The Latest from Erwin Ephron...
April Thayer
Erwin Ephron is one of my media heroes – he may be the Superman of media heroes (though I know his partner, Ed Papazian, is probably just as smart). And he’s tackling a knotty subject in the following article.
This opinion piece regarding the “magic answers” to the problem of media planning in today’s climate offers no apologies for reverting to the most basic and logical of starting places: zero-based budgeting. So why do clients dislike it so?
Don’t misunderstand, many of them say that’s what they want. They also say that there’s very little seasonal distribution of sales, that everybody buys their products/services, that they need to be in the market as much as possible. And then they’re really surprised when the plan comes back at a cost three times what they wanted to spend.
Good zero-based budgeting requires good input from the client, good analysis on our part and good strategy to support our findings. Let’s start with good input. It’s always the best way to start. Read on – I think you’ll see the logic.
Read Erwin Ephron's "Chaos Isn't for Sissies"