Media Lessons

8/8/2019 Media Lessons

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M.A.SOMESWAR RAO MEDIA SALES LESSONS

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INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA

One of the challenges faced by marketers in markets is inadequate awareness about brands,

product and its usage. It is observed that low awareness level leads to

1.High inertia to adopt new products.

2.Reluctance to pay additional premium to pay for national brands.

3.Rampant usage of counterfeit brands.

It is hence necessary to create awareness as well as preference for your brands among your

audience. This calls for extensive advertising and mass marketing for attracting and retaining the

target markets. An urge to increase the market share and beat the competition is the aim of every

company. And all this is possible through advertising.

Effective advertising refers to informing the public about the right product at the right time through

the right medium. A right message through the wrong medium at the wrong time would definitely

lead to a waste of resources.

To get the most out of the advertising rupees sent, the primary concern of the advertiser is media

selection. The cost of buying space or time is weighed against the number of audience secured

by such advertising. Media ability covers such qualitative values as audience characteristics,

editorial personality, and contribution to advertising effectiveness; above all it refers to media

image capable of enhancing the perception and communication value of a given message.

Hence, the media plays a very important role in entire process of reaching the target audience

and retaining them.


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MEDIA PRINCIPLES

How to use reach and frequency

1.

Use them to determine if the media plan canachieve the goals of your strategy. If your advertising objective is to get 50 percent of homes

to be aware of your product or to try it, it cant be done if your reach is less than 50 percent.

2. Recognize that reach and frequency are interrelated. As reach

goes up, frequency comes down. You cant have both unless you add more

money and go to a different media plan. Determine the best balance for your

objectives.

The relationship between reach, frequency and rating points is expressed in this formula:

R*F=GRP

If your plan delivers a 90 reach and a 4 frequency, the total GRPs in a four-week period will be

360, or 90 per week.

3. Be aware that the same words in different contexts

can mean different things. A medium that reaches young people or the frequency of

newspaper advertisements in a schedule is not the same consumer exposure concept

expressed in reach and frequency figures.

Two keys to success: frequency and continuity

Peoples memories are short. That was the finding of a German psychologist, Hermann

Ebbonghaus, in 1885. What Professor Ebbinghaus learned was:

1. forget 60 percent of what they learn within a half-

day.

2. The more repetition, the better retention.


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3. Forgetting is rapid immediately after learning, and

then levels off.

These facts are fundamental to two media issues: first, the relative importance of frequency

versus reach: second, the value of continuous advertising.

People forget quickly.

Advertisers who seek to reach a broad audience at the expense of sufficient frequency among

key prospects risk wasting all their advertising.

If your product is one that people are always in the market for-soap or toothpaste-the need for

reminder advertising is obvious. But frequency is just as important for products purchased only

occasionally-cars, headache remedies. The message must be there when people are ready to

purchase.

Repetition aids retention.

Most of the great advertising success stories are ones of frequency. Even low-spending brands

usually succeed by concentrating messages against a select audience.

Dont aim for a broad target with a small budget. Better to reduce the reach objective and aim for

a smaller audience-with sufficient frequency to be effective. This may mean advertising in fewer

markets, advertising some products but not others, or advertising only in vehicles that reach a

precisely defined group of people.

Your message needs continuity as well as frequency, it its to be remembered. If money were no

consideration, plans would all call for continuous advertising for 52 weeks at high levels.

Since that isnt practical, compromises must be made between effective levels and budgets. And

a compromise is reached between bursts and continuous advertising.

Each products need for frequency depends on its purchase cycle, i ts stage of development,competition, and the advertising copy.


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STRENGTH WEAKNESS ANALYSIS OF

TELEVISION AND NEWSPAPER AS MEDIA

In addition to deciding upon the content, style and tone of the advertising

message, the media through which the message will be communicated to the

target audience must also be selected, be it television, newspaper, magazine,

radio or other.

