Nick Griffin
Forum Replies Created
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Mark mentioned something about “recognized” meaning belonging to an organization. While I guess that might have meant something to some media outlet I think today “recognized” means that you are literally in the ad agency business and not just some bozo trying to squeeze a 15% discount from the one and only buy your making this year.
In the olden days (70s, 80s) “recognized” meant that you had a minimum of 3 different clients (not 3 divisions of one entity). But there’s nothing official about it. You’re “recognized” by each individual station / outlet. Recognition from one goes a long way to getting it from all, though.
For what it’s worth, Media Buying, when done properly, is a set of fairly complex calculations. You’re balancing “reach” (the numbers of people who see your spot) against “frequency” (the number of times the spot is seen). Most stations will give you a complete breakdown of this so you can compare apples to apples. But you have to know what you’re doing in terms of demographic segments so you’re not comparing Adults 18-54 to Adults 18+, etc.
Then there’s the matter of psychographics. Here’s a hint: even if you arrive at a similar “cost per thousand” a news program will be a much better buy for a political than say, ohhh, Jerry Springer. Mostly common sense, but something which must be considered.
How did I know this was about politicals??? I seriously thought that’s what I read in the post. This time of year, in an even year, given what’s on the air here in Maryland, USA… let’s just say it was an easy assumption.
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“Some people say that I’m superficial. But that’s just on the surface.” -
…this entire industry is built on trust.
BIZZZZ!! Wrong! I’ve done political in a past life and trust is NEVER part of it. NEVER!!! Not for a week, a day or an hour. Political campaigns must come with their checkbook and pay for everything on the spot the moment the service is delivered. They, and you as the buyer for that matter, must pay in advance for airtime.
Of the four campiagns I worked for the only time I let the candidate owe me a small amount until after the election I was burned. This was for $1,500 and after he had WON. (I eventually found a way to get paid and laughed my ass off when he lost in his reelection bid. What a tool!)
And yes, typically the media rates for television are quoted gross and “recognized” agencies are allowed to deduct 15% from payment. Typically. As discussed earlier bigger advertisers and bigger media buys are highly negotiable. Start with the “standard” 15%.
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Frank Otto: “P.R. firms are not ad agencies”
Yes and many times ad agencies aren’t ad agencies. The problem is almost anyone can call themselves anything and it’s only by reputation or from working with them that you can ever know what their level of comprehension and professionalism is. I was saddled with a PR “pro” on a recent shoot who simply couldn’t understand that she was off-camera and her stupid questions and comments were to be edited out. She constantly stepped on the end of every answer and piped in during the middle with “uh-huh” ,”I know what you mean”, “that is so true” and so on. It was only after the third time that I pulled her aside that I think any of what I was saying sunk in. She didn’t need to be told how television works — she watches it all the time and she’s a PR pro. Fortunately the client had hired me, NOT the PR firm, so I could be brief and blunt. The exact opposite of a selling situation.
Steve Wargo: “Be as kind and professional as you can possibly be and never cut down the competition.”
Dead on advice, Steve. It’s what I keep saying about being nurturing and helpful. Once they feel that you’re on their side and they trust you, there’s little need for selling, just more “education” on what their options are.
Getting back to Greg’s original question, don’t be afraid to bring up money as one of your earliest questions. Explain that you want to do this just to clear up any confusion and make sure that you’re a good match for what they’re trying to accomplish.
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Oh, well in THAT case. It’s been years since someone made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Hell, as long as I’m living dangerously…
It would be nice if Big Time could also display the T/C of source decks. But then again, since its getting its info through the MIDI interface this is obviously more of an FCP issue than a Big Time thing.
One Trick Pony that it is, I’ll concede that Big Time is probably worth $40. That and I like my kneecaps right where they are.
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I’ve no problem with $40, $400 or $4,000 if it’s a useful tool. Just making a comment. (And yes, I do charge more than enough to make the cost of most toys a non-issue — just ask my local BMW dealer.)
I love cheap, single purpose plug-ins. But that hasn’t stopped me from investing in beucoup AE plug-ins: Knoll Light, three packages from DigiEffects, FEC, Image Lounge, Red, etc. Funny that out of all of these “packages” I probably get more use out of Shine than anything else.
The great thing about this forum is that it is sooo active. All of you, especially the leaders are to be commended.
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“Some people say that I’m superficial. But that’s just on the surface.” -
Thanx, but nope. It may just be a square versus non-square pixel issue now that I look at it more carefully. Isn’t there a setting somewhere in FCP for setting this on the DISPLAY — it’s set properly to digitize and the output to QT and to tape come out just fine.
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“Some people say that I’m superficial. But that’s just on the surface.” -
Thanx everybody! The freebie only allows for a minimal amount of transfer before imprinting it with a trial info super. But at $29 for the working version, no big deal to buy it. One thing to bear in mind — the export as QT function is SLOOOOOWWWW, as in I think it took about 15 min to export a 4 min piece on our Quad-Core machine.
Thanx again for the help!
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“Some people say that I’m superficial. But that’s just on the surface.” -
Boomie –
You got new SP 10’s? I use SP 10’s for mastering. What’s the deal? I’m game for up to a case or two.
Thanx.
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“Some people say that I’m superficial. But that’s just on the surface.” -
Just a simple thought, which I feel is necessary even though I basically support what Tony and Promoboy have said.
All to often corporations speak to the outside, vendor world with multiple voices while failing to have any form of communication internally. It can be hard for us to relate to this because as relatively small companies / individuals we speak to them with a single voice based on a unified consensus. We therefore assume that XYZ Company does also. This can be a huge mistake.
If this is the same individual who agreed to one set of parameters and is now changing them, then you have at worst a grinder or at best someone who simply hasn
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