Drive a Hard Bargain: 6 Effective Negotiation Tactics for Media Buyers

Successful media buying is all about getting optimum output for your financial input and balancing this relationship will hinge on your negotiation skills. Further complicating the matter will be the number of parties involved, potentially from different factions of the media, but also within the same disciplines.

When negotiating with vendors, it’s important to know what to expect and how to lead the situation for a favorable outcome. The best media buyers understand the industry from both the buying and selling side, so having a broad view is the secret to success. Keep this in mind as you employ the negotiation tactics that will provide the right platforms for your marketing efforts.

1. Use the rate card as a guide

The whole point of negotiating is to pay less than the amount quoted on the rate card, but this information can be used as a guide. For example, you may see a special rate quoted for large ads or lengthy campaigns, which you can leverage even if you’re not intending to sign up for the volume quoted.

2. Understand ad units

It’s impossible to secure a good deal in negotiations with vendors if you don’t fully understand the value of their offerings. This is particularly the case with online ads, as there’s a wide selection to choose from, but their placement is as important as their size and shape. Knowing how these aspects trade off will ensure you don’t end up accepting less than you anticipated in a deal.

3. Negotiate elements other than rates

Getting stuck focusing on just the price can end up in stalemate, whereas negotiating additional elements, such as better positioning on a page or time slot, can represent increased value for the same cost. Tying in some online advertising to a print publication or an additional spot in a special issue could help your campaign and allow the vendor to feel satisfied with the deal.

4. Combine high-visibility and high-performance approaches

It can be tempting to put all of your budget into highly visible placements, but these can often be expensive and don’t represent the best value when measured from a cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-action (CPA) perspective. Experienced media buyers often combine these premium placements with fixed-placement buttons and text links.

This approach must be aligned with your campaign goals, but can help to drive both awareness and traffic. Packaging these two types together could help you in negotiations and come out with placements that perform well and within budget.

5. Leverage your position

Every media buyer comes to the negotiating table with their own unique circumstances and your style should reflect these. If you’re a new advertiser who hasn’t worked with a specific publication or platform before, position yourself as an organization that will be accepting a risk by working with them may well earn you a discount.

If your advertising budget is increasing, getting your business could potentially be very lucrative for who you’re negotiating with. It’s important to keep this in mind, as this gives you the power to call more of the shots and potentially decrease your average price per page (APP).

Even if you’ve got less to spend than previous years, you can still use this to your advantage. There are a number of approaches to take when reducing your budget, and one of them is to decrease the amount of places you use it, thus making placements work harder for your business as opposed to seeing you as a less valuable client.

6. Sweeten the deal with an editorial

Establish what the rules are surrounding editorials in the nation where you’re doing business and if they’re allowed in conjunction with media buying, bring it up in the negotiations. These freebies often appear in Highlights or Our Favorites sections and consist of a small photo and some concise copy. An editorial is likely to make up a small part of your awareness strategy but is an example of a little extra to show an interest in.