NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> A Rant About Online Sales Reps
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> A Rant About Online Sales Reps
Shepherd, Brian (Brian.Shepherd_at_fmr.com)
Thu, 15 Oct 1998 10:20:24 -0500 (CDT)
HOPE CUNNINGHAM WROTE:
<Mark J. Welch's response to Jennifer Ruffin's complaint
<disturbed me somewhat. He described some of the people that
<contacted him concerning buying space as just "fishing for
<information" or wanting some of his time for free. Unless
<the web media reps take the time to educate (i.e. provide
<information) to prospective web advertisers then they cannot
<expect to increase advertising revenue generated from their
<websites. Many media planners and buyers are not familiar
<with the methodologies for analyzing internet data or the
<techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of a website in
<relation to its cost. If they don't know a medium they
<cannot recommend it to their clients. So yes, it is your
<responsibility to be a part of the education process.
Right on, Hope. In addition to the great points you make.
There is another significant reason for the Sales reps to
"spend time" with Media planners/buyers. That is the lack
of standards in this industry. Each site/network/portal
have their own set of rules when it comes to buying media
from them. This has become complicated by the fact that you
don't just negotiate for banners and keywords anymore.
There's franchise positions, static boxes, daily
sponsorships, stock ticker sponsorships, and many many more.
How is the media rep going to keep up with all of that?
Naturally, the media folks are going to have questions. And
the sites that respond, should get the business. And that's
responding by phone, email, fax or smoke signals. Whatever
it takes. I've been on both sides. This problem is made
worse by the fact that media kits and rate cards are updated
every three months and usually snail mailed to media people.
Very few sites post this information on their website.
Instead you get a link to "adinfo_at_website.com". I
understand why sites don't post ad opportunities and rates
online, but what are media reps supposed to do - guess or
make assumptions? We all know what happens when we do that
:-)
Just my opinion.
**********************************************************************
Brian K. Shepherd
Account Supervisor
Fidelity Investments - Interactive Services Group
617-563-3884
Fax 476-5979
brian.shepherd_at_fmr.com
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