How to get an IAQ or Environmental Company Free Television Coverage

Feb. 3, 2011 - PRLog -- In just a few days a number of companies will spend $3,000,000 for a 30 second commercial spots during Sunday’s Super Bowl on Fox.  Many of these commercials were months in the making with enormous production budgets to match the $3 million advertising slots.  

Super Bowl aside, a typical 30 second national commercial is estimated to cost in the neighborhood of $350,000 to produce and 30 second spot on national television can cost in excess of $100,000.  

Running 30 second commercials for the local market (a typical half hour of television contains 22 minutes of programming, the other 8 minutes are comprised of 6 minutes of national advertising and 2 minutes of local advertising content) can cost anywhere from $100 to well over $1000 depending on the station and time slots the commercial will air.

Needless to say purchasing television exposure can cost a company thousands to tens of thousands of dollars even for just the local market.  With most companies in the indoor air quality (IAQ) and environmental industries being of medium to small in size, this cost is out of reach for many of them.

So how can a company that provides important IAQ or environmental services get television exposure without breaking the bank?

There is a little trick I learned during my years as the Vice President of Business Development for Aerotech Laboratories, Inc.  Each year there were certain times of the year that the local television stations would approach the laboratory about doing a news story. Usually these news stories would appear on the evening news or in special “investigative reporter” segments.

Eventually it became clear that the laboratory was being approach to participate in these news stories in conjunction with Nielsen Sweeps Periods.

Nielsen Sweeps Periods are specific times of the year that the Nielsen ratings collect viewing information from television markets across the nation. These ratings are what help determine how much television stations can charge for future advertising.  

With this being the case, stories about mold, bacteria, nosocomial infections, other pathogens, indoor air quality and other environmental concerns are often used as a big draw by the stations to get maximum viewership to boost their ratings.

2011 Nielsen Sweeps Periods
•   February 3rd – March 2nd
•   April 28th – May 25th
•   June 30th – July 27th

Now that you know when the Nielsen Sweeps Periods are, here is a tip to get free media coverage for your IAQ and environmental company.  As with all media outlets the reporters typically plan ahead when possible.  Use this to your advantage by contacting the local television stations, and especially the individual reporters, a month before the Nielsen Sweeps Periods and suggest a news story that could be positioned by the station as a major story to draw viewers to boost their ratings.  

Think creatively about the types of stories your company could help with.  Perhaps suggest doing a story (where you are the IAQ expert) about IAQ concerns at the local airport (microbial concerns from a recent flooding event or concerns over airplane exhaust entering the terminals) or anything that would play well to the media.  If you think like a TV producer there are literally hundreds of potential stories you could weave your company and expertise into to gain free media exposure.

If you are successful at getting the media exposure be sure to keep in touch with your new media contacts as they will likely come back to you in the future for new stories or be open to additional suggestions you may have for the next Nielsen Sweeps Periods.

Industry professionals can learn more about marketing their IAQ and environmental businesses by contacting info@cochraneassoc.com, visiting http://www.cochraneassoc.com & http://www.IAQTV.com or calling (602) 510-3179.

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About Cochrane & Associates, LLC
Cochrane & Associates is a business development, public relations and marketing consulting firm that specializes in the environmental, mold and indoor air quality industries. The company has worked with many of the industries’ leading institutions and companies. They are also the innovators behind the IAQ Video Network.