The media buying market is has moved into unfamiliar territory lately. So unfamiliar that even the granddaddy of advertising itself, The Super Bowl, has had to resort to lowering prices. The market has softened so much that for only the second time in the history of the Super Bowl, advertisers are getting a bargain. Large players and perennial Super Bowl commercial all-stars are staying out while the rookies are stepping up to the big show. The lower prices and weakening competition has allowed smaller advertisers to get their message out to over 100 million viewers.

It’s a buyers market regardless of your organization’s media budget or venue. The “lower prices” of the Super Bowl ads may still be prohibitively expensive for many fortune 500 organizations; however, we can still learn from this example. The Super Bowl is simply an extreme illustration of what all buyers should be investigating. If media spend is not currently being scrutinized, buyers may be missing out on tremendous purchasing opportunities.

So what can be done, how can I find a deal? Go bargain shopping. A great tool available to advertisers is ad exchanges. Publishers try to sell advertising space through their sales forces at high prices. Most cannot sell their entire inventory, so they send the leftover, or “remnant,” space to an ad network or to an ad exchange. This is a great place to find some tremendous discounts. Buying through an exchange allows advertisers to test new and different markets at lower cost and reduced risk. Remnant space has always been available, but the current economic conditions have increased the quality and options available.

So start investigating your advertising spend and work closely with your agencies. New venues may become affordable, old venues may become more affordable and the timing may be opportune to explore new media outlets. Don’t allow media buying to remain the third rail of corporate spend. Procurement and marketing should be working closely to gain exposure, build the brand equity, and maximize value.

Nick Cherrone is a Category Manager for business services in Ariba’s Global Services Organization. Nick has several years of sourcing experience with General Electric and as a logistics officer for the US Army. Nick is recognized by the Institute for Supply Management as a Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M).