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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
11. Evaluation of Broadcast
Media
are available on either a network or a local market basis, whereas spot announcements
are available only from local stations.
Sponsorship Under a sponsorship arrangement, an advertiser assumes responsibility
for the production and usually the content of the program as well as the advertising
that appears within it. In the early days of TV, most programs were produced and
sponsored by corporations and were identified by their name, for example, Texaco Star
Theater and The Colgate Comedy Hour. Today most shows are produced by either the
networks or independent production companies that sell them to a network.
Some companies are becoming more involved in the production business. For
example, Procter & Gamble, which has been producing soap operas since 1950,
entered into an agreement with Paramount Television Groups to develop shows for
network TV and first-run syndication. A consortium of nine major advertisers—
AT&T, Campbell Soup, General Motors, Coca-Cola, Sears, McDonald’s, Clorox,
Coors, and Reebok—joined Television Production Partners, a new venture to develop
movies, specials, and limited-run series. Each company chooses which programs it
wants to be involved with and takes a portion of the commercial spots. 22
Several major companies have been sponsoring special programs for many years,
such as the Kraft Masterpiece Theater and Hallmark Hall of Fame dramatic series. In
1994 Hallmark acquired RHI Entertainment Inc., the company that produces its
wholesome Hall of Fame productions as well as TV miniseries and movies. Sole sponsorship
of programs is usually limited to specials and has been declining. However,
some companies, including Ford, AT&T, General Electric, IBM, and Chrysler, do still
use program sponsorships occasionally.
A company might choose to sponsor a program for several reasons. Sponsorship
allows the firm to capitalize on the prestige of a high-quality program, enhancing the
image of the company and its products. For example, the Ford Motor Company
received a great deal of favorable publicity when it sponsored the commercial-free
television debut of the Holocaust movie Schindler’s List. Companies also sponsor
programs to gain more control over the shows carrying their commercials. For example,
Wendy’s International has been involved in sponsorship of family-oriented
programs.
Another reason is that the sponsor has control over the number, placement, and
content of its commercials. Commercials can be of any length as long as the total
amount of commercial time does not exceed network or station regulations. Advertisers
introducing a new product line often sponsor a program and run commercials
that are several minutes long to introduce and explain the product. IBM used this
strategy to introduce new generations of products. While these factors make sponsorship
attractive to some companies, the high costs of sole sponsorship limit this
option to large firms. Most commercial time is purchased through other methods,
such as participations.
Participations Most advertisers either cannot afford the costs of sponsorship or
want greater flexibility than sole sponsorship permits. Nearly 90 percent of network
advertising time is sold as participations, with several advertisers buying commercial
time or spots on a particular program. An advertiser can participate in a certain program
once or several times on a regular or irregular basis. Participating advertisers
have no financial responsibility for production of the program; this is assumed by the
network or individual station that sells and controls the commercial time.
There are several advantages to participations. First, the advertiser has no longterm
commitment to a program, and expenditures can be adjusted to buy whatever
number of participation spots fits within the budget. This is particularly important to
small advertisers with a limited budget. The second advantage is that the TV budget
can be spread over a number of programs, thereby providing for greater reach in the
media schedule.
The disadvantage of participations is that the advertiser has little control over the
placement of ads, and there may also be problems with availability. Preference is
given to advertisers willing to commit to numerous spots, and the firm trying to buy
single spots in more than one program may find that time is unavailable in certain
shows, especially during prime time.
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
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Chapter Eleven Evaluation of Broadcast Media