Secrets of Satellite Media Tours

I’m often asked, “How do I get my product on TV shows?” You’d be surprised how much product coverage on TV is vendor-sponsored or paid. That’s what “Promotional consideration furnished by Company X” means when you hear it at the end of a game show, or see it roll by in the credits of your favorite sitcom. That consumer gadget expert who appears on the morning chat shows? While he may not be paid directly by a company to hawk their products, it’s possible that the media company that organizes his studio appearances only secures “sponsored” products for him.

When I recommend my clients consider doing an SMT to get TV coverage, I usually get a puzzled, “an SM what????” Even when I explain that SMT is short for “Satellite Media Tour,” the fog doesn’t usually lift from their eyes. So herewith are my answers to the top four questions about SMTs:

1. What’s an SMT?
2. Why would you do one?
3. What’s the average cost?
4. Who are some of the vendors?

1. What’s an SMT?

An SMT allows a company to provide a controlled, packaged story to local TV affiliates for news shows and talk shows. It is a series of pre-booked interviews conducted via satellite with a spokesperson in one central location and TV reporters in select cities across the country. In essence, a spokesperson can “visit” 20 cities in a matter of hours. The TV shows will use this free content (live or taped) as filler or to provide stories the TV program itself does not produce, such as product reviews.

Generally, a media company will arrange for a single host to discuss several products in succession, perhaps under the general theme of “Best Products for Home Energy Savings” or “Graduation Gift Guide.” The media company will have solicited the products from one or several companies in exchange for a sponsor fee. The media company maintains a calendar of scheduled SMTs around recurrent themes (Mother’s Day, Back-to-School, Holiday Shopping etc.), but can also be hired to produce customized SMTs.

SMTs are often hosted by a “gadget guru” writer, actor or presenter familiar from morning talk shows or even soap operas. The SMT production company will review your product messages to ensure the information will appear informative, “fun” and natural to the host – not too sales-y, as the idea is to avoid the appearance of an infomercial or straight advertisement.

The SMT vendors guarantee your segment will air on a couple of hundred TV stations; it’s important for you to check the stations to ensure how many of the top Designated Market Areas (DMAs) are included. Sometimes radio outlets are included free of charge, and depending on the vendor, your segment may also appear on a screen in New York City’s Times Square and various online outlets. The sponsors will normally receive a free DVD of the segments, for posting to their own websites. You’ll get reports with Nielsen viewership figures when your segment is used. While the interview may have lasted 2-3 minutes, often only 15-20 seconds is excerpted for a TV show.

2. Why would you do one?

As noted above, product blurbs on TV shows are very often paid or sponsored, and if they’re not, the company has little control over the messaging and the reviewer’s experience. An SMT can thus be a cost-effective way to get some TV coverage over which you have control. It’s much cheaper than traditional advertising but of course, it doesn’t have the shelf life of an ad.

Participating in an SMT from a huge trade show such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) or in an SMT prior to a major shopping holiday can be a great way to secure placement for your client’s products in coverage that is certain to appear (since many TV stations like to carry news from CES or gift suggestions).

The ideal situation is for your client to band together with several partners to sponsor an SMT promoting products that have a common thread. For example, a major retailer might solicit companies to pony up to participate in an SMT promoting Father’s Day gifts available at its stores. A semiconductor company might foot part of the bill and enable partners making products using its chips to participate at a discounted amount. An industry association like the Wi-Fi Alliance might host an SMT to promote Wi-Fi certified products prior to the holidays.

A few years ago, Skype sponsored an SMT, hire a prominent consumer tech journalist as host, and invited several companies that made Skype/VoIP products to participate, including my client NETGEAR. There were a total of 13 TV slots and two radio ones; ten were live broadcasts and four were recorded for a later date. It was deemed a success as the SMT not only resulted in immediate TV coverage, but also generated interest from other broadcast and print reporters in those markets.

3. What’s the average cost?

SMTs generally involve 4-6 companies or products, and cost $8,000 – 15,000 per product. The reason for the big variance is that you will pay more if there’s a smaller number of companies guaranteed. You need to confirm the maximum number of companies and products involved, as you don’t want to pay a high fee only to discover that more companies are squeezed in. If the deadline for the SMT is drawing near and a company drops out, it’s possible that you could jump in at the last minute for a few thousand dollars – I once had a vendor offer my client a holiday SMT slot for only $2,000, a fantastic deal!

4. Who are some of the vendors?

If you search for “Satellite Media Tour” in a search engine you’ll find many listings. I’ve dealt with several over the years, including Circle F Media, which organizes both SMTs and in-studio tours. DWJ Television, Little Black Dog Media and PR Newswire’s Multivu also put together SMTs.

What is your verdict on SMTs? Useful or not worth the cost?

Photo credit: National Archief, The Netherlands via flickr