There’s a lot of misinformation about advertising on Sirius XM out there, including some scams. Buyers need to be aware and beware of some basic facts. These five will help.
1. Does Sirius XM offer remnant advertising?
– No, Sirius XM does not. Anyone saying that they do is just not telling the truth. Anyone selling remnant or bulk purchase packages are scamming you. Sirius XM gets most of its revenue from subscribers, not ads. So they do not offer many of the remnant, bulk or discount ad programs common with traditional, terrestrial advertising. Believe us, we’ve seen a lot over the years and have worked with Sirius XM occasionally to identify these scams.
2. Does Sirius XM offer local advertising?
– No, Sirius XM is national only. You cannot buy just Chicago, or Dallas, or New York. Why? Well, it’s satellite. Sirius is not like Spotify or Pandora, which are delivered through the Internet. It’s beamed down over all of North America. You get Canada and Mexico, too. But you can’t buy one market.
3. Does it make sense to buy Sirius XM for a few markets?
– Yes it does. If you’re interested in buying 3+ markets, say Chicago, Dallas and Miami, it does make sense to use Sirius XM. If you price local markets, you’ll find that the cost of 3+ easily exceeds the cost of buying Sirius XM. Why is this? Well, Sirius XM is one of the last, great mass media. Because it’s mass, you actually get a discount. Remember, in media, the more exactly you can target an audience, the more it will cost. That’s why Pandora and Spotify — and local radio stations — are far more expensive on a CPM basis than Sirius. So, even if you don’t need or want to reach a national audience, you can advertise on Sirius XM just to get the 3+ markets you want… at a discount to buying each individual market.
4. Can I advertise on music channels, or run an hour infomercial on Saturdays, or pitch my own show?
– Uhhh, no. Sirius XM is already challenged in running it’s own content. It has only so many channels that satellite technology will allow. So it does not sell “time” to others. Believe us, we’ve asked plenty and its not changing.
5. Does Sirius XM offer a lot of added value in its buys?
– No, Sirius doesn’t UNLESS you are 1) a consistent advertiser or 2) a large advertiser. A consistent advertiser is typically a company running ads for three months or more. A large advertiser is a company placing a buy exceeding $100,000. Now, we can help there and certainly push on your behalf. However, if you’re just running a one-time, minimum flight, you’re not likely to get much added value. When you do received added value, it will likely not be on its most in-demand channels like the news channels.
Just remember that Sirius XM has enough demand for its platform that it doesn’t play the reindeer games common on traditional radio. And because the adscape with Sirius XM is constantly in flux, it helps to have an expert like RSM Marketing involved representing you.
