Keeping your television ad options open

Phil Georgiadis is right to look for models analogous to the new UK television market (MW March 21). And forecasting channel shares for programming genres is probably a sound strategy for TV planners and buyers working for the very largest advertisers.

Where I depart from this line is in our experience of handling medium-sized advertisers, many of whom are already moving easily from newspapers and magazines into the new television medium. Their expectations from any one television channel are not unrealistically high. The study of programme genres is less important to them than results achieved from carefully selected composite campaigns, exactly as they have previously sought results from their magazine schedules.

The planners and buyers best-equipped to help these clients will be those able to change easily from the traditional, lTV/C4 planning mind-set to one able to optimise from seemingly limitless options.

And, within this environment, it is almost certainly going to be the best policy not to tie up favoured deals with sales contractors but to keep all options open.

Guy Sellers

Director

Total Media

London W8