These days, you don't have to be an insomniac to come across television commercials for products like the "Snuggie" or "ShamWow." With advertising dollars scarce and large corporations cutting back on their marketing efforts, smaller businesses are reaping the benefits of significantly lower rates for ad buys they may have once thought were out of reach.

Prime-time TV slots are going for a 25 percent less than they sold for just last year, says Steve Cox, spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau. "The playing field for TV advertising is becoming more level, and small business owners can now take advantage of steep discounts for prime slots, as well as cut rates from PR firms and productions companies," he says.

J. T. Hroncich, managing director and principal of Capitol Media Solutions, a full-service advertising agency in Washington, says advertising rates are more negotiable than ever. "Before, some of these media companies didn't do business with firms with smaller budgets, but it's very easy to negotiate now with Web sites, television, and radio," he says.

More Eyeballs

In addition to more flexible rates, small businesses can get more bang for their ad bucks today because viewership is up, Hroncich says. "People aren't going out as much; they're staying home watching TV or looking at the Internet. So these venues are getting more impressions but they're charging less money" for their ads, he says.

But it's not always easy to persuade smaller firms to try new ad buys. "Companies like to stick with what they know best, but we're trying to get them to branch out and try electronic or interactive ads. If they even take 10 percent to 20 percent of their ad budgets and use that to see what results they can get with broadcast or Internet, they're liking these options they weren't able to get...