The opportunity with co-op is huge. LSA often talks about the $35 billion in co-op ad dollars that go unused each year. Actually utilizing these funds, however, remains a challenge for many.
The first ever LSA Co-op Conference was created to demystify the often misunderstood and widely underutilized world of co-op advertising. Today in Chicago, the half-day event brought together sellers, practitioners and brands to provide a comprehensive look into the co-op advertising tactics and opportunities that are driving meaningful revenue growth for media sellers.
In addition to a number of practical takeaways provided by speakers at the event, attendees also received an advance copy of an LSA paper titled, “Breaking through the Co-op Clutter: Best Practices for Improved Co-op Advertising Sales.” The paper will be available more broadly in coming weeks.
After highlighting the co-op opportunity, the paper provides 10 best practices seen in the market. They are:
1. Make Co-op an Integrated Part of the Sales Process: “Co-op performance would improve if sales organizations baked co-op into all of their sales processes.”
2. Have a Local Champion: “Several of the co-op experts interviewed for this report cited a strong relationship between having a co-op champion/subject matter expert in the local sales office and greater success with co-op.”
3. Hold Sales Leaders Accountable for Co-op Results: “You need someone local who has a vested interest in co-op who is in a position to talk to the reps.”
4. Track Performance: “Organizations that measure co-op performance in real time are in a better position to drive co-op performance.”
5. Eliminate Complexity: “Innovations that limit the steps required of local businesses and media sellers, that make information more accessible and easier to understand and streamline the approval and reimbursement processes, will gradually transform the co-op opportunity.”
6. Develop a List of Target Accounts: “Focusing on a limited number of high-opportunity accounts for co-op can yield better results than requiring co-op in every conversation or needs analysis.”
7. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate: “Keep your teams informed of new co-op programs and the brands that are offering these programs.”
8. Provide Ongoing, Online Training: “On-site co-op training is great, but new hires and refreshers via online training can help prevent co-op numbers from sagging.”
9. Contests and Promotions: “Contest are by their nature not sustainable, so they should be seen as a supplement to more fundamental, long-term changes like integrating co-op into the sales process.”
10. Arm Your Reps with Research: “Supporting all reps with co-op prep will produce more consistent and better conversations about co-op on sales calls.”
