Skip the media one-day sales.
Call me a skeptic. Call me strategic, research driven, and client focused. Just last week I received an email from “Good Buys Media” an online, flash-sale company selling – get this – advertising space for me to buy on behalf of clients. As a media strategist, this irks me for several reasons. 1) Just because something is “on sale” does not mean it’s a good value. 2) Media purchases need to be strategic, carefully selected, and negotiated to reach the right audience at the right time in the right geography with the right message. 3) This one-day sale isn’t actually new to the media world, it’s just a new spin on an older tactic. Radio stations have utilized “one-day” sales for years in order to move spot inventory quickly. They sell packages of :30-second inventory at rock bottom prices to secure contracts months in advance.
Kudos to Catalyst S+F for testing the waters on this model and thinking of a new agency revenue stream, but I won’t be buying ad space for our clients through this rushed, non-strategic model. When it comes to flash sales, I’ll stick to buying shoes and discounted yoga classes.
Now excuse me, I have some research and strategic media buying to do.