Television advertising

@bsutton wrote:

Hey!
I like those stations. Should I be concerned?

We are all concerned about you Sutton

I could see the benefit of TV advertising. Cost more but it makes people feel like our company is bigger and more professional. It’s all about perspective.

You’re exactly right! 😀

My rep at AdGorilla emailed me back saying:

Hi Ron,

I’ve drawn up a new proposal with some new options for shows on TLC, HGTV, Lifetime, ABC Family, and USA. These shows are all geared towards women, with the exception of the movies they are all new shows, and season premiers or season finales are indicated in red.

The proposal I’ve attached comes out to $490, if you like this proposal I would do it plus 100 bonus spots to run on these same networks for $500/month.
If you are willing to commit to a three month contract I would do this proposal (slightly different each month because of new shows) plus 200 bonus spots to run on these networks for $500/month.
Of course I’d be happy to draw up a new proposal if you are looking for something else.

To get started I will need your spots- either loaded to our ftp site, or sent over on a beta SP or CD. Once we draw up a proposal that you like I will need your signature and that’s it. We can get started about 24-48 hours later.

Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Very interesting points on tv advertising have been brought out throughout this discussion. No one may want to admit this, but the fact is without professional quality tv advertising we will never as a franchise have the full credibility and recognition we need to get to the “next level”. Brand recognition is vital and our logo overhaul was the first step! I remember when Subway 1st got into the national advertising arena – it was a huge step but has paid off big for those franchise owners. That franchise has a percentage advertising fee as part of their agreements. In any case, this type of advertising requires a “co-op” type of organization – and perhaps at some point HB owners may choose to form such a co-op which could be designed to strictly focus on national tv advertising. Also, on such a small basis at first we may need to also co-op with some other national advertisers. Again, with Subway when we first started we co-op’d with bigger companies we did business with like frito-lay and pepsico. Perhaps there are some flooring companies, carpet companies, etc. who might like to co-op with us – where our name, logo, perhaps special ‘deal’, etc. could appear in the same ad as theirs! This is an easier entry level approach. National sponsorships are also huge in gaining credibility and name recognition. If we could find an organization to collectively support, we could also receive advertising in return! Gaining recognition on a national level for contributing to something like “Breast Cancer Awareness”, etc. could be priceless and worthy at the same time! Just some food for thought! And remember, the more credibility and name recognition not only builds sales – it builds business value and demand for re-sale! (I learned that first hand as a Subway franchise owner when I sold!)

Thanks Brett! By the way I’ll also mention that as a Subway franchisee in the ’90’s just entering national tv advertising, once we saw the dramatic results almost all markets “volunteered” to RAISE their advertising contributions! In the central Texas market we agreed to add an additional 2% without any resistance – and everyone benefitted! At first it was small – we co-op’d with other national vendors, became a sponsor w/NBA, became active in mda – walk for life, and then a gamble was invested in the first real “campaign” with Jared. The rest is history. When I bought into Subway there was no tv. When I sold we had national exposure – we played with the ‘big boys’ so to speak – and so our credibility skyrocketed. Every owner was a beneficiary – no matter how big or small an operator. Suddenly my 40k investment was worth almost 200k!! Credibility in today’s market is judged by national exposure in television media – and it doesn’t matter whether we like it or not!!! ha!! We have to find ways to enter the arena!!

I am not positive the number of franchisees HB has, but SS says they have some 250 in 2006, and generating some $400 million in total sales, and some 215 franchisees in 1984 with some $100 million in total sales. I have never heard a number for total sales for HB which might be interesting…at something over $1 million per franchise in total sales, I am pretty sure we did not do that in any of the past 6 1/2 years in our franchise. If we were, then I might understand the need to feed such an organization with TV, Radio, etc. The HB organization is not SS or CD but rather home-based and much smaller and possibly more rewarding in other ways than the larger and more well known carpet cos…big whup…

Just my 2 cents worth…