The Talon Advertising Handbook
Table of Contents
PG 3 Letter to Staff
PG 4 Fact Sheet
PG 5 Ad Contract
PG 6 Ad Contract Example
PG 7 Reasons to Buy an Ad
PG 8 Survey Results
PG 9 Pricing
PG 10 Sizes of Ads with Dimensions
PG 5 Submission Specs
PG 12 Ad Examples
PG 13 Dress Code
PG 14 How to Overcome the “NO”
PG 15 Guideline to writing a “Thank You Note”
PG 16 Policies
Letter To the Staff
Dear Staff Members of the Talon,
As I sit here putting together this advertising handbook, I keep thinking about how much all of this information should help us sell more advertisements. I am very excited thinking about what the year will bring and so, in this letter I am going to try to get you excited and prepared too.
This is your advertising booklet. It needs to be read. If you read it and study it, I can promise you that selling your ads will be easy. Learning to sell is a skill you can use at any time of your life and in order to have a newspaper that you will be proud of, it is very important that you learn to sell and that you sell as many ads as possible.
It is important that you review all the material in this handbook.
Dress appropriately, no denim or t-shirts. Please be polite at all times. Remember you represent the school, and your behavior reflects on your character as well as the school.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will be happy to help. You can call my cell phone at 248-736-4557.
Our goal is to exceed last year’s mark, so let’s do it.
Carolyn Berwick
Business Manager
Rochester High School
Fact Sheet
School Name Rochester High School
Address 180 S. Livernois
City, State Zip Rochester Hills, MI 48307
Phone 248-726-5400
School’s Web site rochester.k12.mi.us
rochestertalon.com
Superintendent: Fred Clarke
Principal: Charles Rowland
Adviser:
Enrollment:
Mascot: The Falcon
School Colors: Blue and White
Publication: The Talon
Number of pages: 8
Sizes of Ads
When buying an advertisement, the price depends on the size of the ad purchased.
Insert- provide own copies $100
1/8 Page 6x5 $60
1/4 Page 6x10 $80
Half Page 12x10 $125
Full Page 12x20 $200
All ads must be in by the middle of the month (15th) and paid for by the end (30th).
Submission Specs
Businesses can submit their own individual ad. The only requirements of the ad are that the ad must have a resolution of 300 pixels per inch. It also must fit the length and width of ads we sell.
Reasons to Buy an Ad
YOU should advertise in the Talon!
1. MARKET – There are two primary markets for your ads. FIRST, there are the readers of the paper that will be purchased by the students, staff and faculty. Readers also include the relatives of the people who attend and work at Rochester High. The SECOND group of readers comes from those papers placed in various businesses in the Rochester area that have waiting rooms: doctors, dentists, hospitals, real estate offices and car dealerships. New families moving to Rochester who visit Rochester High School as a prospective educational opportunity will also see your advertisement. We estimate almost (use number here) readers per year see the Talon. (Spell out number here) readers per year is a good reason to purchase space in the Talon newspaper. Take advantage of the buying power of the Rochester High family.
2. COST-PER-PERSON – At the best rate, a full-page ad, the cost per person for your money figures out to just a little more than one penny ($450/25,000 readers = .018).
3. YOUNG PEOPLE’S PURCHASING INFLUENCE – MarketResearch.com indicates that there are 25 million teens (ages 12-17) in the U.S. who spent $124 billion of their own money in 2004. By 2008, this number is expected to reach 33 million teens. This spending does not include the influence that this age group has on its parents' spending habits.
4. HIGH READER INTEREST – From your own school experience, you are already aware that receiving the newspaper is one of the high points of the school year. The newspaper stimulates more readerships initially and more frequently than any other advertising media available.
5. EDUCATIONAL SERVICE – You perform a valuable service to the young people of today by allowing students to become better educated in business techniques.
6. The Talon reaches customers. Use it to reach yours!
How to Overcome the “No”
When you walk through prospective advertisers’ doors, some will easily see the advantages and buying power of students and willingly sign a contract. They will recognize the value of advertising in the newspaper, they have done it before, and they want to support the school and staff. Others will not be so eager.
Budgets are tight and advertising in school newspapers is not high on their priority list. Therefore, you must follow an aggressive sales approach to overcome any objections these merchants might have. Good sales people have their presentations planned and know how to respond to merchants who have questions or reasons not to buy.
Know how to answer the common objections listed below without having to look up the answer. Most of the following can be answered if you have read the “Ten Reasons” in this handbook. If you need help, consult Carolyn Berwick.
• Why should I advertise in the newspaper?
• What benefits do I get from the paper?
