Carlton pulls out stops to lure advertisers

The 1996 round of ITV airtime negotiations are under starters orders with Carlton Sales attempting to make a pre-emptive strike to keep wavering London advertisers.

A strong revenue performance from Carlton Sales, at the same time that Carlton TV has suffered from reduced audiences, combined to make some of the company’s deals this year more expensive than advertisers expected.

Laser wants to target clients who rely on male ABC1s and younger audiences, like car and drinks advertisers.

“These advertisers didn’t get the cost effectiveness they expected from Carlton this year,” says one agency TV buying director. “Carlton is trying to bed down those that are not already tied into rolling deals for next year.”

Carlton Sales managed to secure a sizeable amount of business last year by targeting agencies earlier than its rivals and tying them into long-term deals. One agency estimates Carlton has 65 per cent of its clients tied into two or three-year deals.