In order to select the most appropriate media, consideration should be given to

the advantages and disadvantages of each of the available types of media. In the

table below we have identified commonly accepted advantages and

disadvantages of each of the major media. This is followed by more detailed

consideration of each of these media in latter sections of the article.


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ANALYSIS OF MEDIA (Television and

Newspaper)

Strengths of Television as media:

y Dynamic attention getting media, combining visual, sound and animated stimulus

y Strong potential Impact & High market coverage

y Good at demonstrating products

y Enabling targeting through selection of viewing channels and slots between

specific programme

y Role model advantage: here the advertisers have celebrities as endorsers.

Celebes are role models of the youth and the youth always ape to be like them

y Creation of AIDA: advertising in TV attracts Attention that creates an Interest

and Desire that can lead to Action in the form of final purchase

Weakness of Television as media:

y High level of initial expenditure required

y Now you see it, Now you dont media, in that commercials are on the screen

and gone within seconds

y Poor at communicating lengthy technical information

y Time consuming to produce an ad

y TV ads alone do not suffice: in order to make the campaign successful TV ads

have to be supported with other media like print or radio.

y Ads are very short to provide any detail information.


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y Statutory controls: the TV ads have to adhere to the I&B rules. Surrogate

advertisements have been banned

Media Type: Newspaper

Strengths of Newspaper as media:

y Targeting is possible through profiling readership

y Good level of market coverage

y Local advertising possible

y Inexpensive medium when used selectively.

y Reinforcement medium

y Can be preserved (Articles / Cuttings etc.)

Weaknesses of Newspaper as Media

y Static media, not suitable for product demonstration

y Potential for poor reproduction, sometimes limited to black and white print

y Quality of paper used is not very effective and reduces the attractiveness of ads

y Possibility of an individual advert being lost on a page of adverts

y Short-life span, i.e. yesterdays newspapers become todays

y Rubbish Informal reading people may skip ads

Strengths of Radio as media:


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y Mass use of radio by audience, particularly in cars on the way to work and

home. 90% of India has access to Radio which is unmatched by any other

media

y Very effective for reaching the large rural audience.

y High geographic and demographic reach

y Targeting is possible through selection of channel and programme

y Low literacy rates mean that the people hardly read newspapers and radio is the

only medium that they can understand. They cant afford a TV set. Therefore

radio is the most popular.

Weaknesses fo Radio as a media:

y Audio communication only

y Misunderstanding: sometimes there might be a misconception regarding the

radio ad as it is only heard.

y Now you hear it, Now you dont

y Lower attention levels than television from the audience

y RJ needs training: it is very important that the Radio Jockey is trained enough to deliver

the ad. Sometimesthe voice really matters. If the voice isirritating then there is a

chance that the campaign may flop.

Strengths of Magazines as media:

y High quality reproduction, of color images

y Targeting is possible through specialist publications

y Coffee table effect advert can be referred back to

y Good pass on readership


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y Longer life span & reference value

y Good supplement to TV: magazines reach special target groups which is not

possible only through TV ads

Weaknesses of Magazines as a media:

y Static media, not suitable for product demonstration

y Control of the positioning of adverts is often under the control of magazine editor,

rather than the sponsor

y Lengthy lead-time between advert being placed and magazine being published

THE AGENCY PROCEDURE

The various stages through which a media plan evolves within an agency are

quite complex. They will vary from agency to agency, and within agencies, from

account to account. The variations will depend on the size of the problem to be

tackled, the agencys organization and its relations with its clients.


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The following illustrates the sequence, which will be followed, more or less, in

the planning of most large campaigns conducted by sophisticated advertising

agencies on behalf of the sophisticated clients.

PLANNING MEETING

The initial planning meeting is usually a large one and will comprise senior

people working on the account, and possibly the agency management: the

account director and his team, and creative and media personnel will take part.

In some cases the client may be represented.

The purpose of this meeting is formally to evaluate the current progress of the

brand, and its market, and the intentions for the period under review (usually the

following financial year).

The outcome or end result of the meeting should be a draft marketing strategy,

which outlines the way in which the agency feels the brands targets should best

be achieved.

