Media planning and strategy
Some basic terms and concepts
Media planning is the series of decision involved in delivering the promotional message to the prospective purchaser and / or users of the product or brand. Media planning is a process, which means a number of decisions are made, each of which may be altered or abandoned as the plan develops.
The media plan is the guide for media selection. It requires development of specific media objectives and specific media strategies (plan of action) designed to attain these objectives.
Reach is measure of the number of different audience members expose it at least once to a media vehicle in a given period of time.
Frequency refers to the number of times the receiver is expose it to the media vehicle in a specified period.
What Internal and External Factors are Operating
Media Strategies are influenced by both internal and external factors operating at any given time, Internal factors may involve the size of the media budget, managerial and administrative capabilities, or the organization of the agency.
External factors may include the economy ( the rising costs of media ), change in technology ( the availability of the new media ), competitive factors, and the like.
Established Media Objective
An example of media objectives is this : create awareness in the target market through the following :
Use broadcast media to provide coverage of 80 percent of the target market over a six-month period.
Reach 60 percent of the target audience at least three times over the same six-month period.
Concentrate heaviest advertising in winter and spring, with lighter emphasis in summer an fall.
Developing and Implementing Media Strategies
Consider a promotional situation in which a product requires a visual demonstration to be communicated effectively. In this case, TV may be the most effective medium if the promotional strategy calls for coupons stimulate trial, print media may be necessary. For in-depth information the internet may be best.
Target Market Coverage
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?” the issue here is to get coverage of the market.
If media coverage reaches people who are not sought as buyers and are not potential users, then it is wasted .
The goal of the media planner is to extend media coverage to as many of the member of the target audience as possible while minimizing the amount of waste coverage. The situation usually involves trade-offs. Sometimes one has to live with less coverage than desired; other times, the most effectives media expose people not sought.
Scheduling:
Continuity refers to a continuous pattern of advertising, which may mean every day, every week, or every month. The key is that regular ( continuous ) pattern is an on going basis without regard for seasonality.
A second method, flighting, employs a less regular schedule, with intermittent periods of advertising an non advertising. At some time periods there are heavier promotional expenditures and at others there may be no advertising.
Pulsing is actually a combination of the first two methods. In a pulsing strategy, continuity is maintained, but a certain times promotional efforts are stopped up. The scheduling strategy depends on the objectives, buying cycles, and the budget, among other factors .
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 ).
Here frequency is the number of times one is exposed to the media vehicle, not necessary to the ad itself.
Using gross ratings points.
A summary measure that combines the program rating and the average number of the times the home is reached during this period ( frequency of exposure ) is a commonly used reference point known as gross ratings points ( GRP ) : GRP = Reach x Frequency
Marketing Factors :
Brand history. Is the brand new or established ? New brands generally require higher frequency levels.
Brand share. An inverse relationship exist between brand share and frequency.
Brand loyalty. An inverse relationship exist between loyalty and frequency.
Purchase cycle. Shorter purchasing cycles require higher frequency levels to maintain top-of-mind awareness.
Usage cycle . products used daily or more often need to be replaced quickly, so a higher level of frequency is desired.
Competitive share of voice. Higher frequency levels are required when a lot of competitive noise exists and when the goal is to meet or beat competitors.
Target group. The ability of the target group to learn and to retain messages has a direct effect on frequency .
Messages or Creative factors
Messages complexity. The simpler the messages, the less frequency required.
Messages uniqueness. The more unique the message, the lower the frequency level required.
New versus continuing campaigns. New campaigns requires higher levels of the frequency to register the message.
Image versus product sell. Creating an image requires higher levels of frequency than does a specific product sell.
Message variation. A single message requires less frequency ; a variety of messages requires more.
Wearout . higher frequency may lead to wearout. This effect must be tracked and used to evaluate frequency levels.
Advertising units. Larger units of advertising require less frequency than smaller ones to get the message across.
