Where should you start if you have an advertising client in a new market?

Where should you start if you have an advertising client in a new market? As a media buyer and planner, getting familiar with a new market fast is key in evaluating and putting together advertising recommendations for clients.

One of the first places that we like to start is pulling out a map and literally looking at the market area that advertising dollars will need to cover. Once the areas main highways or thoroughfares are located as are surrounding cities, it is time to start pulling research information.

We will need to check to see if the new market is measured in what is called a Designated Market Area or DMA. If it is measured, it will make collecting data much easier. At that time, we will pull radio information that includes format, dial position, company contact information, demographic breakdown, market coverage, etc. We will pull the same for television.

The next few steps are figuring out what vendors are in the market like outdoor companies, theaters, newspapers, local magazines, cable providers.

Once the vendors are established, it is time to start carving out a plan by obtaining media kits, researching cable coverage, figuring out target demographics, pulling cost per point for broadcast, evaluating inventory from online vendors, etc.