CLIENT APPROVAL

This draft will then be discussed with the client, the agency being represented

possibly by the management, certainly by the account team. When approved,

the marketing objectives from the basis of both creative and media work.

DEPARTMENTS WORKING


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At the next stage the creative and media departments work separately, although

it is necessary for them to confer together as frequently as possible. The media

plan for the current year will be critically examined for its strengths and

weaknesses and the evidence of any available media tests considered.

Changes that have taken place in the media scene since the current plan was

developed; together with necessary changes in strategy flowing from changed

marketing objectives, will be discussed. Most importantly, the likely effect on the

media choice of the basic creative appeals, which are being developed, will be

taken into account.

Creative requirements likely to have a critical effect on the media plan areclearly those of movement and colour. It is likely at this stage that the account

team will be in fairly constant touch with both the creative and media

departments. Indeed Stephen King has argued very eloquently that there really

can be no chicken and egg in the creative media situation; both have to evolve

together. From this view has sprung the title of Campaign Planner, although the

function he fulfils varies from agency to agency. Media planning, atleast in broad-

brush strokes is always part of his assignment; and he may also be concerned

with account handling, research and the creative input.

DRAFT MEDIA AND CREATIVE

STRATEGIES

From these vital deliberations will flow draft media and creative strategies. These will be

submitted to the client forhis approval and it isusual for those who have been involved

in their creation to be present to argue their case.


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ANALYSIS OF PLAN AND DATA

Once these basic strategies have been approved, detailed work can commence.

At this stage it is still necessary for media and creative personnel to plug closely

together, since a vital factor for discussion will be size of the space, or length of

time, which is required to carry the advertising message. The bulk of media

planners task is now concerned with the accumulation and analysis of data. It is

sufficient to say here that whether a model is used to assist in the production of a

plan or not, similar procedures have to be gone through. The principal

differences arise because the computer is able to consider may more variables at

one time than a planner can without its assistance. For the use of a media model,

all judgments have to be quantified.

MEDIA SCHEDULE

From a computer printout, or from his own calculations, the planner will now have

a series of media vehicles, together with number of insertions in each of them. To

turn this into a schedule, he needs to consider the spread of the campaign over

time; he will then embody the whole of his thinking into a proposal, for

submission to the agency plans board.

PREPARING PROPOSAL

When this hurdle has been cleared, the total package, usually in the form of a

document containing the full campaign plan, marketing, media and creative,

together with ancillary recommendations for perhaps research and

merchandising, will be presented to the client. The agency presentation team will


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usually include agency management, together with all senior personnel who

have been responsible for creating the plan. Once it is agreed, the schedule is

returned to the media department for buying.

Of course, if at any stage during the development of the plan there is a rejection,

then the re-cycling process has to start and everyone has to try again. The

advantage of obtaining client approval of strategies is that the problem is broken

down into manageable portions. If the client sees nothing until he sees the final

plan, he may well find himself in disagreement with the original marketing

strategy, and much time will have been wasted


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MEDIA PLAN - CONCEPTS

The place to start is, understanding media language. Some terms apply to all

media; some apply only to broadcast or print.

GENERAL

Cost perthousand: It is the cost to reach 1,000 things, whether households or

women or children. CPT reduces a variety of different audiences, costs and

delivery to one common denominator. Always ask Cost per thousand what?

COST PER THOUSAND (CPM) = Cost Per Spot

Number HH Watching 1000

Ifa television spot costs Rs.30,00,000 and reaches 3 lac homes, the cost per

thousand homes is Rs. 1000(Rs.30,00,000 divided by 3,00,000).The CPT allows

cross comparison across different media types and media vehicles.

Impression: They represent the total number of messages delivered by a media

plan, whatever the media used-the number of people who see a message

multiplied by the numberof times they see it. The gross sum of all media

exposures (numbers of people/homes) without regard to duplication.

Frequency: frequency refers to the number of times the member of the target

audience is exposed to a media vehicle.


