talent contest. Of all the elements, consideration is the most difficult to define. Basically, it is the price a contestant must pay to take part, such as an entry fee or possession of an item for which payment had to be made. It also covers the expenditure of substantial time and effort by the contestant, such as listening to a long sales pitch or taking a test drive. To complicate the problem further, the interpretation of “substantial” differs from state to state.

The federal ban on the broadcasting of many kinds of lottery information, including promotions, was lifted by the Charity Games Advertising Clarification Act of 1988, which took effect in 1990. However, the act did not override state and local lottery regulations, and the promotion and marketing director must be familiar with those regulations before embarking on any contest that contains the three elements described.

Assuming that the contest idea raises no legal problems, consideration focuses on whether it has possibilities. Among the questions to be asked are these:

If a decision is taken to proceed, rules must be established and prizes determined and obtained. At this stage, FCC rules on licensee-conducted contests take effect.³ They require that the licensee “shall fully and accurately disclose the material terms of the contest, and shall conduct the contest substantially as announced or advertised. No contest description shall be false, misleading or deceptive with respect to any material term.”⁴

Although the material terms vary with the nature of the contest, they generally include the following:

The station should assign an employee to supervise the contest and to ensure that it runs smoothly. The person selected also will be responsible for guaranteeing compliance with the FCC’s rules and other applicable regulations and laws. One station landed itself in trouble when it organized a “Roll in the Dough” contest. Scantily clad, honey-drenched contestants were required to roll around in 100,000 one-dollar bills to win the number that stuck to them. A total of $7,000 was awarded, but the station had to answer to the government for violating federal laws prohibiting the defacing of the currency.

The supervisor also should be charged with keeping contest records. This is especially important if individual prizes worth more than $600 are awarded, since details of the winners must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

On-air: Television

Like radio, television on-air promotion seeks to remind or inform the audience about the station to which they are tuned, the programs available, and the benefits to be gained. But there is an important difference.

By their emphasis on format and personalities, radio stations attempt to encourage listeners to stay tuned for considerable periods of time. Television stations would like to believe that people will switch to them and stay there. In reality, they tend to be attracted to specific programs. Accordingly, much of the effort is directed toward promoting individual programs or series and, for that reason, the scheduling of promos is important.

If the announcements are to be successful, they must reach those people who are most likely to view the programs being promoted. Since viewer tastes usually reflect preferences for types of programs, it is common to promote news or information programs before, during, or after similar programs. The same goes for reality programs, situation comedies, game shows, dramas, and other program types.

The frequency of program promos is also important. The goal should be to ensure that all those who might tune in are exposed to the announcement at least once.

Among the most common methods used by television stations to promote their image or programs are the following:

Many stations air audio promos under the closing credits of programs, urging viewers to stay tuned for the program that follows or to join the station again for a program with similar appeal later that day or on following days. The major networks often use a split screen at the conclusion of their prime-time programs to permit affiliates to promote their late news.

A station’s own air has the potential to be a most valuable promotional tool. Its potential will not be realized, however, if the promotion department has access only to those times that cannot be sold to advertisers. Station management must make a commitment to use air time in the same way clients use it: to sell something. In this case, the station is selling its image and programs.

Since promos must be scheduled to reach targeted demographics, the department must request fixed-position promotions, which, by definition, cannot be bumped. A contract is signed with the sales department listing promo length and the specific time or daypart in which it will air. For internal accounting purposes, the promotion department is billed like any other client. Of course, times that have not been sold to clients still may be available for use by the department at no charge.

Obviously, all programs cannot be promoted on a regular basis. Priorities must be established, and that is done in consultation with the general manager, program and/or news director, and sales manager. As noted earlier, news has an ongoing priority at most stations affiliated with the major networks because of its dominant impact on the station’s image. At both affiliated and independent stations, high-cost syndicated programs must be given preference if they are to attract enough viewers to justify the price charged to advertisers to recoup the investment and generate a profit. Finally, scheduling should permit the kind of rotation that ensures adequate exposure without the kind of repetition that would prove annoying to viewers.

Off-air Promotions

On-air promotions permit radio and television stations to reach people who happen to be listening or viewing. Off-air promotions can draw the attention of a wide range of people to the station.

Stations use a variety of means to promote themselves directly to the public off the air. Some, such as remote broadcasts and event sponsorships, are used intermittently. Many, however, are carried out on a continuing basis in both radio and television. They include the following:

Public Service

As noted in Chapter 4, “Broadcast Programming,” a station should foster good relationships with the public. One of the most effective ways of attaining that goal is through public service. Conscientious effort will be rewarded with community gratitude and awards, favorable publicity, and the perception of the station as a responsible corporate citizen.

