Media...Part of the Solution or Problem?

Jan 10, 2009 by Mark Maier

"Fact or Fiction, Americans Blame Media For Economic Friction" hails the MediaPost headline recently.  I can't say that I disagree but I think the problem goes even deeper as Account Representatives and even Sales and General Managers buy into the fear and excuse clients from advertising because "times are tough"....

"The vast majority of Americans believe the U.S. media industry's coverage of the faltering economy is actually contributing to the economic crisis by "projecting fear into people's minds." That's the finding of a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults released Thursday by Opinion Research Corporation."

The survey, which was conducted last month via telephone, found that 77% of respondents believe fear mongering by U.S. media outlets is negatively impacting consumer confidence in the economy.

According to the most recent consumer confidence index released by the Conference Board on Tuesday, the confidence American consumers have in the economy fell to an all-time low in December.

The majority of those surveyed by ORC singled out the financial press as a primary culprit influencing consumer sentiment about economic conditions.

By focusing on and embellishing negative news, is damaging consumer confidence and damping investment, making a difficult situation much worse," the ORC study concluded. "

The Solution?  As an industry we need to look and report the positive and stop targeting the negative as the top story.  I am not proposing a mass exodus of heads in the sand but instead keeping a good attitude about the business climate, what consumers new needs are, and how our clients can satisfy those needs.  The formula hasn't changed to provide solutions at the end of the day, it is now about how we arrive at those solutions that is important. 

I had a sales person visit me recently who asked how business was and before I could answer said "Dumb question, I already know the answer" when, in fact, business has changed but not for the worse...closing ratio's are through the roof right now because consumers are very serious about buying, they just want the most value for the dollar. The sales person was surprised when I corrected his assumption and maybe won't make that same mistake at the next business he visits.  

What is your properties ongoing role in the community to change the marketplace and bring back stability?  Diane Mermigas from MediaPost had an interesting take on that in her "Job One: Advertisers' Survival Plan For 2009"....

" TV, Radio Stations and Newspapers must work more closely with communities and merchants to strengthen local economies. Their survival depends upon on their effective use of digital interactivity. Job one is to connect local consumers with goods and services of choice using location-based marketing on cell phones and Web sites. With thrift the new norm, marketers ranging from Procter & Gamble to Liz Claiborne have learned to monetize the coupon comeback."

To be part of the solution I think we all need to examine our efforts to "work more closely with communities and merchants to strengthen local economies".  The best way we can do that is to become sustaining resources for each of our clients and that means knowing the ins and outs of the business and the customer base they serve.  It's not easy street anymore for us sellers on the street, in order to meet goals and budgets we need to be prepared to work longer and harder to grow the business.  It may mean doing customer exit surveys at your clients' business on Saturday afternoons. It may mean stopping at one more prospect each day for an in-store survey.  It may mean more lunches actually spent doing business with existing and potential clients. It may mean more energy used for great annual campaign proposals and the creative ideas to drive traffic. It may mean building stronger bonds and relationships with your clients because you invested the energy into becoming part of the solution. It may mean that you still have a job and that you can look yourself in the mirror and know that you give it all every day.
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