The Buyer's Perspective

Cable World, May 1, 2000 by Tim Clark

While media companies extol the virtues of pitching several vehicles ultimately aimed at bringing more dollars into the parent company's coffers, it's not surprising that the agency buying community holds a different view of these pitches.

As cable networks and other properties are integrating into various sales efforts, "It reduces the competitive nature of the business, and there's less of a chance for negotiation," said John Potenzano, SVP-group media director, Bates USA.

Chuck Shaw, VP-associate media director for Grey Direct, acknowledges that one-stop ad shopping offers clients the opportunity to create a multimedia presence across one company vs. constructing deals across many venues. However, Shaw said that a concentration of impressions can lead to rate hikes. "If a company gains the majority share of a particular target audience across various media vehicles, they may increase costs," he said.

Steve McCall, SVP-account director Lowe, Lintas & Partners, feels cross-media packaging works well -- if the client is disposed to deploying a variety of media resources. "What it doesn't allow you to do is judge each individual element based on Its own merits," he said.

Added Gary Carr, SVP-associate director national broadcast for Initiative Media: "The major challenge on the buying side is to determine if you even want all the elements of a multi-media package, and if you do, is it a better deal than buying them all separately?"