In today’s Promo Boot Camp session, “6 Things About the Television Business You Need to Know…and Why,” Terry Minogue, SVP of marketing and brand creative for Spike TV, joined fellow executives Nancy Leidersdorff, VP of promotional planning and strategy for AMC, and Sean O’Neill, VP of research for Spike Viacom Entertainment Group, to discuss how familiarity with departments outside one’s own facilitates movement up the promotion and marketing ladder.

What follows are Minogue’s takeaways – six areas in the television business you should know better to create more meaningful work and to take those next big career steps.

Research

GRPs, P2+, C3 and A18-49. Understanding and utilizing research is paramount to creating effective promotion, and it all starts with knowing your audience. Team up with your research group to understand exactly who is watching, when they’re watching and hopefully why they’re watching to help tailor your message. For larger campaigns, test multiple promo executions with online surveys your research team can set up to make sure your messaging is both creative and clear.

Development

The best promotion for a show is often the show itself, and no one has a better understanding of what’s great about a series than the development executives. Don’t go into a project in the dark. Make sure your development team is relaying the best moments and answering a fundamental question: why was this show green-lit? How you sell the product often comes from that original sales pitch.

Media Planning and Scheduling

In some organizations, this group is part of the promotion team, but regardless, promo creators need to have a deep understanding to where their work is running and why. Make sure your spots are airing in compatible programming via audience duplication analysis. Understand frequency and how varying lengths of spots and lower thirds can be used effectively to get viewers to tune-in.

Finance

Understanding your finance group’s goals and responsibilities can actually help you produce better work. Meet with your finance team, even if you don’t have a direct relationship, and learn how the start and end of the fiscal years and quarters affect your group’s budgets. Treat a project budget like you’d treat your own finances and earn a reputation for being fiscally responsible. Great creative doesn’t always have to be expensive, and saving some dollars on one project allows you to go out and execute that big shoot or get the licensed music track you otherwise couldn’t afford.

Ad Sales

Clients always want more, bigger, better and NBD (Never Been Done). Instead of waiting for an assignment or RFP for co-branded spots from the sales team, think about incumbent sponsors and create original concepts tailored for their brand that the sales team can take to clients. Instead of just putting the concept on paper, create a pilot and have your creative do the selling. In a world of less promo time, co-branded spots are an effective way to get your tune-in and brand message across without sacrificing what promo time you have.

Affiliate

Generally speaking, 50% of cable’s revenue comes from affiliate fees, and on top of that, affiliate groups bring in millions of dollars in marketing value for networks every year. Understanding the affiliate group’s priorities can help secure more marketing for the shows you want to promote. Those :25/:05s and :20/:10s you create for affiliates get sold locally and get you additional reach. Have extra content from a promo shoot? Offer it to an affiliate for one of their partner’s exclusive content. No dollars change hands, but that added value helps get the word out for your show and helps the affiliate group with their MSO relationships.

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