Opinion

How Much Is It Worth?

howmuch_220x150-234x160Ever wondered what the real price of media is? Our weekly spot How Much Is It Worth reveals both the ratecard price and what agencies really pay for it. 

This week’s How Much Is It Worth asks how much did it cost to take out: the main ad on the homepage of the Bureau of Meteorology website during this week of wild weather; how much the strategic placement by NRMA Insurance on the second page of the Daily Telegraph in the aftermath of the storms; a product placement deal on Masterchef; a half page ad in the Saturday Paper; and a live read by Sydney/soon-to-be Brisbane Breakfast shock jock Alan Jones?

 $20 – The main ad on the Bureau of Meteorology website

BOM

In a week where wild weather lashed Australia’s east coast, particularly around Sydney and the north of NSW, its fair to say that the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) could have expected to receive a massive surge in visits to its website.

BOM is a rarity in the government web portfolio in that it has carried advertising since 2013, and serves in a normal month in the order 200m page impressions with the likes of Citi, Medibank, Australian Super and Air New Zealand all advertising there.

The website has one MREC (medium rectangle) ad unit across the site which has a rate card value of $35 per CPM (or thousand impressions).

However industry data suggests the real cost is closer to $20 per CPM, and the Bureau also apparently does special offers giving campaigns over a certain value booked in particular months extra bonus impressions across the homepage to further increase reach and frequency.

Those we talked to noted that the 200m page impressions is actually quite a lot and said advertisers wanting to get noticed would actually have to make a “significant” investment in order ensure get a high share of voice on the website.

$50,000 – A full page of the Daily Telegraph 

IMG_3227NSW’s wild weather this week appears to have opened up an opportunity for Sydney tabloid the Daily Telegraph, which took the unusual step of carrying a prominent full page ad with “an important message for NRMA Insurance customers” impacted by the storms on page two.

Normally the first full page an advertiser can buy in the News Corp Australia paper is on page six, with sources saying the ad placement would have required the approval of the editor, given the page is normally reserved for editorial.

The question of how much someone like the NRMA would have paid is more challenging. The ratecard for page six is understood to be $65,000 but that it is pretty flexible and when the page goes unsold it can be offered to agencies at the last minute rate for anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000.

The last minute strategic placement by NRMA and the fact the insurer was given page two of the newspaper means it’s unlikely there was the full discount.

$1.6m – A major product placement deal on Masterchef 

Channel Ten has been ramping up its promotion ahead of the return of its tentpole series Masterchef in the coming weeks.

Coming off the back of a strong ratings performance in 2014 (the finale drew 1.7m last year) sources told Mumbrella Ten would be expected to ask as much as $2m for a sponsor to have its product integrated into the reality show.

Depending on the brand, the frequency of the appearance and also the level of competition among those seeking to be involved that price is likely to be haggled down to around $1.6m-$1.7m.

$4,000 – A half page ad in The Saturday Paper 

Saturday PaperMorry Schwartz’s independent newspaper The Saturday Paper is now more than a year old and prides itself on targeting a particular latte-lefty demographic.

Earlier this year the publisher was claiming its print readership, according to Roy Morgan, higher than that of the Weekend Financial Review. However, it is yet to reveal audited numbers on print sales, with CEO Rebecca Costello previously saying they will do so when distribution issues had been resolved. 

Despite a solid start the paper is asking far less than its established competitors at Fairfax and News, with The Saturday Paper’s official ratecard for a half page print ad set at $5,000, although its understood to work out to around $4,000-$4,500.

$3,000 – 30 second Live Read by Alan Jones on his 2GB breakfast program 

Alan JonesThis week shock jock Alan Jones maintained his long held dominance as the number one breakfast radio presenter in Sydney (forget the FM stations, technically Jones has more listeners, it’s just that his listeners are older, while KiisFM and WSFM target a younger/more advertiser friendly group of listeners).

And it’s been revealed Jones’ audience is about to grow with the newly merged Macquarie Radio/Fairfax Radio set to network him and Ray Hadley up to Brisbane on 4BC.

So how much does it cost to read a 30 second endorsement of your product? Well the official ratecard for 2GB puts the price at $3,000.

And it seems Jones is a rarity in the media landscape with agencies suggesting they would expect to pay between $2000-$3000 for a read, although that could fall as low $1,500 for a regular advertiser who made a substantial commitment.

Sources suggest this ratecard discipline may be attributed to Macquarie sales staff finding themselves on the wrong end of Jones’ temper for discounting on these reads.

Note: The figures in How Much Is It Worth come from taking the median and or/average prices provided to Mumbrella from agency sources.

How Much Is It Worth?Do you have a piece of advertising you want to know the value of? You can email suggestions for How Much It Is Worth to Mumbrella deputy editor Nic Christensen nic@mumbrella.com.au or put them in the comment thread below. 

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