Chapter 10 - Media Planning and Strategy

Media Planning and Strategy

There are many changes taking place in the media environment in the present times. Perhaps at no other time in history have so many changes taken place that significantly alter the media decision process. As a result, media planning has become more complex than ever before.

An overview of media planning

The options in the media planning process include mass media such as television, newspapers, radio, and magazines (and the choices available within each of these categories) as well as out-of-the-home media such as outdoor advertising, transit advertising, and electronic billboards. While at first glance the choices among these alternatives might seem relatively straight-forward, this is rarely the case. The characteristics of each alternative must be considered, along with many other factors. The product or service being advertised affects the media planning process.

Basic Terms and Concepts

Media planning is the series of decisions involved in delivering the promotional message to the prospective purchasers and/or users of the product or brand. The media plan is the guide for media selection. It requires development of specific media objectives and specific media strategies (plans of action) designed to attain these objectives.

The medium is the general category of available delivery systems, which includes broadcast media (like TV and radio), print media (like newspapers and magazines), direct mail, outdoor advertising, and other support media. The media vehicle is the specific carrier within a medium category. Reach is a measure of the number of different audience members exposed at least once to a media vehicle in a given period of time. Coverage refers to the potential audience that might receive the message through a vehicle. Finally, frequency refers to the number of times the receiver is exposed to the media vehicle in a specified period.

The media plan

The media plan determines the best way to get the advertiser’s message to the market.

Problems in Media Planning

Insufficient Information

While a great deal of information about markets and the media exists; media planners often require more than is available. Some data are just not measured, either because they cannot be or because measuring them would be too expensive.

Inconsistent Terminologies

Problems arise because the cost bases used by different media often vary and the standards of measurement used to establish these costs are not always consistent.

Time Pressures

It seems that advertisers are always in a hurry—sometimes because they need to be; other times because they think they need to be. Actions by a competitor require immediate response.

Difficulty Measuring Effectiveness

Because it is so hard to measure the effectiveness of advertising and promotions in general, it is also difficult to determine the relative effectiveness of various media or media vehicles.

Developing the media plan

Activities involved in developing the media plan

Establishing media Objectives

Just as the situation analysis leads to establishment of marketing and communications objectives, the media situation analysis should lead to determination of specific media objectives. The media objectives are not ends in themselves. Rather, they are designed to lead to the attainment of communications and marketing objectives.

Developing and Implementing Media Strategies

The Media Mix

A wide variety of media and media vehicles are available to advertisers. While it is possible that only one medium and/or vehicle might be employed, it is much more likely that a number of alternatives will be used. The objectives sought, the characteristics of the product or service, the size of the budget, and individual preferences are just some of the factors that determine what combination of media will be used.

Target Market Coverage

The media planner determines which target markets should receive the most media emphasis. Developing media strategies involves matching the most appropriate media to this market by asking, “Through which media and media vehicles can I best get my message to prospective buyers?

Geographic Coverage

The objective of weighting certain geographic areas more than others makes sense, and the strategy of exerting more promotional efforts and dollars in those areas follows naturally.

Scheduling

The primary objective of scheduling is to time promotional efforts so that they will coincide with the highest potential buying times. For some products these times are not easy to identify; for others they are very obvious. Three scheduling methods available to the media planner are - continuity, flighting, and pulsing.

Reach versus Frequency

Since advertisers have a variety of objectives and face budget constraints, they usually must trade off reach and frequency. They must decide whether to have the message be seen or heard by more people (reach) or by fewer people more often (frequency).

Graph of effective reach

Creative Aspects and Mood

The context of the medium in which the ad is placed may also affect viewers’ perceptions. A specific creative strategy may require certain media. Because TV provides both sight and sound, it may be more effective in generating emotions than other media; magazines may create different perceptions from newspapers. In developing a media strategy, marketers must consider both creativity and mood factors.

Flexibility

An effective media strategy requires a degree of flexibility. Because of the rapidly changing marketing environment, strategies may need to be modified. If the plan has not built in some flexibility, opportunities may be lost and/or the company may not be able to address new threats. Flexibility may be needed to address market opportunities and threat, availability of media and changes in media.

Budget Considerations

One of the more important decisions in the development of media strategy is cost estimating. The value of any strategy can be determined by how well it delivers the message to the audience with the lowest cost and the least waste.

Evaluation and Follow-up

Measures of effectiveness must consider two factors: (1) How well did these strategies achieve the media objectives? (2) How well did this media plan contribute to attaining the overall marketing and communications objectives? If the strategies were successful, they should be used in future plans. If not, their flaws should be analyzed.

Computers in Media Planning

Advanced planning models have been around since at least 1963; for the most part these models have met with limited success. Programs based on linear programming, simulation and iteration have been adopted by a number of agencies, but there remains a great deal of skepticism regarding their practicality. Computers have been used, however, to automate each of the four steps involved in planning and strategy development. While the art of media strategy has not been mechanized, advances in the quantitative side have significantly improved managers’ decision-making capabilities while saving substantial time and effort.

Characteristics of Media

To this point, we have discussed the elements involved in the development of media strategy. One of the most basic elements in this process is the matching of media to markets. Each medium has its own characteristics that make it better or worse for attaining specific objectives.