When you consider that a 30-second advertising spot for SuperBowl LIV will cost $5.25 million, the challenge for marketing managers to manage high media buying budgets can be overwhelming and stressful.

Several issues, such as most visible and used media by customers, specific target market compatibility with media sources and compatibility with budget restrictions relative to accost of advertising should be resolved before buying media. There are three unique challenges when managing a high media buying budget to consider.

The Budget vs Media Cost Equation

Most marketing managers know high media buying is going to mean careful spending. However, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers advice for successful advertising and budgeting.

The SBA budget vs. media cost equation recommended that “if you spend $10 of the selling price of an item that cost $300 on advertising, then you should be willing to spend $3,000 in advertising to sell 300 units and generate $90,000 in sales.”

This gives an indication of the balance between costs of high media advertising vs. budgetary constraints. The challenge in this issue is that TV advertising costs are based on an average of $5.00 per 1,000 viewers. Current costs for a 30-second ad for 1,000 viewers is approximately $115,000.

Note that TV advertising involves a setup process, setup costs, cost of media and cost for continued advertising. There are several national advertising mediums to consider. These include:

  • TV Ads
  • Magazine Ads
  • Direct Mail Ads
  • Pay Per Click
  • SEO
  • Website Marketing Campaigns
  • Email Marketing

Telemarketing/Infomarketing Ads

The cost for each of these mediums depends on variables in design and production, definitive ROI and individual media costs.

Timing of Media Ads Aired

Timing is of the essence when it comes to managing a high media buying budget. For example, if the high media buyer intends to take advantage of multiple media sources, ads should be timed so ads are cohesively aired for optimal ROI and maximum viewing.

Advertising High Media Buying Negotiation

The media buyer should possess excellent negotiating skills in order to arrive at a media purchase price that stays within budget and results in optimal ROI. Many people will tell you that TV is dead, however it’s having a renaissance at the moment. More people are sticking with TV rather than going to the movies. TV advertising is still a solid way to reach over 90 percent of Americans.

If you choose social media advertising on high end media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Vimeo, Google or Snapchat, you need to take the time to study the variables in the cost of advertising for these sources and determine the advantages of each for your goods and/or services to be advertised.

Once the three unique challenges to management of high media buying is clear, use comparative advertising analyses to determine which of the high media you buy is most compatible with your buying budget.