Some basic terms and concepts
Media planning is the series of decision involved in delivering the promotional message to the prospective purchaser and / or users of the product or brand. Media planning is a process, which means a number of decisions are made, each of which may be altered or abandoned as the plan develops.
The media plan is the guide for media selection. It requires development of specific media objectives and specific media strategies (plan of action) designed to attain these objectives.
Reach is measure of the number of different audience members expose it at least once to a media vehicle in a given period of time.
Frequency refers to the number of times the receiver is expose it to the media vehicle in a specified period.
What Internal and External Factors are Operating
Media Strategies are influenced by both internal and external factors operating at any given time, Internal factors may involve the size of the media budget, managerial and administrative capabilities, or the organization of the agency.
External factors may include the economy ( the rising costs of media ), change in technology ( the availability of the new media ), competitive factors, and the like.
Established Media Objective
An example of media objectives is this : create awareness in the target market through the following :
Use broadcast media to provide coverage of 80 percent of the target market over a six-month period.
Reach 60 percent of the target audience at least three times over the same six-month period.
Concentrate heaviest advertising in winter and spring, with lighter emphasis in summer an fall.
Developing and Implementing Media Strategies
Consider a promotional situation in which a product requires a visual demonstration to be communicated effectively. In this case, TV may be the most effective medium if the promotional strategy calls for coupons stimulate trial, print media may be necessary. For in-depth information the internet may be best.
Target Market Coverage
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?” the issue here is to get coverage of the market.
If media coverage reaches people who are not sought as buyers and are not potential users, then it is wasted .
The goal of the media planner is to extend media coverage to as many of the member of the target audience as possible while minimizing the amount of waste coverage. The situation usually involves trade-offs. Sometimes one has to live with less coverage than desired; other times, the most effectives media expose people not sought.
Scheduling:
Continuity refers to a continuous pattern of advertising, which may mean every day, every week, or every month. The key is that regular ( continuous ) pattern is an on going basis without regard for seasonality.
A second method, flighting, employs a less regular schedule, with intermittent periods of advertising an non advertising. At some time periods there are heavier promotional expenditures and at others there may be no advertising.
Pulsing is actually a combination of the first two methods. In a pulsing strategy, continuity is maintained, but a certain times promotional efforts are stopped up. The scheduling strategy depends on the objectives, buying cycles, and the budget, among other factors .
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 ).
Here frequency is the number of times one is exposed to the media vehicle, not necessary to the ad itself.
Using gross ratings points.
A summary measure that combines the program rating and the average number of the times the home is reached during this period ( frequency of exposure ) is a commonly used reference point known as gross ratings points ( GRP ) : GRP = Reach x Frequency
Marketing Factors :
Brand history. Is the brand new or established ? New brands generally require higher frequency levels.
Brand share. An inverse relationship exist between brand share and frequency.
Brand loyalty. An inverse relationship exist between loyalty and frequency.
Purchase cycle. Shorter purchasing cycles require higher frequency levels to maintain top-of-mind awareness.
Usage cycle . products used daily or more often need to be replaced quickly, so a higher level of frequency is desired.
Competitive share of voice. Higher frequency levels are required when a lot of competitive noise exists and when the goal is to meet or beat competitors.
Target group. The ability of the target group to learn and to retain messages has a direct effect on frequency .
Messages or Creative factors
Messages complexity. The simpler the messages, the less frequency required.
Messages uniqueness. The more unique the message, the lower the frequency level required.
New versus continuing campaigns. New campaigns requires higher levels of the frequency to register the message.
Image versus product sell. Creating an image requires higher levels of frequency than does a specific product sell.
Message variation. A single message requires less frequency ; a variety of messages requires more.
Wearout . higher frequency may lead to wearout. This effect must be tracked and used to evaluate frequency levels.
Advertising units. Larger units of advertising require less frequency than smaller ones to get the message across.