Success is achieved to a large extent by employee and station involvement in community activities. However, a station can enhance its identity by a commitment to public service on the air. Using air time for promotions designed to raise funds or goods for the needy, to encourage traffic safety, or to combat adult illiteracy are examples of ways in which service can be rendered.

Stations regularly carry public service announcements for nonprofit agencies. Their broadcast does not lead, necessarily, to a public perception of the station as a concerned member of the community. But combining them with a serious commitment to public affairs programming may produce the desired results. The programs must deal with issues of community concern or meet a community need, and must be aired at times when they are likely to be heard or seen by a significant number of people. Many stations satisfy the first requirement, but not the second.

SALES PROMOTION

Sales promotion seeks to encourage the purchase of time on the station by advertisers and advertising agencies, and often involves the promotion of the broadcast media, as well as the station, for advertising.

Advertisers are interested in getting their messages to the people most likely to use their products or services, and in the most economical way. Accordingly, sales promotion places heavy emphasis on the broadcast media’s ability to reach targeted demographics at a competitive cost.

The strengths of the station may be promoted in terms of the quantity or quality of the audience. Quantity refers to the number of listeners or viewers, while quality denotes characteristics of the audience, such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status. The station may point to quantitative or qualitative strengths over its entire schedule, during periods of the day, or in particular programs.

The element of cost is used in comparison with competing stations as well as other media. The aim is to persuade the advertiser that the station can deliver the number or kinds of people desired in a cost-efficient manner. An effective sales promotion campaign is the result of careful planning based on the following considerations:

Promotion Methods

The targets of sales promotion efforts are those persons who make decisions about the purchase of advertising time. For the most part, that means advertisers themselves and media buyers in advertising agencies. The emphasis is on what the station can accomplish for the advertiser. The methods are the same as those used for audience promotion.

Advertising

The broadcast and advertising trade press is an effective means of reaching those who are influential in making time-buying decisions, and includes publications such as B&C Broadcasting & Cable, Advertising Age, R&R (Radio & Records), and Daily Variety. Often, stations place additional advertisements in the trade publications of other professions so that they may directly reach decision-makers in businesses that advertise, or may be persuaded to advertise, on radio or television.

The content of the advertisements is determined by the purpose of the campaign. Some attempt to project the station’s image. Others seek to sell time on the station. It is hoped that success with the first will influence decisions on the second. The important point is that all advertisements should attract the interest of the decision-makers and be tailored to meet their needs.

The purpose of the advertising will suggest those characteristics of the station to be highlighted. Image advertising may place particular emphasis on community involvement and resulting recognition received by the station through community awards. The theme of market leadership may be projected through ratings and station facilities.

Advertisements geared directly to the sale of time often point to ratings for particular programs. Ratings dominance in certain dayparts and with key demographics also may be stressed. Additional characteristics may include the station’s coverage area, personalities, and merchandising plans.

Direct-mail advertising can be targeted to advertisers of particular kinds of products or services and draw attention to the station’s strengths for those advertisers. Additionally, direct mail offers great flexibility in the number and format of sales promotion materials that can be distributed.

Trade press and direct-mail advertising permit stations to reach directly those who make decisions on the purchase of advertising time and reduce the amount of waste circulation. Other advertising vehicles, such as newspapers, billboards, and displays, are used to promote sales, even though the audience for them is not limited to time-buyers.

Publicity and Public Relations

The focus of sales publicity in newspapers and magazines is on those station activities and achievements likely to impress advertisers. Stories about ratings successes, awards won by the station or staff members, and favorable reviews of programs are examples of information that can be useful.

Public relations activity concentrates on personal contacts between station executives and sales personnel with the business community. Many stations require or urge membership in appropriate community and professional organizations and participation in community activities. A speakers’ program allows station personnel to make presentations at meetings attended by people involved in business.

Promotions

One of the most basic and effective tools is the sales kit used by the local sales staff, the station representative, and advertising agencies. It provides information on the market and the station, and may be left behind after a sales call or mailed to potential clients.

With some modifications, many of the off-air promotions used in audience promotion can be beneficial in sales promotion. Bumper stickers can point to the station’s advertising effectiveness. Advertising specialties can be selected from among those used most frequently by business persons. Ashtrays, coffee mugs, pens, pencils, calendars, and memo pads are examples.

Mailings or E-mails to actual and potential time-buyers could include information on station sales activity, advertising news, explanations of advertising legislation, and a calendar of forthcoming special programs or events that the station will air or sponsor. Other examples are expressions of thanks for business placed with the station and details of forthcoming advertising opportunities.

The Web site lends itself to the distribution of much of the content of mailings. Relevant audience data and listener or viewer profiles could be added to the list.

On a more personal level, station sales staff promote sales by entertaining clients at meals or at sports, social, or cultural events. Many stations organize, especially for clients, sports or recreation activities such as golf or tennis tournaments. Television stations often arrange a party for advertisers to see excerpts from the fall season’s program schedule.

