Tips for Responding to the Media: Writing to Advertisers

1.  Familiarize yourself with the advertiser:

• Review several issues of the publications or radio/TV shows where the advertiser has placed ads.
• Identify the type of ads:  number, size, placement, and artwork.
• Call the publication for advertising rates.
• Try to assess the advertiser's financial investment in the medium based on the type of ad/s and advertising rates.
• Determine whether the advertiser is making a major investment, a minor investment, or a one-time or sporadic appearance in the publication or on the air.

2.  Familiarize the advertiser with you (or your organization):

• Identify yourself or your organization at the beginning of your letter.
• If you are writing on behalf of an organization, explain who it represents and quantify the constituency if possible (i.e., "approximately 7 million at-home mothers in the U.S. ...).

3.  Be bold!

• Use bold language, indicate how the article or broadcast segment made you feel and what consequences that has for the advertiser.
• Position yourself or your organization's constituents as consumers.  Remember that advertisers spend a lot of money trying to get you to buy their product.
• State clearly what you want the advertiser to do:
  • stop advertising in the given publication or on a particular station  (not usually practical);
  • make advertising conditional on changes in the publication or show's tone or editorial position;
  • consider sponsoring more balanced/accurate reporting in other competing publications or on competing broadcast channels.

4.  Get a "cold" reader:

• Find someone who doesn't share your opinion or is unfamiliar with the subject to read your letter and provide feedback.
• While you need not substantially change what you have written, a "cold" reader can provide useful insight to the probable read you will get from an advertiser.