Out of everything we do, I think media buying would have to be one of the hardest services to communicate to clients. So often we hear stories of great opportunities to get a cheap advertisement or a package that contains 100 free bonus spots. It all sounds wonderful on the surface but do you really know what you’re getting for your money?

There’s a real science to media buying and surprisingly enough there is an art to it as well. You see, media is not always about numbers and figures. Essentially anyone can buy media on that basis…they don’t in most cases but they could! The art comes from two areas: 1) Experience and 2) Gut feel (which in most cases is derived from experience!)

Most people simply believe that you place an advert in the paper or you buy a package from the TV station and that they will be giving you the best deal. The issue is, that buying direct doesn’t provide you with an unbiased opinion. A sales rep, at the end of the day, wants you to buy their medium over all others. A media buyer wants you to obtain value for your dollar spend and ensure that you are buying the right medium to maximise the potential outcome.

On top of the unbiased advice, a media buyer has more tools at hand than any rep or indeed yourself. Having access to set-top data for television and readership figures alone is valuable, let alone the myriad of other tools and pieces of research a media buyer has at hand.

Additionally, a media buyer also has a much larger bargaining chip than you. They purchase a mass amount of media and thus the purchase power is significantly greater. Sure a few local deals might be able to be negotiated but all in all, a media buyer, by rights, should be able to obtain you more ‘bang for your buck’ due to the sheer amount of media they purchase on behalf of all their clients.

So if you currently buy your own media, then perhaps you should look into the benefits of a media buyer. Both Tony and Vickie have a huge range of experience in this area and can offer some very unique opportunities. Targeted advertising is vital to the success of any campaign – big or small – and getting value for money has never been more important. And as part of a global network of media buyers… the sky’s the limit!