Who are the out-of-town competitors in your market that drive you crazy when you see local businesses advertising with them?
In our market, firms taking ad dollars out of the local market include sellers of pre-roll video ads in movie theaters, slides on video monitors near supermarket checkstands, ads on shopping carts and cash register receipts, maps and high school sports schedule posters produced by out-of-town marketers, etc.
Perhaps the most expensive competitor I've seen, in terms of the mountains of cash leaving of our community, is a Rochester, New York company that, in their words, "produces tens of thousands of videos for municipalities and business partners across the country."
They're called eLocalLink, a division of CGI Communications, Inc., and they win the endorsement of city or county governments, or Chambers of Commerce, to produce a "video showcase" cost-free to that entity, for which they're actually paid handsomely by all the local "sponsors" they can persuade to part with thousands of dollars apiece (as much as $10,000 apiece, I'm told, in our small town) to have their tile display ads pasted around the City's video page. Each tile ad leads either to the sponsor's website or a video they've paid this company to produce. But the sponsor doesn't even own their video; it resides on an eLocalLink server and is leased from eLocalLink for a period of time, after which, presumably, more money has to be shelled out top keep it available.
I have to hand it to CGI Communications. They've put a lot of thought into developing a revenue scheme, er, stream that's enormously profitable for them, protected by a veil provided by the City/County/Chamber, and a pitch as seductive as any siren's song.
Meaningful details are scant at their website. They get rave reviews from the municipalities and chambers, of course, who aren't paying a dime for the service ("With no financial investment from City funds, we've eliminated the need for lengthy budget meetings and approval processes....").
But whether the huge investment on the part of the merchants is actually bringing them any business is another matter. I've talked to some locally who, in retrospect, don't think it was worth nearly what they paid for it. But what can they do? It's an out-of-town company, and since the City has no skin in the game, there's little a remorseful buyer can do. Stand on the shore, I guess, and wave goodbye to all those dollars as they disappear into the sunset.
Some folks wonder if local firms couldn't have provided more bang for the buck. (They're not alone, as this story from the Napa Valley Register reveals.) Obviously, CGI wants their salespeople in complete control of the discussions with local businesses, minimizing opportunities for scrutiny by local media and other competitive vendors from whom they're siphoning the big bucks back to Rochester, New York.
Here's a link to the Pullman, WA community page hosted by eLocalLink, if you'd like to see what the finished product looks like.
Has eLocalLink come to your town, too?
What other competitors are driving you crazy?
Our stations carry exclusive broadcasts in our market for four different high schools. We usually do pretty well on the game broadcasts. However we have had a few good advertisers pull their money and say they want to support the students. Someone had the brilliant idea to put two 60" LED screens in the gym. The school is selling ads on these screens during games. However, they are so far away from the home seating....1. You can't see them and 2. The backboard is in the way of one TV and 3. People are watching the game and not paying attention to the ads. However, the money spent goes to the athletic program and not to the station to support the broadcast. More and more Schools are seeking funding any way they can because the costs to keep the athletic programs running go up every year. Thoughts?
I do not have many ad dollars being taken away by out-of-town competitors, but the one thing that drives me crazy about two of them is their on-air presentation and programming, it is HORRIBLE. And they wonder why my small-wattage station shows up higher in the ratings...
I'm 30 miles from Boston. Love the town of my birth, but not the competition.
Bill Wayland
WCAP Lowell Ma.
Anybody in L.A.
We just lost a syndicated show to a station in L.A. that can't even be heard out here.
But listeners and sponsors have the perception that it must be better if it's in L.A.
(Lyons Law: Perception is Reality.)
