It is best to have a designated advertising agency to plan, negotiate, book and audit media on a client's behalf.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of account executives that work for radio stations that will give you a nice pretty presentation that will give you the impression that RADIO is going to give you the best investment. They will attempt to convince you to believe in numbers that have been reported. Be aware because you don't want your campaign to be a hemorrhage pain to your advertising budget.
I have seen first hand that they will use their many years of experience to give them a cloute.
SIGNS to know if you have a bad account executive:
1) They offer to represent you on your behalf even to other radio competitors.
2) Your company name and/or representative's name is misspelled on all documents including the radio station's website's advertising directory links.
3) You have to sign a second contract because the first one was "misplaced".
4) When other stations that allegedly had contracts signed are calling to set up an appointment directly with you to get the facts straight.
5) You notice a lot of late AM spots after Midnight on your schedule.
6) You don't receive a weekly spot schedule BEFORE they are aired.
7) You have TWO remotes appear on the same night when it was clearly scheduled separately.
8) You don't receive air checks in a reasonable time frame or EVER when requested and are told that everything will be delivered 10 days after the campaign.
9) You can't seem to reach them by phone. But are prompt and attentive to take your money.
10) The ROI that was originally hoped for goes to the wind when you compare the web analytic reports and point of sale purchases.
I have a laundry list of shocking dumb moves account executives have attempted on clients.
There are 3 account executives that I have worked with that I would recommend.
Alan Kent (Clearchannel's 94.5 the Buzz),
Michael Cody (CBS Radio's Hot 95.7) and
Luis Hernandez (Liberman's 107.9 XO). These fine gentlemen represent 3 different markets but each of them have integrity. They all have a fun-loving attitude and they will definitely be involved in your campaign from the beginning to the end.
Have a fabulous day!
Adrienne