Everyone loves a good bargain, and that feeling of finally finding that the one item that you’ve waited ages for is finally on sale is indescribable. But like with many other complexities, distressed selling and buying have their advantages and disadvantages, and these work both ways for the buyer and seller alike.
Waiting for cheaper prices and rates can be good, if of course, you’ve considered the risk and whether it’s guaranteed. Distressed advertising is no different, and a common question asked by advertisers is whether or not to plan their buying of media space. In this article, we take a deeper look into this.
What is distressed advertising?
All forms of media offer advertising spots or slots, be it print, radio or billboard.
There are often advertising spaces that for whatever reasons do not sell or are made available as a result of a previous purchaser’s cancellation of the spot. These spots are in turn offered on the market at much cheaper rates in a bid to meet a deadline, coining the term Distress Media. These offers are made extremely attractive because of the amounts saved by getting them cheaper.
Should you plan your advertising spend?
It obviously raises the question of whether advertisers should book spots in advance and create a planned budget, and there are benefits of planning that supersede cheaper rates. Distress advertising can add some value but should ideally be seen as a value add and nothing more. Planning is central to running effective ad and marketing campaigns, and this should be well budgeted for. This budget can be used to place your ads in the right places at the right times in order to achieve maximum results, and the last thing you need is to waste money on space that offers a minimal return on your investment.
Disadvantages of distressed advertising
Considering the above, distressed buying leaves you in a position of not getting optimal spots when you need them. In addition to this, spending your budget on distressed advertising dries up the funds that you have available for prime advertising. And you’ve got to consider that the spot you’re hoping to purchase under distress could possibly be sold to another buyer, and weigh the cost of this risk. It also helps to bear in mind that media providers actually do not like selling to serial distress buyers.
Something to think about
Even though you may not always be able to cash in on cheaper rates, long term planning often offers the added benefit of discounts when booking your advertising space in advance. This affords you control over having the space that you want, when you want it, at a cost-saving rate too.
How and when you buy your media space is really up to you, but it pays to understand the risk involved. Distress buying can be an effective tool in addition to your planned advertising, but it is ultimately proper planning that paves the way for the success of a campaign.
