What's a good spot worth

It's budget time, which means time for the annual dance for dollars.

In the overall picture, we cost less than one-half of 1% of a client's budget----read that as less than .5%---yet many are emphatic that by eliminating creative support, it helps their bottom line. Yeah. Right. And by not refilling my car, I'm saving money on gas (even if I go nowhere).

Yet, cluster after cluster continues to cut creative--- cut voices, cut production pros, copy, air talent---and all because 99% of management comes from the sales side of radio. That means most really aren't sure what creative does, so they're perfectly satisfied with cutting more and doling out the responsibilities to salespeople, interns and on air. So the question today is, what's a good spot worth?

When the creative team targets the client properly, when production creates the sound, when the flight is right and the client is successful, what's that worth to a radio station? The fact is, more station revenues are down-- a direct result of years of not being able to prove to clients the dollar value radio delivers (how much the client makes from people responding to their ads), and thus, minimizing client loyalty needed to get through tough times.When mediocre spots leave clients without ways to quantify their media buy, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Sure, anyone can 'write' an ad, but poorly written and executed ads mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses for a radio cluster. And yet, management doesn't look at it that way.

Make a note---- sales people are at their best when they're selling, not writing. An air staff is at it's best when it's entertaining, not writing and producing. And a station works best when it invests in it's product, bringing clients more success and thus, reasons to return. THAT'S what a good spot is worth.