Commentary

Get Ready For December Insanity

Get ready for December, which can be one of the most trying months for any media planner or sales rep. It starts innocently enough, with agencies gearing up for next year's campaigns and wrapping up the fourth quarter. But does it ever go smoothly? Rarely. Clients always seem to find dollars that need to be spent before the end of the year. Something always goes awry with the best laid plans for January. Suddenly, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to get people on the phone.

Mandatory holiday parties, holiday cards, finding that Tamigotchimon Robosapien that junior wants Santa to bring him, shuddering at the notion of having to explain to Aunt Mildred at the holiday dinner table for the umpteenth time what exactly it is that you do for a living... Yes, December can be a truly stressful month. Let's see what we can do this time around to take some of the stress out of the holiday season.

Many of us are faced with the prospect of "use it or lose it" when it comes to vacation, which leads many of us workaholic types to be out of the office for a good chunk of December. If you're a media planner, there's nothing more stressful than following up on a deal with a sales rep and hearing those words on their voicemail:

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"Hi, this is Bill. I'll be out of the office starting December 6, returning January 3rd. Please leave a message and I'll return your call when I'm back in the office."

Keep in mind that the media planner on the other end of the phone is probably dealing with some type of emergency. Either a client needs to spend some money or there's something going on with a campaign that needs to launch on the first of the New Year.

So don't forget to coordinate with the people in your office to figure out who is covering for whom while you're out. Leave a contact person's number and e-mail address on your outgoing message, and be sure that your backup contact isn't out on any of the days that you'll be out.

This isn't just a tip for sales reps. It goes double if you're a media planner and the person on the other end of the phone is looking for creative for a January 1 launch, or for a missing insertion order.

Speaking of media planners, it's a great idea to make a list of your clients and let them know your holiday schedule. Do it now. No one likes surprises. When you call or e-mail to let them know which days you'll be out of the office, it's a great idea to ping them about whether or not there are any unspent dollars that might need to be allocated. These things always seem to come up at the last minute, so anything you can do to get clients thinking about last-minute campaigns before crunch time will probably pay handsome stress-reducing dividends in the short term.

Planners should also get a copy of their 2005 flowcharts ready. In a week or so, start from the top and call all media vendors that are on plans for campaigns that launch in January. Touch base to be sure they have everything they need. Share your holiday schedule and give them emergency contact information for the days you'll be out of the office.

Once you have your reassurances from vendors, it might be a good idea to spot-check any January ad campaigns in the queue by logging in to your adserver of choice, testing redirects, and ensuring back-end actions are being tracked appropriately. Run a few tests on your client's Web site - maybe order a product or sign up for a newsletter and be sure the purchase or sign up was attributed appropriately.

An ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure when it comes to the end of the calendar year. Take some steps now to make sure the holiday season doesn't become more stressful than it already is.

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