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Factors determining the need for frequency

y Complex messages need more frequency

y More demanding advertising objectives need more frequency

y Highly effective advertising generally requires lower frequency

y When theory calls for exposure close to the purchase, higher frequency is

needed

Reach: reach refers to the percentage of target audience who are exposed to the

message at least once during the relevant time period. If your media plan gets to

four out of five homes, it is said to have an 80% reach.

Media Reach In Metros

All

Media

Press TV Cable and

Satellite(C&S)

Radio

4 mega metros 93.8 67.2 85.6 35.2 30.1

8 Mini metros 93.2 67.6 85.1 32.6 18.5

11 Other metros 91.9 67.6 81.8 37.7 20.4

23 Metros (overall) 93.3 67.4 93.3 34.8 24.9

Overall Media Reach


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TV Press TV (C&S) Radio

All India 45 34 21 12

Urban 76 59 23 31

Rural 33 24 20 05

Coverage: it is a term often used for reach, however should not be confused with

reach. Coverage refers to the size of a potential audience that might be exposedto a particular media vehicle. For media planers, coverage (the size ofthe target

audience) is very important. Reach will always be lower than coverage., as it is

impossible to reach 100% of the target audience.

For example, the size of the target audience may be 5 lakhs and the numbers

of individuals who actually see the advertisement are 3.5 lakhs. Then in this

case5 lakhs is the coverage and 3.5 lakhs is the reach of the media vehicle.

Impact: impacts refer more to TV than to the press.

Impact =the total number of people who see the ad multiplied by the number of

times they saw it.

Opportunity to see (OTSs):


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OTSs are the number of exposures or opportunities that a particular audience

has to see a particular advertisement.

Two Philosophies of Media Planning

y Both assume a fixed budget, with a forced trade-off between reach and

frequency.

y Traditional philosophy is to determine frequency needs, and let that drive reach.

Current movement is toward maximizing reach and frequency.

PRINT

Circulation: The number of distributed copies of a publication.

Primary audience: The number of users who get a magazine at a newsstand or

in the mail as subscribers.

Secondary audience (Pass-along readers): Readers who obtain the publication

second hand, (i.e. from a reception room, from a friend/neighbor, etc.) in other

words those who do not pay for the publication they are reading.

Total audience: It is the total o primary as well as secondary audiences.

Coverage: The percentage of a population group reached by a publication.

Readership: Total number of individuals in a selected group (e.g., adults, males,

females 18-34) that are estimated to recognize, or to have read or looked into a

particular publication within an issues life cycle. The technical definition varies,

depending on the method used to measure it. However it is measured,

readership is a more useful tool for advertisers than is circulation.

TELEVISION


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Television Rating Points (TRP):

These points were introduced in 1986 to assess the viewer ship of DD

programmes by IMRB. The TRP survey is conducted in nine key metropolitan

cities of India .The System reports on the daily viewer ship of individuals aged 8

years and above residing in TV owning homes of these cities.

The panel consists of 3214 adult members. Earlier each panel member recorded

the viewer ship of different TV programmes in the diary specially given to him.

The data then analyzed.

The panel has two groups: Primary audience from TV owning household and

secondary audience from non-TV owning households but who watch TV at least

once a week. Programmes rating point is the percentage of panel members who

viewed those programmes. One TRP is equal to one percent of TV audience.

To illustrate, if Ramayana gets 75 TRPs it means 75% panel members watched

Ramayana during that week. TRP Weekly Reports provide data on the weekly

viewer ship city wise for different programmes. The data are broken down forboth the primary audience and the total audience (primary audience plus

secondary audience). TRP Monthly Reports give data of frequency of viewing,

overlapping of viewership amongst programmes, cumulative reach for different

episodes of the same programme. They also give viewers profit. TRP reports are

a good help for media planners. DD has started publishing weekly TRPs of its

programmes. Feedback on viewership data is still not adequate. TRP is not

representative enough.

