Cable Television Network
The More You Know. The Stronger Your Brand. The More You’ll Sell .
All About the Advertisers
Finding: In the Fall 2010 wave of AIR, next six-month advertiser buying intentions declined significantly for our client, a leading special-interest cable television network.
Discovery: Analysis of AIR showed that the network’s sales team was perceived to be far below the industry average for sales knowledge. That is, selling advertising based on the advertisers’ needs and priorities as opposed to their own interests. The network’s head of sales confirmed this through her own subsequent internal discovery. She found that the sales team was responding to RFPs without taking the time to fully understand and incorporate advertiser goals and objectives into their selling approach. What’s more, the network’s actual ad sales were beginning to decline.
Action: The network trained its sales team to focus on and incorporate advertiser objectives and priorities into its response to RFPs and in selling to current advertisers and prospects.
Result: Advertiser buying intentions rebounded in AIR Spring 2011, as did the network’s actual advertising sales. In addition, the positive advertiser perceptions of our client’s brand, satisfaction, and sales knowledge improved dramatically during the same timeframe.
