If you are buying television advertising it is critical to audit the delivery results of the campaign. This is known in the TV buying industry as a Post. This is where the station compares what they told you their ratings were going to be, to what the ratings actually were. If their ratings were less than what they expected, chances are you did not get all of what you paid for.
What you are buying when you place TV ads is spots. With each spot, you are supposed to get a certain amount of impressions which are also expressed as gross rating points (GRPs). When the ratings fall short of expectations your actual delivered GRPs are less than what you paid for and you end up paying a higher CPM. This hurts your results and can drive up your advertising costs if you do not conduct a Post. In fact, you are missing out on impressions that you paid for if you do not conduct a Post.
To conduct a post you will need to request this from your advertising rep., believe me, they are not going to volunteer this information. Tell them, “I would like to see a post from my last advertising campaign that shows the delivery totals”. When you received the original proposal from the TV station, they should have told you how many gross rating points or impressions you should be getting. Compare the GRPs expected to the GRP’s delivered to see how they did. See the below example for what information you will need from them.
Here is an Example Post Review:
Month: May
Spend: $9,830.00
GRPs Expected: 243.3
GRPs Delivered: 206.2
Under-delivery:37.1
Delivery %: 84%
Cost-Per-Point (CPP): $40.40
Actual Cost-Per-Point: $47.67
Total Advertising Value Lost Without Post: $1,498.84
You will notice that the example campaign under-delivered by 37.1 points and they only delivered 84% of what they said they would give you. If you go to the fruit market and you purchase 100 apples and the farmer only bagged up 84, wouldn’t you be upset? It is the same thing. Demand that your campaigns deliver to at least 95% or better to ensure that you get what you paid for. Some stations will even do 100% if you push them. You can use this as a negotiation tool if you have two competing stations.
Another thing that you will see is the total advertising value lost without conducting the post. This was calculated by taking your cost-per-point of $40.40 and multiplying it by the number of points that were under-delivered. $1,498.84. Over time, this can amount to a significant amount of advertising value lost so it is imperative that you conduct a Post for each campaign. If you discover that there was under-delivery for your campaign, ask your rep to put together a make-good schedule to make up for the lost impressions. In the case of the example shown, they will need to put together a schedule to deliver 37.1 GRP’s to make up for the loss.
Auditing the invoice sent to you should be much more than just making sure the prices are accurate. You need to review your invoice thoroughly to ensure you got exactly what you paid for. How many spots were you supposed to get and how many actually ran? Were there any pre-empts? If so, did the make-goods run in a time-slot that is the same or better ratings? Did they get your approval for the make-goods? There are many moving parts to your TV campaigns and there are a number of ways that you may be losing out on advertising air-time if you do not properly audit your campaigns.
Are you strapped for time and unable to take the time necessary to ensure you are getting what you paid for? Tired of not have a grip on your marketing and TV advertising? Consider a free, no-obligation proposal from dDaniel Advertising Agency to see just how much growth our program will generate for your business.
Contact Brian Sorce at dDaniel Advertising Agency for more information. 724-359-1045
Television Advertising Buying
Television Auditing & Ratings Posts
If you are buying television advertising it is critical to audit the delivery results of the campaign. This is known in the TV buying industry as a Post. This is where the station compares what they told you their ratings were going to be, to what the ratings actually were. If their ratings were less than what they expected, chances are you did not get all of what you paid for.
What you are buying when you place TV ads is spots. With each spot, you are supposed to get a certain amount of impressions which are also expressed as gross rating points (GRPs). When the ratings fall short of expectations your actual delivered GRPs are less than what you paid for and you end up paying a higher CPM. This hurts your results and can drive up your advertising costs if you do not conduct a Post. In fact, you are missing out on impressions that you paid for if you do not conduct a Post.
How do I Conduct A Television Advertising Post?
To conduct a post you will need to request this from your advertising rep., believe me, they are not going to volunteer this information. Tell them, “I would like to see a post from my last advertising campaign that shows the delivery totals”. When you received the original proposal from the TV station, they should have told you how many gross rating points or impressions you should be getting. Compare the GRPs expected to the GRP’s delivered to see how they did. See the below example for what information you will need from them.
Here is an Example Post Review:
You will notice that the example campaign under-delivered by 37.1 points and they only delivered 84% of what they said they would give you. If you go to the fruit market and you purchase 100 apples and the farmer only bagged up 84, wouldn’t you be upset? It is the same thing. Demand that your campaigns deliver to at least 95% or better to ensure that you get what you paid for. Some stations will even do 100% if you push them. You can use this as a negotiation tool if you have two competing stations.
Another thing that you will see is the total advertising value lost without conducting the post. This was calculated by taking your cost-per-point of $40.40 and multiplying it by the number of points that were under-delivered. $1,498.84. Over time, this can amount to a significant amount of advertising value lost so it is imperative that you conduct a Post for each campaign. If you discover that there was under-delivery for your campaign, ask your rep to put together a make-good schedule to make up for the lost impressions. In the case of the example shown, they will need to put together a schedule to deliver 37.1 GRP’s to make up for the loss.
Want more value from your Television Advertising? Check out Tips and Tricks for Television Advertising Buying for Home Improvement companies and other small businesses.
Auditing Your Television Advertising Invoice
Auditing the invoice sent to you should be much more than just making sure the prices are accurate. You need to review your invoice thoroughly to ensure you got exactly what you paid for. How many spots were you supposed to get and how many actually ran? Were there any pre-empts? If so, did the make-goods run in a time-slot that is the same or better ratings? Did they get your approval for the make-goods? There are many moving parts to your TV campaigns and there are a number of ways that you may be losing out on advertising air-time if you do not properly audit your campaigns.
Are you strapped for time and unable to take the time necessary to ensure you are getting what you paid for? Tired of not have a grip on your marketing and TV advertising? Consider a free, no-obligation proposal from dDaniel Advertising Agency to see just how much growth our program will generate for your business.
Contact Brian Sorce at dDaniel Advertising Agency for more information. 724-359-1045
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