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Sunday, April 1, 2007
Wrap-Around Media Planning
Bill Hebel hits the ground running at 6:30 a.m. He spends a half-hour reviewing emails, reads newsletters, then spends the rest of the day in meetings. His clients, all B2B, include Underwriters Laboratories, Tellabs, FedEx and others.
Slack Barshinger is an integrated marketing company, incorporating word-of-mouth, PR, direct mail, outbound tele-marketing and more. "We spend probably 70% on print," says Hebel, who refers to magazine brands as "content companies." Of that 70%, a good deal includes such value-adds as Webinars. "We deal with content providers with objectives in mind, and wrap programs around the tactic."
Print still plays a roll in many plans, although Hebel notes, "The objectives now are ‘what are you doing for me today?’" Considering clients’ goals, he works to position components within the context of the whole plan.
Those who say print won’t exist in 10 years "are total morons," he snorts, although he admits the experience will be very different. He notes that while print will likely decline, it will have a place as long as his generation is alive. But, he goes on to cite his daughter, who curls up to absorb favorite magazines.
He says his job is to "leach of the relationship a magazine has with its readership." Many readers still get the same content but have changed their preference in delivery methods. The goal is to use media that communicate with the targets in the ways that make the audience happiest.
He sees a trend toward total packages in a wide range of combinations: "I see Webinars but not print ads, print ads that support Webinars – I love electronic newsletters, they get a better response than traditional e-marketing. If we run strong print with it, it gets strong results."
He knows what he wants from magazine brands, as well as what he doesn’t want. "I hate it when a rep comes in with a ‘Chinese menu.’ They have 27 to 30 options of things we can do with merchandising or proposals. Not once did they ask our objective or how we plan to achieve it."
Hebel wants to see an effort being made. "I see everybody getting too lazy out there," he says. "But it’s partly our fault. The average media person is overwhelmed," and marketers don’t want to waste time with substandard proposals.
Don’t go to Hebel with a standard media kit. "A lot of times, the questions aren’t answered. I see why they do what they do. But I hope they will be open to sitting down and discussing our needs. We are doing things we’ve never done before, using the media as the message."
One example is the way Slack Barshinger has positioned Underwriters Labs as the ultimate experts. "Here’s a client where we have leadership as a meaningful copy point," says Hebel. "We looked for media opportunities to prove that leadership." Those opportunities ranged from white papers to webinars, taking in a print campaign, search, online, and aggressive PR along the way.
Selling the Excitement
BILL HEBEL THOUGHT he wanted to be a copy writer in 1977. But, he says, "Someone told me I’d have to write Sears catalogs for a year to get a book together. Dad was an account person. He told me media would be a good thing for me. He’s a very smart man."
Hebel’s father knew what he was talking about. Hebel started at J. Walter Thompson, and in 1981 he became a B2B specialist. He’s never turned back. Now, his mission is to inject his passion into every program he pitches.
"The best media plan is wasted if you can’t sell it," says Hebel. "Ideas fall by the wayside because we were too timid to sell them. When a client sees excitement, it’s tough for them not to get excited. That’s why no one falls asleep in my presentations. One did that once. I thought he was going to die. I jumped up on the table and woke him up."
Hebel believes it’s essential for media planners to understand the customers and how they get information. "We believe in research," he says. "We have to do a lot of our own research, know how to touch customers in the best way possible."
He says one of the reasons for his own success has been "communicating with our client, building a partnership and trust. If they trust us, they’ll go with the big ideas. We are going to fail on occasion – we’re not always right. But when we succeed, there’s no sweeter moment."
- min's Special Issues — April 19, 2011
- Brenda White - Vice President, Director of Print investment, Starcom — April 1, 2007
- Maggie Knoll - Print Director, Senior Partner, MindShare Chicago — April 1, 2007
- The Sweet 16 Issue: Mark Ingall - Managing Director, Global Strategic Media, Citi — April 1, 2007
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