by Jeff Left
As the Creative Director, what did you do to help your sales team this past Presidents Day? Did you give a Lincoln away with the purchase of a ( )? Did you give a George off every ( ) purchased for the week? Did you find a client who slashed prices on washers on Washington's Day? Did you hook up with car washes, laundromats, or use all of those great presidential impressions to give your sales team the advantage on the street? I hope you did and hope you do all the time.
With Presidents Day over, I offer some real great Creative Director type ideas for Secretaries Day 93! I suggest you focus on the Secretary in Secretaries Day, get your station client list, and follow through on these next ideas:
Create:
"The Secretary of the Interior": For one week, have a client (e.g. J.C. Penny Company) slash prices on everything in home accessories like window coverings, clocks, mirrors, pictures and lamps. Create a character voice as the Secretary of the Interior, and, with the right music, you've tied into a current holiday and can showcase Penny's goods! Now you've given your rep more than audience to sell, and you've given Penny's a great promotion. You've given them a great timely idea, creative production, and with the right sales items, a real advantage in generating store traffic and return business for the station.
Or, do the same thing with these Secretaries:
"The Secretary of the Exterior": Target clients: Car washes, paint stores, siding companies, or car body shops.
"The Secretary of Health": Target clients: Weight loss centers, health clubs, and chiropractors.
"The Secretary of Human Services": Target clients: Day care clients and job placement or counseling services.
"The Secretary of Treasury": Target Clients: Banks. Get a bank to open up pass book savings programs for kids or offer X amount off your purchase when using your credit card.
"The Secretary of Foreign Affairs": Target Clients: Your local car import dealer or importer of coffee and cheese from all over the world. Travel agencies will love this one, too.
In every case, just get a different voice for each Secretary and produce the best spot the station has ever heard. Do this kind of creative marketing enough, and clients won't care what your audience share is. Many clients will take a buy from a competing station and place the money on your station if your marketing efforts are stronger.
As Creative Directors, the onus is on us to not only produce the highest quality spot(s), but we have to give the rep the advantage at the point of sale. The rep is up against the other stations, and if the objection is price, reach, and frequency, those objections are much easier to overcome when the client hears a very creative promotion or campaign being offered by your station. What we, as Creative Directors, do becomes the single element in tipping the scales of sales. Now, the fact that your station is four dollars higher per spot, has 20% fewer males 18-49 and is only second in the primary daypart is palatable in lieu of this great promotion coupled with great production. Here are some other ideas you can put to work for next month:
Turn "April FOOLS Day" into: "April TOOLS Day"
Put Those Tools on Sale and Sell, Sell, Sell! "April POOLS Day"
In-ground or Above Ground -- Sell, Sell, Sell! "April COOLS Day"
Put Those Air Conditioners On Sale! -- Sell, Sell, Sell!
"April JEWELS Day" Find That Special Ring or Watch and Sell, Sell, Sell!
In every case, you'll get a schedule and become what every Creative Director and production staff should be. "SALES SUPPORT SYSTEMS." May the bottom line be with you!
♦