Cable

Cable is another challenging media to buy. It offers a great ability to target specific demographics because of the wide variety of channels and shows with specific appeal. However, you have to be careful. Just because a channel or program is reaching a certain demographic nationally does not mean it is doing the same in a local market. In addition, cable can only reach the number of people actually connected to it. While a broadcast property has the ability to reach an entire market, it won't but it can, a cable system can only reach the homes connected to the cable. So, if you are in a market with 100,000 homes but only 30,000 are connected to the cable, you are excluding 70% of your market if you only advertise on the cable system.

Also, cable and radio have low spot costs in common. If you are an advertiser who has purchased broadcast TV and paid hundreds of dollars for one commercial... often also called a spot... then buying radio and cable seems like a bargain. It might be a bargain but it also might be a huge, misleading waste of money.

Paying $250 for a spot in the local break in the Super Bowl is likely a bargain, as viewership on that event broadcast is huge. However, paying $10 for a spot on cable in the How To Recycle Sawdust show on the home remodeling channel might be a waste.

Remember, thousands... thousands... thousands. We want to be sure we are getting good value... bang for our advertising bucks... so to speak. $250 for 30,000 adults watching the Super Bowl is a good investment. $10 for 12 guys with woodworking shops in their basements who don't know how to get rid of the sawdust... not so much!

All of this is not to say advertising on cable is not a good investment. We believe there are no bad advertising options as long as they are properly priced based on... remember... there will be a test on this later... thousands!

As long as you are comfortable with the environment in which your message falls and you are receiving reasonable reach for your investment... you can't go wrong. Well, you can, but that's in the area of creative. Be sure and see that part for two of my favorite advertising sales stories.

If you have a reasonable budget, a good message and buy media that reaches real consumers, your advertising plan will be successful. That's the bottom line!