Avionics News February 2014 - 52

Advertisers Index
Aero Standard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Aircell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Aircraft Electronics Association. . . . 19, 71
Astronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
AVweb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Becker Avionics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
BendixKing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Cobham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Dallas Avionics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC
Device Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
EDMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC
Express Calibration Services . . . . . . . . 71
Flight Display Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Flying Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Garmin International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Georgetown Instrument Services . . . . . 56
Global Jet Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
GlobalParts.aero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
J.A. Air Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Lynch Avionics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Max-Viz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics . . . 1
NextGen GA Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Pacific Southwest Instruments . . . . . . IBC
ProCal Laboratories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Sandia Aerospace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Sun Aviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Tech-Aid Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Tri-Star Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
True Blue Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

52

avionics news

*

february

2014

MARKETING REPORT CARD
Continued from page 51

is for each publication and meet with
this rep two to four times a year.
Maintain an open mind. Many people
in the industry grew up with various
publications, and there's a danger that
they think they know all about a particular publication and what it offers.
But just like everything else, things
change over time. What used to be a
leading magazine may not be today.
It's important to challenge yourself
and put your own personal opinions
temporarily aside when assessing
which media you're going to include
in your advertising campaign.
Use third-party research - and
believe the results. If you're going
to the expense of doing a research
study, go the extra step by hiring an
outside research firm to help create a
questionnaire, and field and interpret
the results. Of course, you can use
your own research and the media's
research, as well. But research from
an outside organization with no
stake in the outcome will help your
research be much more valid.
Develop a system for tracking
your ads. If you do nothing else, you
must check each issue of any media
you've bought space to ensure the
right ad was published where it was
scheduled. Production glitches do
arise even at the best publications,
so you will want to monitor your
ad's physical appearance.
Make media planning a yearly
event - with plenty of time. Most
companies operate on a calendar
year when it comes to an advertising plan. It's a major job - perhaps
even the most time-consuming job
you'll tackle during the year. Give
yourself enough time to create a

media plan that makes sense for you.
Allow enough time to hear sales
pitches, gather information, juggle
the budgets and be ready to go when
January deadlines close in the late
fall.
Negotiate respectfully. Years ago,
all publications went by the book
- or rather by the rate card. You
simply paid not a penny less than
what the rate card stated. Some publications still stick to the rate card,
but even these publications have
programs by which the ads you run
earn bonus space or other items of
added value. There's nothing wrong
in negotiating your ad buys; just do
it in a spirit of realism and respect.
Give your program a chance to
work. Many folks have experienced
being tasked with cutting on-going
marketing programs. When you are
forced to cut budgets, it's so tempting to go after the large amounts
you see in the advertising column.
But next time you're tempted to cut
advertising first, consider the children's game of pickup sticks. In this
game, you dump a bunch of pickup
sticks on the floor and then take
turns trying to pull one stick out
without moving the pile. Advertising
cuts are very similar. You pull one
stick out and - hey, nothing happened. You pull another stick out -
still no response. Eventually you're
going to pull out a stick that makes
the whole pile collapse. This steady
stream of customers, the ads that
provided leads, the printed assurance
to your customers that all is well,
those marketing messages that made
the phone ring, are all gone.
Want to be an A student when it
comes to advertising? Well, in short,
take care in creating a strategic media
plan, and then stick to it. q
Avionics News February 2014

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