Stretch your advertising investment with a “value add”

A special thanks to guest blogger Mary Ann Grooms for this post.

As a media buyer I’m often asked, “How can you help me get me more out of my advertising investment?” In an economy where every cent counts and budgets are getting smaller, stretching those dollars to obtain improved results is even more important. In the past, “value adds” or “value added” has been seen as icing on the cake for a large advertising investment. Today, media companies are more willing to negotiate value adds for all levels of advertisers. The most important lesson I’ve learned is: if you don’t ask, you don’t get!

Here are a few tips to help you stretch your advertising dollars:

1. Ask your station rep, media contact or ad agency partner about adding your logo and a link to your website on the station’s website during the ad campaign.
2. Offer trade – (free services or gift certificates in exchange for advertising or promotional exposure) - to your cash investment to really beef it up.
3. Inquire about bonus “spots” (commercials or ads) or bonus color – when ad sales are sluggish, many stations are willing to run your ads for free during non-peak hours or as fill-ins really stretching those dollars. Print publications may give free color that will spruce up your black and white ad.

It can’t hurt to ask what your media contact or agency partner can do to help you get the most for your investment. After all, if you succeed, you’ll likely buy more advertising—and they’ll succeed!

Mary Ann Grooms has been with vitalink (www.vitalinkweb.com) for over three years as Project Director/Media Buyer. She handles a significant amount of market research and sends out the firm’s press releases through her extensive list of media contacts. Mary Ann also volunteers her time for a variety of causes, such as NC Special Olympics, Raleigh Rescue Mission, and Light the Night. She can be reached at 919.850.0605 or via email at maryann@vitalinkweb.com.