EA
How To Trade For Advertising
W
hat do you do when you don’t have enough cash to advertise? You trade! Trading products and services for advertising is one of the hottest marketing topics in business discussions. And for good reason. Bartering for ads can give the small business person excellent opportunity and value. One radio station owner, who never forgot his pennypinching beginnings, is always on the lookout for businesses wanting to trade. When he needed extra storage sheds behind the studios, he got a carpenter to build them in exchange for free commercials on his stations. When the station promotional vehicles required regular detailing, he traded commercials for custom car washes. A big snow brought a private snow plow purchased with traded on-air mentions. The station owner figures he has a few commercials that his sales reps won’t sell. Why not trade them to other business people who have extra products and services 26
they can’t sell? It’s a classic WIN-WIN arrangement. And lots of media managers welcome the situation. Joan, who owns a very successful donut shop, bases her advertising entirely on trade. She gives boxes of her high-quality donuts to select radio stations for daily giveaways. In return, they speak highly of her donuts on the air. It’s not unusual to hear a morning DJ go on and on about how wonderful her product is. She has a rock solid reputation in the community as a result. The cost? A few boxes of donuts that might be surplused anyway. A newspaper editor reminds us that radio isn’t the only fertile ground for trade. Newspapers frequently need traded items and services to give away as prizes to readers, advertisers, and employees. He advises to check with the circulation department. They often need prizes to give to paper boys and girls.
ExecutiveAgent Magazine