Increasingly, the impetus for promotions is coming from the client, who teams with the station in a joint effort. Many advertising agencies make such activities a condition of the buy. In these so-called value-added promotions, the client receives from the station marketing assistance that exceeds the value of the spots purchased. However, these promotions can produce benefits for the station—and for the consumer, too.

Plastic cards are an example. The station produces and distributes the cards and airs announcements promoting their use to obtain discounts at the client’s business. The client makes a spot buy in an amount that matches the value of the promotional time and offers the discounts. As a result, the station obtains revenue from the sale; the advertiser receives exposure beyond the time purchased and the improved in-store traffic that should result; and the card holders enjoy the discounts. Such promotions impress participating clients with the station’s advertising effectiveness, and can be used as a persuasive tool with other clients or potential clients.

Mutual benefits can be achieved, also, through radio remote broadcasts from stores, malls, and other places of business. The joint sponsorship of events by stations and advertisers is another example, and appearances by radio and TV personalities at places of business can have similarly beneficial results.

Many other joint ventures are possible. However, they should be chosen carefully, and with an eye to their value as sales promotion tools.

A value-added promotion method practiced by some stations is merchandising. It involves services by the station to assist the advertiser, but the station receives no income, apart from that for the air time purchased.

In effect, the station is donating those services to the advertiser. For that reason, many stations reject merchandising entirely, but some stations use it to promote sales, especially if they are seeking a competitive edge against other stations or if their ratings are so low that additional sales incentives are necessary.

Among the more common methods of merchandising are these:

Public Service

A station’s dedication to public service is no less important to its sales promotion than to its audience promotion efforts. The station that is perceived by advertisers as an important member of the community can reap financial benefits. Whether that perception is based on the involvement of the station and its staff in community activities or on its commitment to public affairs programming, the sales department has an important stake in the station’s public service endeavors.

WHAT’S AHEAD?

The role of the promotion and marketing director has always been important. As competition for audiences and advertisers continues to intensify, it will become pivotal to the station’s success in projecting an identifiable image that differentiates it from other stations and other media.

In this new environment, branding will assume even greater significance. If listeners and viewers are to be attracted to the station, they must have a clear and unambiguous perception of what its product is, to whom it is directed, and the benefits it offers.

The branding imperative coincides with an era of reductions in audience size, especially for television stations, lessening the impact of on-air promotions.

Their diminished influence also will be felt by radio stations. Listeners have limited tolerance for nonprogram content. Why should they suffer clutter when they can program their own listening experiences, courtesy of the Internet and the iPod?

To avoid clutter, stations will be compelled to place heavier reliance on alternative promotional methods. One that will undoubtedly grow in importance is the Internet. Webcasting, the Web site, and E-mail will continue to offer unprecedented opportunities to forge stronger bonds with existing audiences and to attract new ones.

The benefits of the Internet to stations of all sizes and in all markets are many. The online medium is more affordable and cost-effective than traditional off-air media. Its permanent accessibility and its capacity to offer detailed and tailored content permit the station to expand its range of services. It also facilitates database building and market research.

Another existing off-air method that may become more important is billboard advertising. Its use will add to promotion and marketing costs. However, as noted earlier in the chapter, billboards offer many advantages, especially with longer commuting times in many markets. Of course, one way of deriving benefits and minimizing expenses is to use suitably painted station vehicles as roaming billboards. When they are not being used for remotes, they may be parked in high-traffic locations.

Like radio, television can enjoy the benefits of the Internet. In fact, many stations use their Web site chiefly as a promotional tool. Even so, some TV promotion directors worry that driving audiences to the site may be accompanied by the risk of losing them as viewers.

A much greater challenge looms for them. It grows out of decisions about how the station will use its digital bandwidth. Theoretically, the transition from analog to digital offers additional promotional platforms. Capitalizing on them, of course, rests on the way in which they are programmed. In turn, that will pose branding considerations and inevitable dilemmas. Will the existing brand be expanded and reinforced? Will a new brand, or brands, have to be introduced? If so, what will be the impact on viewers who are already bombarded with brands?

The new age will demand new strategies. The threats to stations are many. Fortunately, so are the opportunities.

SUMMARY

Broadcast promotion and marketing refers to those activities through which a radio or television station attempts to promote its own interests. In many stations, the task is assigned to a promotion and marketing department, headed by a director who answers directly to the general manager.

The director assists in the development of a promotion plan, which identifies the station’s competitive strengths and weaknesses, and sets forth a course of action to capitalize on strengths and correct weaknesses. Carrying out the plan is the director’s responsibility and involves the planning, creation, implementation, and evaluation of audience and sales promotion campaigns.

