If Ave Butensky has learned one thing from President Clinton, it hasnt been how to score cheap sex at work; its how to reach people on a market-by-market basis. When Clinton beat Bush in 1992, the bulk of Clintons money was spent market by market, whereas the bulk of Bushs money was spent nationally, so George Bush was saying the same thing to the people in San Francisco as he was in Boston, whereas Clinton had a different message for every market, said Butensky, president of the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), a trade association based in New York that represents local broadcasters. TVB has now taken this same concept and launched a huge ad campaign that pushes the advantages of advertising on local television. Butenskys contention is that you cant sell pop to people who drink soda, so to speak.
Every product in America has a reason why it sells better in one region than another … so the argument that we have is to put local television on the map so advertisers can be more selective geographically and demographically, said Butensky, who noted that its more important to put your money where your business is, not where your business isnt.
In the past, Butenskys experience with agencies was that most couldnt be bothered to advertise locally, even if that meant giving up the ability to target different products to different regions. Some agencies feel that its a lot easier and takes a lot less manpower to spend a million dollars to advertise on network television, where you make a couple of buys, vs. doing local television, explained Butensky. Whether or not agencies and marketers will buy into TVBs theory has yet to be determined.
TVB teamed with Atlanta-based Fitzgerald & Co. to create a TV, print and direct-mail brand campaign to promote the benefits of running commercials locally rather than nationally. The television spots were sent to approximately 500 TVB member stations, which agreed to run the spots for free throughout Q1 1999. According to Butensky, surveys revealed that well over 300 stations agreed to run the spots heavily.
One spot, Doctor National, a slightly perverse :60 shot by New York-based Hungry Man director David Shane, opens with a man in a business suit telling his doctor about
a curious growth on his buttocksaexcept hes not sitting in his doctors office: Hes on a city street, talking into a megaphone in front of what we assume is the doctors building. People cast strange looks at the ailing man, who grotesquely describes his tremendous ass-growth as an oozing, gelatinous, festering mass with a crusty layer on top. In the end, the protagonist is arrested and fruitlessly tries to call his lawyer with the megaphone before being forced into a squad car. The spot is tagged: When you want to talk to someone, why talk to everyone?
The creative on these spots had to be excellent because we werent dealing with a huge media budget, explained TVB VP, retail marketing, Kathy Whitehouse, who lives in Atlanta and helped pick local agency Fitzgerald & Co. for the job. Fitzgerald VP/creative director Eddie Snyder and senior copywriter Jerry Williams off-color concepts won out in what Whitehouse described as a very competitive search for the right agency. There is also a :30 version of Doctor National and two :15s (Pop & Soda and Loudspeaker).
A simultaneous print ad campaign will break in the middle of January and run in industry trade magazines like Adweek and Advertising Age. A toll-free number will appear with each print ad; interested parties can call and get more information from TVB on how to advertise on local television. All were trying to do is raise the visibility of local television so that advertisers will consider skewing their ads geographically, explained Butensky. The final phase of the campaign will involve a direct-mail piece that will be sent to ad agencies and advertisers across the country.
