Media Sales: Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk

As your scrolling down your news feeds and timelines you’re probably bombarded with advertisement and sponsorships. Do you ever wonder how they appear at your fingertips or on TV and even on those huge billboards?  Well, it actually takes more then just having a creative vision.  It takes months of planning before those ads we see (or ignore) become a reality.

Well what is Media Sales?

Media Sales is selling ad space on media platforms (newspapers, magazines, outdoor billboards and screens, etc.). Some things media salesmen consider in depth with research and data are their client’s target markets, the client’s message, timing and even factors such as geography and frequency in which the consumers will be reached.

Media Management, Media Research, Media Traffic and Agency Billing are also other important players in the media selling game.

Media managers decide the media for the company and are responsible for content and programming. While in the Media traffic department is responsible for shipping materials to the media companies indicated on the purchase contract. The Agency billing department is where the agency is paid for their services. A lot of times there's something known as "mark-ups." Mark-ups are added to the net cost that includes media commission (Strategic Media Decisions, 227, 228).

So by now, you've kind of got the gist of things. The messages we see were crafted by these agencies. They know your every click, where you go to buy your favorite coffee, and what matters to you. They see that you've been looking at those Lulu Lemon leggings for weeks online and its no  coincidence you see an ad on your Facebook feed.

Here's some facts about working in the media sales field if it sounds like something you would be interested in:

1. About 160,000 people were employed as media sales representatives in 2010.

2. For all the jet-setters out there, you travel often to meet with potential clients.

3. IT IS COMPETITIVE (can you talk the talk and walk the walk?)

Ahh, you've landed the job and now you're assigned to selling advertising space for Lamar Outdoor in Amarillo, TX. 

There's several things you need to think about as a media sales rep...

1. The services Lamar Outdoor offers

2. Cost

3. Reach

4. CPM (or cost per thousand, if the ad is worth the money)

After extensive research you find that Lamar Outdoor offers billboards, transit postings on buses and trains, bulletins and wallscapes. The cost for a permanent billboard for 12 months is $27,600. It will reach approximately 117,116 people (that's 96% of Amarillo!) and 7 panels will reach 98% of the population. And the value you will get for this advertising space is about $254 per thousand people reached. 

And now you're on your way to your client with this news. Go on you Media Sales animals! Crush it.