Experience Matters - Relationships with stations and their sales reps go a long way during campaign crunch time. 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:

• 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 voters. 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.

Of the most common mistakes that broadcast stations make with regard to political advertising, the first is not fully disclosing how they "do business" with "most favored" commercial advertisers. The second is not complying with the disclosure statement that they publish.

To avoid confusion, misunderstanding and costly complaints, LUC has created the LUC Media "Disclosure Checklist." It is our intent to provide stations a handy measuring stick which, if applied to their disclosure documents, will eliminate most of the arguments that come up during the "heat of the campaign."

By FCC definition, a "good" disclosure statement will meet the following five criteria:

1. A description and definition of each class of time available to commercial advertisers sufficiently complete to allow candidates to identify and understand what specific attributes differentiate each class.
2. A description of the Lowest Unit Charge and related privileges (such as priorities against preemption and make goods prior to specific deadlines) for each class of time offered to commercial advertisers.
3. A description of the station's method of selling preemptible time based upon advertiser demand (commonly known as "current selling level") with the stipulation that candidates will be able to purchase at these demand generated rates in the same manner as commercial advertisers.
4. An approximation of the likelihood of preemption for each type of preemptible time.
5. An explanation of the station's sales practices, if any, that are based on audience delivery, with the stipulation that candidates will be able to purchase this kind of time if available to regular commercial advertisers.

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 campaign until the company is satisfied that every dollar you may have coming back is in the bank - your bank.

Example:

Televised sporting events such as Monday Night Football or the World Series often run beyond normal programming times. This causes other programs, such as the late night news, to run late.

Stations treat delayed advertising in different ways. Often, depending on just how late the spot runs, they change how they deal with them. When this happens, advertisers often receive discounts or make-goods for the time they originally purchased. LUC Media believes all clients are entitled to receive the same benefits as a station's regular, commercial advertisers.

LUC monitors the treatment of these delayed spots closely, assuming that the client is entitled to a make-good if the spot runs outside of the time period for which it was purchased. LUC works with the stations to get the ads on the air before the election, rather than getting a refund later.

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.

What they fail to mention is that there are in fact "invisible" rates available as well and that you can get your issue ads on the air without paying the higher non-preemptible rate. Other buyers may not tell you this either. That's what makes LUC Media different.

Being able to bring such accuracy to the advertiser and providing up to date stats, this allows a higher rate of return on their advertising dollar, thus reduces wasteful spending. This type of technology brings a whole new level of advertising targeting. A site owner now can run different types of ad campaigns more efficiently and with faster results.

In St. Louis, Missouri, a station told LUC Media they only had two classes of rates: fixed and immediately preemptible. Early in the campaign season, LUC placed the client's ads at the lower rate - only to be informed later that a number of the spots would not run.

LUC tried to place ads at intermediate rates and was refused, but did not give in. Arguing the case, making several requests for disclosure and putting the station on notice that their practices were inconsistent with current FCC regulations, while questioning the system they were using to charge political advertisers, were some of the tactics used.
In the end, the station gave in. They abandoned their two class rate card. LUC won ther client over $10,000 in rebates on a $30,000 buy and for the rest of the election the rates were significantly lower. 

Changing laws requires changing tactics

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act has changed the face of political advertising.

Today, there are different rules for candidates, political parties and independent organizations. While much attention has been paid to how this affects actual advertising expenditures, there are only a few people who understand how this new law impacts the other side of the equation: advertising rights.

For example, equal time typically applies only to candidate-placed ads. If an opponent strikes, candidates can demand the equal time to respond. What if the attack comes from his political party or an independent group? Most buyers will tell you that there is nothing that can be done.

Wrong!

The fact is, there are exceptions to the law that allows you to come to your own defense or that of a candidate that you might be supporting. LUC Media knows what they are and how to use them. LUC will keep your ads on the air and work to knock the other independent and negative ads off.

It is this simple: LUC Media is better equipped than anyone else in making sure that the client's ads get on the air because the company works hard and because one of the nation's foremost experts in FCC political broadcasting law is on this team.

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: