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.

MATERI KULIAH 5

An Overview of Consumer Behavior

A challenge faced by all marketers is how to influence the purchase behavior of consumers in favor of the product or service they offer.

Consumer Behavior can be defined as the process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating , and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires.

Marketer’s success in influencing purchase behavior depends in large part on how well they understand consumer behavior. Marketer need to know the specific needs customers are attempting to satisfy and how they translate into purchase criteria.

They need to understand how customers gather information regarding various alternatives and use this information to select among competing brands.

They need to understand how customers make purchase decisions. Where do they prefer to buy a product ? How are they influenced by marketing stimuli at the point of purchase ?

Marketers also need to understand how the consumer decision process and reasons for purchase vary among different types of customers. For example, purchase decisions may be influenced by the personality or lifestyle of the consumer .

• Problem Recognition
  
  Problem Recognition, which occurs when the consumer perceives a need and becomes motivated to solve the problem. The problem recognition stage initiates the subsequent decision processes.
  
  Problem recognition is caused by a difference between the costumer’s ideal state and actual state . a discrepancy exists between what the consumer wants the situation to be like and what the situation is really like.
  
  Source of Problem Recognition
  
  The causes of problem recognition may be very simple or very complex and may result from changes in the costumer’s current and/or desired state . These causes may be influenced by both internal and external factors.
  
  1. Out of stock
  2. Dissatisfaction
  3. New Needs/Wants
  4. Related Products/Purchases
  5. Marketer-Induced Problem Recognition
  6. New Products
  
  Examining Consumer Motivation
  
  The way a costumer perceives a problem and becomes motivated to solve it will influence the remainder of the decision process.
  
  To better understand the reasons underlying consumer purchases, marketers devote considerable attention to examining motives-that is, those factors that compel a consumer to take a particular action.
  
  Hierarchy of Needs
  
  One of the most popular approaches to understanding consumer motivations is based on the classic theory of human motivation popularized many years ago by psychologist Abraham Maslow . His hierarchy of needs theory populates five basic levels of human needs, arranged in a hierarchy based on their importance. The five needs are (1) physiological –the basic level of primary needs for things required to sustain life, such as food, shelter, clothing, and sex; (2) safety-the need for security and safety from physical harm; (3) social/love and belonging-the desire to have satisfying relationships with others and feel a sense of love, affection, belonging, and acceptance; (4) esteem-the need to feel a sense of accomplishment and gain recognition, status, and respect from others; (5) self-actualization-the need for self-fulfillment and a desire to realize one’s own potential.
  
  According to Maslow’s theory, the lower-level physiological and safety needs must be satisfied before he higher-order needs become meaningful.
  
  Information search
  
  Once costumers perceive a problem or need that can be satisfied by the purchase of a product or service, they begin to search for information needed to make a purchase decision. The initial search effort often consists of an attempt to scan information stored in memory to recall past experiences and/or knowledge regarding various purchase alternative. This information retrieval is referred to as internal search.
  
  If the internal search does not yield enough information, the costumer will seek additional information by engaging in external search. External sources of information include
• Personal sources, such as friends, relatives, or co-workers.
• Marketer-controlled (commercial) sources, such as information from advertising,
• Salespeople, or point-of-purchase displays and the internet.
• Public sources, including articles in magazines or newspapers and reports on TV.
• Personal experience, such as actually handling , examining, or testing the product.
  
  Perception
  
  Perception is the process by which an individual receives, selects, organizes, and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world.
  
  Sensation
  
  Sensation is the immediate, direct response of the senses ( taste, smell, sight, touch, and hearing ) to a stimulus such as an ad, package, brand name, or point-of-purchase display.
  
  Selecting Information
  
  Sensory inputs are important but are only one part of the perceptual process. Other determinants of whether marketing stimuli will be attended to and how they will be interpreted include internal psychological factors such as the costume’s personality, needs, motives, expectations, and experiences. These psychological inputs explain why people focus attention on some things and ignore others.
  
  Interpreting the Information
  
  Once a consumer selects and attends to a stimulus, the perceptual process focuses on organizing, categorizing, and interpreting the incoming information. This stage of the perceptual process is very individualized and is influenced by internal psychological factors. The interpretation and meaning an individual assigns to an incoming stimulus also depend in part on the nature of the stimulus.
  
  Perception may be viewed as a filtering process in which internal and external factors influence what is received and how it is processed and interpreted. The sheer number and complexity of the marketing stimuli a person is exposed to in any given day require that this filtering occur. Selective perception may occur at the exposure, attention, comprehension, or retention stage of perception, as shown in Figure 4-4.
  
  Selective Perception
  
  Selective exposure occurs as consumers choose whether or not to make themselves available to information. For example, a viewer of a television show may change channels or leave the room during commercial breaks .
  
  
  Selective attention occur when the costumer chooses to focus attention on certain stimuli while excluding others.
  
  Even if the consumer does notice the advertiser’s message, there is no guarantee it will be interpreted in the intended manner. Costumers may engage in selective comprehension, interpreting information on the basis of their own attitudes, beliefs, motives, and experiences. They often interpret information in a manner that supports their own position.
  
  The final screening process shown in Figure 4-4 is selective retention, which means consumers do not remember all the information they see, hear, or read even after attending to and comprehending it. Advertisers attempt to make sure information will be retained in the consumer’s memory so that it will be available when it is time to make a purchase .