• Who else advertises in your paper? (Hint: any competition?)
• Do you offer discounts?
• What size ads do you have?
• When do I pay?
• Can I use my own artwork?
• How many people will see my ad?
• I don’t have it in my budget now.
• I advertise in BOOK NAME’S (another school) newspaper.
• Kids don’t shop in my store.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
High school kids don’t shop here. They don’t buy my product.
Even if students don’t shop here, they have influence on where their parents shop. USA TODAY estimates that students affect $248.7 billion dollars of Mom and Dad’s spending. Remember, students are not the only people reading the newspaper. Along with family and relatives, the book is placed in doctor and dentist’s offices throughout the Rochester area.
I’ve spent all I can on advertising this month
(or year).
We would be happy to wait and bill you next month.
Do I have to give you the money right now?
(I don’t trust kids.)
No, sir/madam. Let me give you this envelope with the school’s address. It has a stamp on it, and you can mail it directly to the school.
I used to buy an ad, but I don’t have kids in school anymore.
This is all the more reason to advertise. It will keep your name in front of the parents and the friends of your children. The Rochester High community benefits from your store, whether you have children in school or not. Parents patronize store merchants who support their children and their school.
THE SALES CALL
• Be sure to take this advertising booklet with you and a copy of the newspaper.
• Be prepared to answer the objections.
• Have a contract with the school’s name, address and telephone number already completed.
• Have a working pen.
• Practice.
• Know the name of the person you need to speak with before you call or visit.
• Remember to ask questions that they will respond to with an affirmative answer. Be positive.
• Know the hours of business and do not visit within one hour of opening, lunch or closing. These are usually very hectic times, and owners have their minds on other matters.
• Dress appropriately, no denim.
• Be courteous even if the adults are not.
Good afternoon Mr./Mrs. _________________________. I am ____________________ a member of the Rochester High newspaper staff. I contacted you earlier by telephone (or you purchased an ad in last year’s paper).
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to show you all the advantages of advertising in the Rochester High newspaper. I know advertising is important to you and when you advertise you market directly to a target audience (wait to see if there is a response).
I know you want to reach those consumers who have the buying power to purchase and who have the need for your products or service. From our research, we know that teenagers have over $270 billion worth of purchasing influence.
By advertising in the Talon newspaper, you not only reach, ??? students, but you also reach their parents and relatives. You will also reach readers who visit area dentist and doctor’s offices because we place over ?? books in the Rochester area. We estimate this gives us over ????? readers. (Wait for response.)
We offer you several sizes and prices to choose from, and we can add graphics, rule lines, backgrounds or photographs if you would like. (Show sample ads.)
What size ad would you like to buy? (Be sure to have the contract out and a pen ready for them to sign.)
CLOSING THE SALE
• Answer all the questions. If there are any you do not know the answer to, write them down and tell him you will get the answer and call him back.
• Be sure to have him sign the contract. Make any notations or suggestions in the top area of the contract and thank him for his time.
• If possible, get a copy of the business card and any art or logos.
• Shake hands and thank him for his time.
• Leave the copy of the ad contract.
Thank You Notes
We will be writing thank you notes to everyone we contact about advertising. Whether you sold the ad or not, a note will be written and mailed to the business. The following are some important things to remember when writing a thank you note.
- DO NOT actually include the word “Thank You”.
- If they bought an advertisement, tell them that we appreciate the support they have given us.
- Explain that we hope they will advertise with us in the future if they turned down the sale.
- Write neatly
Dress Code
All members of the Talon staff will have to dress appropriately when going to sell an advertisement. This attire includes not wearing jeans. You are going do make a business deal, so why not dress like a businessperson.
The Budget 2011-12
Income Projected
Sales
Subscriptions @ $15 4000.00
Individual Sales of issues 250.00
Advertisements 500.00
Fundraising 500.00
Principal Donation 3000.00
Total 8250.00
Expenses Projected
September issue 1000.00
October issue 1000.00
November issue 1000.00
December issue 1000.00
January issue 1000.00
February issue 1000.00
March issue 1000.00
April issue 1000.00
May issue 1000.00
Senior issue 1000.00
Total 10000.00
Business Cards
Policies
All advertising must promote a product or service available to the public. Advertising submitted may not attack, debase or defame any individual or organization. Potentially libelous material will not be accepted for publication. All advertising must be judged appropriate and in good taste by the editors of The Talon and the Rochester Community Schools administration. A full refund will be made if the staff or the publisher fails to publish the advertisement. The staff of The Talon reserves the right to edit, reject or cancel any advertisement at any time, if the advertiser violates any of the above stated policies.