With the focus on good nutrition these days, most people read the labels on packaged foods before tossing them in to their grocery carts.

This is wise advice for marketers who purchase advertising too, as untold millions of dollars are wasted annually on bad media buys.

We’ve all had those last-minute calls from a breathless territory rep for an industry-related magazine, or from a local or regional news publication. It goes something like this: “Jack, we’ve just had a last minute cancellation for our back cover in the next edition and I immediately thought of you. Of course we can’t go to press with a blank back cover, so we’re going to have to take a terrible beating on it.  I’m going to let your ad run there for one-third the normal price.” Wow! How can you turn that down? For one thing, if the publication in question wasn’t worth your consideration before the bargain came along, maybe it’s still not worth running your ad even at one-third the price. A discount simply cannot be your only motivator. If you’re very familiar with the publication and you have high regard for its circulation story and are comfortable with its editorial philosophy, then you want to ask such questions as: Who are it’s recipients and what percentage of them are potential prospects for your product or service?

Is the circulation audited (this may or may not be important, depending upon the market and the competitors’ circulation policies)? Are there any independent studies that support the salesperson’s claims of readership? If it is a trade publication, what are the titles of its readers? Is there market research that verifies the buying influence of these titles? Who are the publication’s competitors and how does it rank against them in the circulation, readership and advertising market share? (Be sure you are comparing apples to apples – comparisons based against publications that truly serve the same marketplace.)

Can the publication document any success stories or testimonials from advertisers with similar products and/or services as yours? What supporting marketing and promotional services can the publication offer that can extend the impact of your advertisement? Does the publication offer a Reader Service (Bingo) Card to measure responses?

If you like the response, will they consider the ad as part of a frequency run should you decide to place additional ones? A two-thirds discount could be a heck of a deal. But “study the labels” first.