It’s a question we get asked regularly by prospective clients. They have been getting unbelievable deals on their press ads / billboards etc so why should they start planning and booking ahead but pay more?
Good Question!
What is Distress Media?
Distress Media or Distress rates for advertising are spots that come up that a paper, radio station, billboard company haven’t sold or have received a cancellation for by the deadline that they offer to the market at incredibly cheap rates – therefore they are sold under distress. Usually you find out about these opportunities the day before or the day of deadline and need to make a decision on the spot as to whether to take them. What makes them so attractive is the price. Prices can be slashed astronomically from standard rates when booked in advance.
So why should you book longer term or plan your spend?
Generally speaking distress can add brilliant value BUT the emphasis should be on the word ADD. It should be considered an add-on rather than the focus of the big picture or overall marketing plan. Because of this, the rates you pay for distress spots are not usually achievable when booking over a longer term. So we must remember that there are benefits over and above a ‘cheap rate’
The first is that by determining what you want to do in advance you can plan out the dates that you want to advertise and therefore schedule sales, branding campaigns etc across your calendar. With distress you wait for it to come to you and it may not be available for you when your sale is running.
The second is that you can effectively budget your marketing and advertising spend. When you plan your marketing calendar you can allocate certain spend to certain mediums and therefore ensure that your marketing dollar is going to the right places at the right times. With distress you may end up spending all of your budget on one medium where the best medium with the best return for your business / product may have been one of any number of other options. Alternatively you may have taken every distress opportunity presented and then when a fantastic option for another medium avenue arises you don’t have the budget for it.
The third is that distress opportunities can dry up. Media providers don’t like to leave clients on distress. It’s a privilege offered to clients however if a client becomes a long term ‘distress client’ the offers can be withheld so media you may have been relying on may not be available and then when you want to be in the market you won’t be.
The last is that even though you may not get a deeply slashed price when you plan your media, you can however still achieve great discounts. When you plan longer term and lock in your media over a longer period the rates you pay will generally be discounted as a way of thanks for the booking. This allows you to achieve the placement you want, in the medium that works best for you for a great price. You have control over your media this way, it’s not just ‘you get what you’re given’, which may in reality not be the best for your business marketing.
When you buy media the way you do it really is your decision. As a media agency we work with clients who book longer term and those who book on distress and we help both equally and always to the best of our ability. The only thing we can do is let you know what issues you may face by continuing a distress spend and then it’s up to you!