“Marketing to your existing users is the low hanging fruit”

In response to Derek Jones’ Standing out in a world of TV clutter article, Richard Bedwell, director at Bedwell Media Ltd, joins John Billett’s discussion – Is television out of touch when it comes to marketing itself?

“Of course marketing to your existing users in order to encourage them to consume more, more often is, and always has been, the low hanging fruit.

Unfortunately, with less and less concern with building a schedule and more focus on cost, it is a route that appears more and more inevitable.

If you’re negotiating the price of a press campaign on circulation figures (from which no coverage and frequency can be calculated) rather than readership, then who cares about bringing in ‘new’ consumers who are not given any greater value than the delivery of old consumers more often?

If you’re a TV station with a very broad patronage (ITV being the classic) then the emphasis is on placement of promotion on your own channel. If you’re Sky, it may well be the case that the main reason for not viewing is non reception – in which case the use of other media to promote subscription becomes the priority and is probably good value (if it works) whatever the cost premium.”