The promotion and marketing director should have knowledge of marketing, promotion methods, research, professional services, and applicable laws and regulations. Professional skills in writing and production and in planning and evaluating promotion campaigns are also desirable. Adaptability, cooperation, and creativity are among the necessary personal qualities, and they should be combined with the administrative ability to run the department.

Audience promotion seeks to maintain and increase the station’s audience. Usually this is accomplished by projecting to listeners or viewers an image of the station (image promotion) and by promoting the station’s content (program promotion).

Sales promotion is targeted toward those who make decisions on the purchase of advertising time, usually advertisers themselves and media buyers in advertising agencies. Promotion activities may be designed to project the station’s image or to sell time to clients.

Even though the targets and goals of audience and sales promotion may differ, most stations use four principal methods for both: advertising, publicity and public relations, promotions, and public service.

The most commonly used advertising media for audience promotion are newspapers, outdoor, transit, and broadcast. Sales promotion relies more heavily on trade press and direct-mail advertising, though other media are used.

Many stations consider publicity to be “free” advertising, since they receive promotional benefits at little or no financial cost. Accordingly, they provide newspapers with news releases, photographs, press kits, and program listings for possible use. Publicity events, such as news conferences and TV program screenings, also are organized for coverage by other media.

Public relations is a broad term covering essentially anything that may influence people’s perceptions of a station. Most stations attempt to influence perceptions through planned efforts. Speeches, public appearances, participation in community organizations, awards, and sponsorships are examples of audience promotion activities. In sales promotion, the public relations effort focuses most frequently on personal contacts between station executives and sales staff and members of the business community.

Promotions are attempts to promote the station directly to audiences and advertisers both on and off the air. Typical radio on-air audience promotions include ID announcements, format, program, news and personality promos, and contests. Television on-air promotions are characterized by promos for individual programs or series. In both radio and television, the station’s Web site is an increasingly important means of off-air promotion. Others include bumper stickers, advertising specialties, and direct mail.

Sales promotions include the sales kit, mailings to advertisers, and advertising specialties. Entertaining clients and potential clients is a widespread practice. Increasingly, stations are engaging in joint marketing efforts with advertisers in value-added promotions.

Public service is important both in audience and sales promotion. In general, it is characterized by close identification with the community through station and staff involvement in community activities and through relevant public service promotions and announcements and public affairs programming.

Radio promotion directors will have to find new ways of attracting audiences if they are to avoid on-air clutter. For their television counterparts, the introduction of digital offers new promotional opportunities, and many resultant challenges.

CASE STUDY: RADIO

You are promotion director of an FM oldies station in a medium market in the Southeast.

Account executive Kevin Steel stops by your office. He handles the Crofton Outlet Mall account and tells you that the mall—a major client—will be celebrating its tenth anniversary in November. He has an idea for a joint promotion to mark the event.

The station’s traffic reporter will fly his plane over the mall on the anniversary date and drop “Crofton Cash” books on the parking lot. The books will contain fake dollar bills to be used like cash at mall stores.

The mall will make a $10,000 advertising buy on the station. The station will air promos and do a live remote from the mall on the “drop” day.

EXERCISES

CASE STUDY: TELEVISION

You are promotion and marketing director of a CBS affiliate in a major market in the Northeast.

Your 5:30 P.M. newscast ranks fourth in its time slot. You show some improvement at 6:00 P.M., but not enough to move beyond third place against competing newscasts on the ABC and NBC affiliates.

Your Monday 5:30 P.M. broadcast includes a “Home Sweet Home” segment with tips on residential property maintenance and repair. It is sponsored by a homebuilder. You approach her about a joint promotion. Here is how it will work.

Every Monday segment will contain the answer to a question to be posed in the Tuesday newscast. Viewers will be invited to submit the answer to the station by email. Every Wednesday, a correct answer will be drawn and the winner’s name announced in the broadcast.

The promotion will run for 12 weeks. At the end of that time, a grand prize winner will be selected from the 12, weekly winners.

The prize will be a new, three-bedroom house, constructed by the builder at her expense.

The builder will agree to continue sponsorship of “Home Sweet Home” for three years beyond the expiration of her current contract. The station will air a schedule of promos in its three, early-evening local newscasts during the promotion period.

EXERCISES

NOTES

ADDITIONAL READINGS

Bobeck, Ann. Casinos, Lotteries & Contests, 2nd ed. Washington, DC: National Association of Broadcasters, 2003.

Eastman, Susan Tyler (ed.). Research in Media Promotion. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000.

Eastman, Susan Tyler, Douglas A. Ferguson, and Robert Klein (eds.). Promotion and Marketing for Broadcasting, Cable & the Web, 4th ed. Boston, MA: Focal Press, 2001.

Money Makers II: Sales Promotions from the Hundred Plus Television Markets, 2nd ed. Washington, DC: National Association of Broadcasters, 1996.

Todreas, Timothy M. Value Creation and Branding in Television’s Digital Age. Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1999.