Case
Histories
Car Manufacturer
A transaction
conducted with a car manufacturer posed an interesting problem
and a novel solution. The car company was saddled with hundreds
of cars of a model that was to be discontinued. Given the
company's worldwide presence, re-marketing the cars represented
a unique challenge. U.S. dealers, the wholesale auction
market and international dealerships were unacceptable options.
The solution of IMS's management - sell the cars to several
small, regional car rental companies not currently doing
business with the car company. In so doing, the car company
was able to book the transaction at full dealer cost without
compromising the integrity of its dealer network and received
valuable media scheduled against strict agency media
buying guidelines, which prompted the agency to say to its
client
"the buy is very solid and we are pleased
with the overall quality of the programming
"
Paint
Manufacturer
Barter
transactions are usually a single exchange of inventory
for trade credits. Occasionally, they are more complex and
involve a third party. A case in point is when a well-known
paint manufacturer had an excess inventory of paint, mostly
in five-gallon containers. In this instance, the paint company
did not want media credits, but rather sought to acquire
sponsorship rights to the World Cup Soccer Tournament.
World Cup did not need paint, but was interested in telecommunications
equipment. IMS's management team first found a retail home
outside normal channels of distribution to effectively re-market
the paint inventory. IMS's group then located a telecommunications
equipment company that was interested in exchanging inventory
for media. Using the proceeds from the sale of the paint,
IMS's team was able to supply the paint company with its
World Cup sponsorship rights, the World Cup with needed
telecommunications equipment, and the manufacturer with
highly targeted media.
Camera
Manufacturer
When
this camera manufacturer had a very sizeable inventory of
obsolete Photo CD Players, IMS's group stepped in to move
the product as premiums through hotel casinos at
the manufacturer's "suggested list price." The
camera company used media credits to help launch a new consumer
advertising campaign in major magazines against media efficiencies
established by the agency. In a subsequent transaction,
the camera manufacturer needed to dispose of a large inventory
of photo scanners. IMS's management was able to sell the
entire inventory through a television shopping channel.
The company received an extensive infomercial schedule and
Internet exposure, which exhausted many millions of dollars
worth of advertising credits within a very short time frame.
Automotive
After Market Manufacturer
An automotive
after market company through its advertising agency contacted
IMS's management to discreetly dispose of a large inventory
of oil filters. Because of brand sensitivity and assorted
licensing agreements, the product had to be exported
to a specific part of the world. IMS's team found a customer
that met the manufacturer's re-marketing requirements, which
enabled this Dow Jones company to put a profitable sale
on its books as needed and gain valuable media in exchange.
IMS's group worked on a pre-determined cash commission
for structuring the transaction, which prompted the agency
to applaud our efforts with additional inventory assignments.
Telecommunications
Manufacturer
At one
time, this telecommunications company was spending nearly
$1 billion across all forms of media. The last thing this
communications giant wanted to do was barter merchandise
for advertising. However, one of the business units
in the consumer products group seriously overbought an item
sold nationally in its retail phone centers. With technology
changing every few months, it was imperative to move out
old inventory and replace it with new product. Taking a
significant financial loss was an unacceptable option. Barter
became an appealing alternative. IMS's group stepped in,
identified an acceptable closeout customer who offered enough
cash to allow IMS's people to buy several million dollars
worth of inventory from the telecommunications company at
full wholesale - using media credits as currency. IMS's
management delivered network and syndicated radio programming
against a net CPM previously negotiated, to the delight
of the consumer products group which used obsolete product
to purchase valuable advertising on a dollar-for-dollar
basis.
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