Any firm can look at demographics, read a rate card and place an order. But, it takes a lot more than looking at "the numbers" to make a brand awareness buy successful.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. Therefore it makes sense to understand that branding and brand awareness is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem.

To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot.

Strong brand awareness is essential as the battle for customers intensifies. It's critical to spend time researching, defining, and building your brand’s media plan - the source of a promise to your consumer. It's the foundation of your marketing communications and nothing to take lightly.

And experience matters.

Relationships with stations and their sales reps go a long way during the ad campaign. Diligence, persistence and attention to detail are all important pieces of a successful effort.

Here are some questions you should ask before you make a decision:

1. How long have the buyers been with the firm?
2. What is their background?
3. Have they worked with "modest" budget campaigns?
4. Do they buy for commercial as well as political clients?
5. How have they handled "equal opportunity" access issues in the past?
6. How many other campaigns will they be buying for this year?
7. Will they consider all the alternatives?

At LUC Media, we look at each campaign individually and put together a buy that properly targets your potential audience. Any firm that tells you that the only answer is buying during the morning and evening news, or expensive prime time network programming, does not want to take the time to do the job right.

At LUC Media, extensive knowledge of the law and years of experience as both sellers and buyers of media set our company apart from the competition. Clients benefit from innovative media buying strategies - which result in more air time and significant savings.

How does LUC Media do it? By applying the lessons learned from years of political media buying to “awareness” campaigns.

• LUC believes that every advertiser is entitled to the “lowest unit charge” available for any particular program or daypart NOT just the politicians.
• LUC thinks that “most favored advertiser” status should be extended to any advertiser who decides to buy time on the station or in the publication and that the rights of the “most favored advertiser” are cumulative, that is to say that if Coke gets pod exclusivity and Bank of America first position placements then our clients deserve to be given all the same opportunities.
• LUC knows that good relationships with media outlets increases the advantages available to our clients.  We don’t grind media sellers just for the “fun” of it.  We have found that partnership and information sharing between buyer and seller works to the advantage of the advertiser.

And we don’t forget who we work for and what the client’s objective is.

There is nothing more important to a political client than the “brand” and we take great pains to make sure that the media environments in which we place all our clients is highly appropriate and proper.  Program placement is done with your reputation in mind as well at the ratings delivered.

Everyone in media knows that rate cards are only beginning points for discussions about what will be paid.  They are guidelines.

By law, stations are required to disclose extensive information about station policies, preemption priorities and alternative rotations to political advertisers.  We use that information for all our clients and all our clients see a benefit.

LUC Media reads disclosure statements very carefully and asks for clarification or explanation of policies where necessary. It can be confusing (do not try this at home), so perhaps this concept can best be illustrated through an example of what we do for political clients:

For LUC Media, however, the questions are just beginning:

• What is the lowest-priced spot placed for the early news next week?
• How many commercial spots are in at rates higher than $1000, but lower than $1700?
• What are our chances of clearing at, say $1200? $1300? $1400, etc.?

At some point during these discussions we “discover” a undisclosed “middle rate” and our clients buys time at that level.  We know that rates fluctuate weekly (first two weeks in month looser than last two weeks) so we know that we’ll be having this conversation again next week and every week thereafter as long as the flight is on the air.  That’s ok.  That is what we are paid to do for our clients so we doggedly stay after it.  Not all shops do that.

As a result of a thorough understanding of the law, as well as knowledge of station practices regarding commercial and political advertisers, LUC places a buy well-armed. The result: get good rates, and spots that run.

Making Sure YOU Are The Most Favored Advertiser!

At LUC Media, we fight to make sure that every client receives all of the benefits he or she is entitled to. That means maintaining constant on-going communications with sales and traffic departments, recurring daily verification of actual spot placement times and monitoring public files kept by individual stations.

LUC's job does not end once your ad is on the air. The team makes sure the stations check for "overcharges." LUC has actually been able to get some refunds even though it is not entitled to receive them by law. Getting back the money requires tenacity and diligence. LUC Media does not "close the books" on your ad campaign until the company is satisfied that every dollar you may have coming back is in the bank - your bank.

Example:

LUC Media would rather see all of your ads get on the air, but if they do not make it, the team will be sure you get the money back that you deserve.

You’ve heard the expression “you are known by the company you keep”  - well here is just a sample of the clients we have worked with recently: