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Ad Agency Buyer's Guide $

This Is What Happens When You Assume

This Is What Happens When You Assume

Often an advertiser comes in whose product or service appears to be perfect for a particular format. The obvious and timely example is the explosion of sports betting. While currently this is primarily online sports betting, local venues are starting to pop up as well. This means both large national brands and local outlets are going to be spending marketing dollars.

The dollars and opportunities are tremendous.

What format is better suited for sports betting than Sports radio? It seems obvious that those interested in making sports wagers listen to sports radio. It’s a slam dunk.

If you represent another format, you may assume that sports radio deserves that money, and there’s nothing you can do to capture a share of it. NEVER ASSUME.

While Sports radio most likely deserves a big share of sports-betting dollars, a strong case can be made for other stations/formats in the market. Look at the data. In this case, look at the sports-betting categories in qualitative research.

  • Does Sports radio reach 100% of all those who bet on sports? No.
  • What percent of those who bet on sports spend their time with other formats?
  • How well does your station reach those who bet on sports?

If you have the story, get ready to tell it in a professional manner. Be prepared to answer the question: “Why do I need to buy more than Sports radio?”

The final piece of the puzzle is clutter. I suspect that most sports-betting operations are using Sports radio. This causes vertical clutter. “I know I heard about an online betting service on [insert your market’s sports station here], but I can’t remember which one.” If you can deliver an audience that is not hearing messages from other brands in the category, the advertiser’s message will stand out. It’s always better to be the only one in the category advertising on that station rather than one of many.

This is just an example of how many sales reps may assume that their station is not right for a particular buy. Having a bias against your own station can lead to lost revenue. Before you assume your station isn’t right for an advertiser, look at the data and see if there’s a story.

Remember what Felix Unger said: “You should never assume because when you assume, you make an ass of ‘u’ and ‘me.’”