A client asked this very question of the Promo Department at a station where I have been mentoring the promo person, and it’s a good question… “WHAT IS THE POINT OF A PROMO FOR A CLIENT?” and there really are only 5 reasons why a client should do a promo with you – do you know what they are?
Admittedly many of these are specifically for a remote or outside broadcast – not an on-air promo – but they are still relevant, and can be tied in to on-air only.
- To get the business name out there when launching a business, or new product or service, alerting people to this new X or Y.
- To increase enquiries about said product or service, or the business.
- To boost sales by giving customers the opportunity to get hands on experience of the product or service.
- Improve their social media coverage by getting people to share the event or their win in the case of an on-air promo.
- To get people talking about the business, the product or service.
How they do this is entirely up to the negotiations between the promo department and the business. What is comfortable for one client to do, may not work for another business owner. Some want to do something wacky and weird – others want to play it safe.
Some want to spend a lot, some don’t want to spend at all.
The 3 most important things to remember for you as a promo person is…
- Does this promo activity align with your station?
- Does it align with your core audience?
- And… will it work?
Some clients have come to promo departments with a fully realised and ready to roll promo – others don’t have a clue.
It is your job to action what has been sold, in a way that will work for all parties, and hopefully get results that are measurable for the client – and make them come back and do it again (or something similar).
Don’t loose sight that it is the client who is asking ‘what is the point’ not the sales rep. It is your responsibility to inform and educate both of them as to your actions, and the reasons why it will work for the client and get them to return as happy clients.
