The end of the year brings a flurry of activity—a concentrated period of major sporting championships, holiday programming, and intense media consumption. For Marketers, this busy season is a prime opportunity to secure some of the year’s best advertising deals. We’re talking about valuable “fire sale” advertising opportunities for Q4—last-minute, high-profile inventory that gets your brand in front of huge, engaged audiences without overstretching your budget.
If you have unspent end-of-year ad funds or can establish a dedicated advertising fire sale fund, you can effectively transform that capital into significant brand visibility and excitement.
The All-Star Lineup of Fourth Quarter Ad Inventory
Why is the fourth quarter such a goldmine for advertising? It’s simply packed with must-see, high-viewer programming that generates a huge volume of ad inventory. When media outlets need to clear this space, it creates ideal buying conditions for you.
Here are some of the prime opportunities you should be targeting:
- Holiday Specials & Themed Programming: Seasonal events draw massive, engaged audiences. These spots offer a perfect chance to tie your brand into warm, family-oriented programming that resonates deeply with consumer values.
- Championship Season Sports:
- MLB Playoffs and World Series: A national spectacle with huge nightly viewership.
- NFL Football: Already a consistent powerhouse, but late-season games are critical and draw even higher numbers.
- NCAA Football: The high-stakes Conference Championship Games, CFB Bowl Games, and the National Championship Playoff Games offer huge, diverse audiences and high inventory.
Because of the enormous amount of ad space in this premium programming, coupled with factors like unsold media inventory that must be cleared, advertisers dropping out of scheduled programming, and last-minute budget shifts that create unexpected openings, you can find great advertising deals. This enables your business to access programs you might not typically buy or afford.
Beyond Impressions: Internal Excitement & "Marketing" Your Buys
Landing an ad spot in a major televised sporting event isn’t just about driving external results—it’s a powerful internal marketing tool.
Imagine the positive feedback when your Leadership and entire staff see your ad running during a high-stakes moment in the World Series or the College Football Playoffs. That visibility provides a huge sense of pride and validation for the entire business.
This is a fantastic opportunity for you to effectively “market” these smart, high-profile media buys internally, validating your strategy and generating positive buzz that boosts morale.
The Art of the Advertising Fire Sale Deal: It Takes Effort
While these deals are out there, they won’t simply appear. Remember the classic (ok, maybe we coined this phrase) media-buying adage: “selling is a better way of (media) buying.” To lock down the best advertising fire sale rates, you need to be proactive and persistent.
Here’s your strategy for successful fire sale buying:
- Communicate Your Intent: Immediately let your media ad reps know that you have funds set aside and are actively looking for advertising fire sale deals and distressed inventory.
- Be a Consistent Reminder: Don’t assume they’ll remember. Consistently remind them of your interest, especially as programming dates get closer.
- Ask Them to Send Deals: Be direct. Ask them to put you on a specific list to send you last-minute high-profile deals as they pop up.
- Don’t Hesitate to Offer Lower: When a deal comes across your desk, do not hesitate to make lower counteroffers back to the media reps. The goal of a fire sale is to get the best possible value for inventory they need to move.
- (And Maybe Most Importantly) Be Ready to Act Fast : Fire sale deals are time-sensitive. You need to be ready and able to make quick and sometimes very last minute decisions to secure the inventory before another advertiser swoops in.
By “working” these deals, you will maximize its fourth-quarter media investment, securing high-visibility spots that will both excite your internal team and boost your external advertising efforts.
Contact Marshall Advertising today to set up your fire sale ad strategy—we’ll put you on our priority alert list for the best deals in your market!
