Traditional Media Channels

Chapter 8

Traditional Media Channels

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

This chapter is devoted to explaining the nature of the advertising media selection. The topics to be covered include: • The media strategy • Media planning processes and the roles of the media planner and buyer • Advertising objectives • Media choices based on the advantages and disadvantages of each medium • Media selection in business-to-business and international settings

Development of an advertising campaign within the framework of an integrated marketing communications program is the most important function an advertising agency can provide. Advertising media selection is an important element in the success of any advertising program.

Figure 8.1 displays all of the components of an IMC program and how traditional media, e-active marketing, and alternative channels fit in the program.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Media Strategy

A media strategy is the process of analyzing and choosing media for an advertising and promotions campaign. The strategy must take into account several factors, which should have been specified in a creative brief:

The average consumer spends little time on any advertisement. Simply finding the right places to speak to potential customers is an increasingly challenging task.

Figure 8.2 lists times when workers are exposed to advertisements.

The first step is to prepare a thorough media-planning program that accounts for the general advertising methods and objectives to be utilized.

Media Planning

Media planning begins with a careful analysis of the target market. Demographics such as age, gender, income, and education are not enough to determine the media habits of a person in a target market.

Figure 8.3 identifies the components of a media plan, which are:

• A marketing analysis to review the fundamental marketing program • An advertising analysis to spell out fundamental advertising strategy • A media strategy to state the media to be used and creative consideration • Media scheduling notes the times ads will appear • Justification and summary to state the measures and the rationale for media choices

Media Planners

The primary job of the media planner is to formulate a program stating where and when to place advertisements, working closely with creatives and account executives.

Another task for the media planner is to conduct research to match the product with the market and media.

Part of the media planner’s research is devoted to gathering facts about various media, such as the circulation rates and demographic groups reached by each medium.

Media Buyers

The media buyer purchases the space, while negotiating rates, times, and schedules for ads.

To ensure promotional dollars are spent wisely, it is best to involve the media planner and the media buyer with the creative and the account executive in the design of an advertising campaign.

There is little connection between the size of an advertising firm and the prices they can negotiate.

Differences in effectiveness of advertising are often related to: • Quality media choices (the right ones) made by each agency • Creativity • Financial stewardship (“bang” for your advertising buck) • Agency culture and track record • Computer systems to analyze data • Relationships between the agency and the medium’s sales representative

The negotiated price is only one element in the success of an advertising program.

Advertising Objectives

Several concepts or technical terms used in the advertising world are important in developing media objectives. Terms students need to understand include:

• Reach, which is the number of people, households, or businesses in a target audience exposed to a media vehicle or message schedule at least one time during a given time period (usually four weeks).

• Frequency, which is the average number of times an individual, household, or business within a particular target market is exposed to a particular advertisement within a specified time period (again, usually four weeks).

• Opportunity to see (OTS), which is the cumulative exposures achieved in a given time period.

• Gross rating points (GRP), measure of the impact or intensity of a media plan. GRPs are calculated by multiplying a vehicle’s rating by the frequency or number of insertions of an advertisement.

• Impressions, in which the number of gross impressions is the total exposures of the audience to an advertisement. It does not take into consideration what percentage of the total audience did or did not see an advertisement.

Achieving Advertising Objectives

The three-exposure hypothesis suggests that it takes a minimum of three exposures for an advertisement to be effective. It has been followed by most media planners for quite a while.

Seeking to discover the minimum number of exposures needed to be effective is based on two concepts: 1. Effective frequency, which refers to the number of times a target audience must be exposed to a message in order to achieve a particular objective. 2. Effective reach, which is the percentage of an audience that must be exposed to a particular message to achieve a specific objective. Implied in the concept of effective reach is that some minimum number of exposures exits.

Effective reach and frequency are affected by differences in: • The interests, personalities, and exposures to the media outlets for individual consumers • The size and placement of ads • The number of different media being used in a particular advertising campaign

Media Selection

Television

Table 8.2 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of television advertising.

Advantages: • High reach • High frequency potential • Low cost per contact • Quality creative opportunities • High intrusion value • Segmentation possibilities through cable

Disadvantages: • Clutter • Channel surfing during commercials • Short amount of copy • High cost per ad • Low recall

Television has always been a popular medium for consumer products. Recently, however, more business-to-business ads are appearing on television.

Television ratings are calculated as follows:

Rating = number of households turned to a program / total number of households in a market

Television share is calculated as follows:

Share = number of households turned to a program / number of households with a television turned on

Figure 8.6 displays costs of television advertisement 30 second spots in 2007.

Radio

The advantages and disadvantages of radio advertising are displayed in Table. 8.3.

Advantages: • Lower cost per spot than television • Low production costs • Background music can match station format • High segmentation • Flexible • Intimacy which means listeners can develop a closeness to the DJs and other radio personalities • Creative opportunities • Mobile

Disadvantages: • Short exposure time • Low attention • Few national audiences • Target duplication when several stations use the same format

Radio advertising is a low-cost option for a local firm. Radio remotes, where the station broadcasts from a business location, have been popular methods of attracting attention.

