Discounted Media Space. Don’t Shoot The Messenger!
Why would you pay good money to promote your product or service in a newspaper or magazine and then have it discounted? Ha ha I hear you say it’s a deliberate attempt at humour by confusing the anaphoric reference. It’s not the message that is discounted by the reader but the price of the discounted media space by the newspaper. Yes cheap laughs and cheap advertising but be sure to get your anaphoric references right if you are going to use discounted media space. Hopefully this dry cleaner (yes it’s a real advert) did not pay the full asking price for their awful media space filler. It may have raised a few eyebrows but probably not many new customers.
“Tired of cleaning yourself? Let me do it.
We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it carefully by hand.”
'Remnant newspaper advertising' is the more traditional term for discounted media space, although newspapers prefer the term, 'standby.' The idea is similar to standby airline tickets where you seek to fill a seat that opens up at the last minute or that hasn’t been booked ahead of time.
There are many specialist media companies around that generate large discounts on newspaper display adverts, making them an attractive option for direct response advertisers. An average discount of up to 80% off the open rate is possible, so you pay 20 cents on the pound. Oops I’ve done it again! Sort those references if you can be bothered. There is no guarantee of any specific discount, but large economies are possible with a flexible media plan.
Discounted media space is available more often than you might think. Daily newspapers publish every day (no really?), even with unsold ad space. They may have added pages to cover a late-breaking story, or maybe an advertiser pulled out at the last minute. Whatever the reason, the papers don't have time to find an advertiser, negotiate a price and get the advert materials. They run whatever is on hand. Usually, it's a self-promotion. Media companies offer your advert in advance so the papers have them on hand should a space open up. If they like the offer, they run the advert.
You have no real control over when your advert appears. The newspapers decide what adverts to run and where to run them. The discount is really for loss of control. You can have some but you'll have to raise your offer price or accept fewer insertions, what is called the placement ratio.
Discounted media space is available in all newspapers across the country, but some standby advertisers get their best results from the low-circulation, small-market papers. Adverts can be offered to any newspaper in the country, but daily newspapers work best because they have to publish every day (doh!).
Discounted media space works best with display adverts. On a per inch basis, ‘classifieds’ are the most expensive adverts in the paper, and you can upgrade to more effective display adverts for not that much more.
Holes in a newspaper's media space usually come in modular blocks.
Don’t look for colour either because discount newspaper advertising works best when only the space is in play.
Marketing your products and services is a complex and expensive business and discounted media space can get you the same results as more expensive advertising. Never accept the open rate on offer, always negotiate is the bottom line (doh!).
LOGIN
