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Like many small businesses, Ulbrich's approach to buying media prior to hiring Flynn & Friends could be best described as "shoot from the hip." They had no filter in place to manage the distractions of dealing with the myriad of media sales reps, much less a systematic approach to targeting their prime demographic.

Working with a limited budget, yet needing enough exposure to make an impact, the key for Ulbrich's was utilizing the right media. An immediate advantage of working with Flynn & Friends was that the agency provided an unbiased approach. Our goal was (and is) to use the best media to achieve the best results.

Demographics were our starting point. Because water garden products are typically the purchase of a more affluent audience, we focused on consumers age 35+. Television and radio represented the best way to get the message out.

Buying Television

In buying media, we subscribe to the adage "frequency, frequency, frequency." (In case you're rusty on your media terms, "frequency" is the number of times a viewer is exposed to a message. "Reach" is defined as the number of people exposed to the message.)

Why the emphasis on frequency? Increasing frequency has a more than proportional relationship to increased awareness. Awareness is related to preference, preference is related to sales, and sales are related to market share and profitability, and increasing market share and profitability are why Ulbrich's hired us in the first place.

In Rochester, 181 spots ran over a two-month period; in the Genesee Valley, 567 spots ran during that same period ? that's a frequency of 9 spots per day (3 - 3.5 is considered a good frequency).

In Buffalo, we bought airtime during news programs on Channels 2 and 4 to reach our target demographic. On Channel 2, we had a frequency of 4.9 spots per day and a reach of 65% of our targeted households; Channel 4's frequency was particularly outstanding ? 7.6 with a reach of 91.2% over the two-month period.

We also negotiated value-added promotions to enhance the media buy. Channel 2 incorporated a contest on their web site, with the winner receiving a completely installed water garden valued at $5,000. Several thousand people entered the contest ? a strong indication of the message's reach. Channel 4 made Ulbrich's the exclusive sponsor of the Wake Up Gardening segment that airs every Sunday during the stations "Weekend Wakeup" show, hosted by Sally Cunningham.

Radio

Frequency was once again the strategy in the decision to utilize WBEN as the sole radio outlet for Ulbrich's message. We felt that this perennial favorite of the older Buffalo-area consumer was the ideal vehicle to reach Ulbrich's target market.

Because consumer buying decisions tend to be made later in the week, we ran the commercials Thursday through Sunday, achieving a frequency of 6.7 and a reach of 173,700 individuals. In addition to the paid spots, we negotiated value-added live broadcasts of the "Home Gardening Show with Ken Brown" and "The Home Improvement Hour with Domenic Cortese", increasing awareness considerably.

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