For business-to-business advertisers, radio provides the opportunity to reach businesses during working hours or while business people are in transit to or from work.

Outdoor Advertising

Table 8.4 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of outdoor advertising.

Advantages: • Large, spectacular ads possible • Able to select key geographic areas • Accessible for local ads • Low cost per impression • Broad reach • High frequency on major commute routes • Long life

Disadvantages: • Short exposure time • Brief messages • Limited segmentation possible • Cluttered travel routes

There are also some legal limitations to outdoor advertising.

Figure 8.7 lists the types of products that are advertised using outdoor and amounts of expenditures.

Magazines

The advantages and disadvantages of magazines are summarized by Table 8.5.

Advantages: • High market segmentation • Target audience interest by magazine • High color quality • Special features available • Long life • Direct response techniques • Read during leisure time

Disadvantages: • Declining readership • High level of clutter • Long lead time • Low flexibility • High cost

Magazines have proliferated even as the problems of declining readership have occurred.

Although business-to-business marketers are increasingly using other mediums, trade journals and business magazines still remain an effective method of reaching their target markets.

Newspapers

The advantages of disadvantages of newspaper advertising appear in Table 8.6.

Advantages: • Geographic selectivity • High flexibility • High credibility • Strong audience interest • Longer copy/message possible • Cumulative volume discounts • Excellent location for coupons and special-response features

Disadvantages: • Poor buying procedures • Short life span • Major clutter (especially near Christmas) • Poor color quality • Internet classified competition

Few young people read newspapers.

Most major city newspapers are now owned by chains such as Gannett.

For many smaller local firms, newspaper ads, billboards, and local radio programs are the only viable advertising options.

A new threat to newspapers is the Internet. One strategy that newspapers can use to counter the trend of classified advertisements moving to the Internet is to establish their own Internet classified sites.

Newspapers have not been a major medium for business-to-business marketers primarily because of the local nature of newspapers.

Media Mix

Selecting the proper blend of media outlets for advertisements is a crucial activity as campaigns are prepared. Media planners and media buyers are both excellent sources of information on what type of mix is the most effective for a particular advertising campaign. There are several possible linkages between various media.

Table 8.7 provides advertising expenditures and average media mix percentages by industries or products.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. What is a media strategy? How is it related to the creative brief and overall IMC program?

A media strategy is the process of analyzing and choosing media for an advertising and promotions campaign. It is related to the Creative Brief and overall IMC program because the media strategy follows the factors given by the Creative Brief and IMC program.

2. What does a media planner do?

A media planner formulates a program stating where and when to place advertisements. Also, the media planner conducts research to match the product with the market and media. Part of the media planner’s research is devoted to gathering facts about various media, such as the circulation rates and demographics groups reached by each medium.

3. Describe the role of media buyer in an advertising program.

The role of a media buyer in an advertising program is to buy the space, negotiate rates, times, and schedules for the ads. To ensure promotional dollars are spent wisely, it is best to involve the media planner and the media buyer with the creative and the account executive in the design of an advertising campaign.

4. What is reach? Give examples of reach in various advertising media.

Reach is the number of people, households, or businesses in a target audience exposed to a media vehicle or message schedule at least one time during a given period. Examples of reach in various media would include: how many people heard the radio ad, read the newspaper, watched the ad on television, accessed a Web site, or saw a billboard.

5. What is frequency? How can an advertiser increase frequency in a campaign?

Frequency is the average number of times an individual, household, or business within a particular target market is exposed to a particular advertisement within a specified time period (normally four weeks). An advertiser can increase frequency by increasing the number of ads within a time period in a given market. For example: the same ad several times during one TV program, several times in a magazine, or several times in a radio show.

6. What are the major advantages and disadvantages of television advertising?

Advantages include: • High reach • High frequency potential • Low cost per contact • Quality creative opportunities • High intrusion value • Segmentation possibilities through cable

Disadvantages include: • Clutter • Channel surfing during commercials • Short amount of copy • High cost per ad • Low recall

7. What are the major advantages and disadvantages of radio advertising?

Advantages: • Lower cost per spot than television • Low production costs • Background music can match station format • High segmentation • Flexible • Intimacy which means listeners can develop a closeness to the DJs and other radio personalities • Creative opportunities • Mobile

Disadvantages include: • Short exposure time • Low attention • Few national audiences • Target duplication when several stations use the same format • Radio advertising is a low-cost option for a local firm

8. What are the major advantages and disadvantages of magazine advertising?

Advantages include: • High market segmentation • Target audience interest by magazine • High color quality • Special features available • Long life • Direct response techniques • Read during leisure time

Disadvantages include: • Long lead time to ad appearance • Low flexibility • High cost • Higher clutter • Declining readership

9. What are the major advantages and disadvantages of newspaper advertising?

Advantages include: • Priority for local ads • Good for coupons and special-response features • High credibility • Strong audience interest • Longer copy/message possible • Flexibility • Cumulative volume discounts

Disadvantages include:

• Major clutter (especially near Christmas) • Short life span • Poor color quality • Poor buying procedures

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