‘Buying Media’ Half the Ad Battle

Producing slick advertisements won’t do any good if your potential customers don’t see them.

From the Pea Ridge Mule Jump to Metal Construction News, it’s all about reaching that target audience, and Fayetteville’s Taylor Mack ad firm has been creative in doing just that.

“First, you have to decide who your customer is,” said Greg Mack, managing director of Taylor Mack. “Then you place the media in such a way that you reach more customers for your advertising dollar.”

In addition to producing ads, many ad agencies such as Taylor Mack also “buy media.” In other words, they decide where a client’s advertisements will be placed. In larger cities, there are agencies that do only media buying.

A few years ago, media buyers had to choose between television, radio and print (usually newspapers). Now, they also have to consider the Internet, billboards and trade publications.

Mack said he placed an ad for one client in Metal Construction News.

Worms Aren’t Straight

Taylor Mack got Slinker Lures of Rogers mentioned in Bass Master magazine, and hits on fishing-lure company’s Web sites clicked faster than a spinning reel.

“Being in Bass Master magazine is better than being one of the 10 best-looking men in America,” Mack said.

The Slinker, made by Clark Ventures Inc., is a “serpentine” plastic worm that has “real lifelike action” when reeled through the water, Mack said. The motto on the package for the “S” shaped Slinker reads: “Because worms aren’t straight.”

The blurb got Slinker so much attention that Mack plans to run a $3,500 quarter-page ad in the March issue of Bass Master. The regional ad will reach about 120,000 readers in the southeastern United States.

“You are definitely reaching potential customers,” he said.

Mack said the average retailer spends about 3 percent of gross sales on advertising, but that amount could vary considerably depending on a variety of factors.

Collier Drug Stores

Mack said one of his clients, Collier Drug Stores, has to appeal to a wide demographic of potential customers — from UA students to retirees.

Studies show older Americans watch network television news, so that would be a logical place for a Collier’s advertisement. Direct mail is also an effective way to target retirees.

Students who have moved to the area to attend the UA may not be loyal to a drug store that has been in Fayetteville since 1917, so they’re probably the toughest demographic for Collier’s to court.

One thing that appeals to UA students, Mack said, is Collier’s free delivery through its six area stores. When people are sick, they don’t want to drive to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription.

Taylor Mack has gone so far as to sponsor the Pea Ridge Mule Jump. Customers in that Benton County city will see that and feel that Collier’s, which has a store in Pea Ridge, is a hometown pharmacy.

Mack said he and Matt Silvestri, Taylor Mack’s media buyer, are still trying to decide what media will be used for Collier’s advertising for 2003.

Is print dead?

“We have clients who will say ‘Print is dead,'” Mack said. “Well, it’s not dead, but it may not be cost effective.”

Mack said Northwest Arkansas’ print market is “diluted” by too many newspapers vying for advertising revenue.

“It’s diluted, and their rates are still pretty high,” he said.

Mack believes automobile dealers, who traditionally have advertised heavily in newspapers, are continuing to do so, and that has inflated the ad rates for everyone else.