This diary based system reports on the Quarter Hour ratings for Cable and,

Satellite TV channels as well as the state owned terrestrial network.Currently,

IMRB is in the process of phasing out this diary system by gradually launching its

People Meter based TRP People Meter System. The TRP PeopleMeter System


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is currently operational in four major metros and is being extended to report on

viewership at an All India level with a sample of 5,500 metered homes.

TRP Constant Watch System

The country's only electronic TV audit system currently monitors the advertising

and programming appearing on 10 key channels. This system records the

precise start and end times for each programme and commercial appearing on

these channels. The commercial information is further classified by product

category, brand and variant, execution and main message. Similarly, the

programming information is also supplemented by programme type, language of

programme and main/repeat telecast.

In order to understand the calculation of the Rating it is necessary to understand

a few terms:

Television households (TVHH):

With households as the focus of most television ratings, this term was developed

to express the number of households which have a television set in them.

The TVHH does not take into account whether the television set is being used. It

is simply a hard count of households which contain a TV set and thus have the

potential to watch television at all. This is, in effect, the population of TV

households in a market (for local ratings) or the nation (for national ratings).

Households using television (HUT):


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The number of households using television at a given time. HUT measures the

number of households with their televisions on at this moment, regardless of

who's watching.This varies by the time of day, the day of the week, the season of

the year, and the area of the country.Television viewing goes up in the evening,

and in the winter, raising the potential audience (and cost) for your commercial.

Rating:

It measures the number of households tuned into a particular program, as a

percentage of the total households which exist in the local market (local ratings)

or in the nation (national ratings).

The Nielsen Television Index (NTI) is an example of a rating point index for

national televisions. The Nielsen Station Index (NSI) is an example of a rating

point index for local television ratings.

Whatever the name, the formula is as follows:

RATING = Households Viewing Program 100

TVHH

Example #1: If there are 250,000 television households in the city of Banglore,

and 12,500 of them are tuned into a given television program on a particular

evening, it can be said that the program has a 5% rating.

Example #2: The same rating in different markets makes a substantial difference

in the audience delivered to an advertiser. All of the following ratings are the

same, but the number of households delivered varies dramatically:


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Market TVHH Rating Number of Homes

Mumbai 6,000,000 5 300,000

Chennai 1,300,000 5 65,000

Tamil nadu 381,200 5 19,060

Total target market

Target Rating Points = Total target market exposures

________________________________

Target market population

Gross Rating Points: This is the sum of rating points for a selected group of

programs which an advertiser may wish to sponsor. The following schedule

would give the advertiser exactly 14 "points" at a cost of 250,000

Program Rating Points Cost Per Spot


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(in 000s)

Program A 3.4 40.00

Program B 5.8 150.00

Program C 4.8 60.00

Gross Totals: 14.0 250.00


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ELEMENTS OF MEDIA

Evaluation of a particular medium for inclusion in a campaign rests upon what it

contributes to the cumulative effect. Any medium comprises of 4 elements.

y Character

y Atmosphere

y Reach and frequency

y Cost

In addition to this, we should also realize that the value contributed by themedium also depends upon the size of the advertisement or length of the

commercial and the position of the advertisement.

By the word character, we mean the objective characteristics of the medium;

type of coverage, seasonal implications etc. By atmosphere we mean the effect

on the mind or emotions of the mood and circumstances in which the

advertisement in the medium is perceived by the audience. We shall now see

these two elements in detail.

CHARACTER

There are ten aspects to character.

y Geography

y Class

y Age

y Power to reach special groups

y Physical characteristics of the medium

y Assistance to selling


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y Duration of interest

y Timing

y Impact or repetition

y Indirect effects on influential groups like retailers

Geography:

The coverage of every medium is limited by area. Coverage may be limited, as

with a national newspaperto a national basis. Within this lies another limitation,

as in a national paper may also have a strong degree of coverage in some areas

and lighter degree in others. Coverage may also be limited as with a television or

radio station to a specified region. Within this it is further influenced by

fluctuating factors like signal strength, booster transmitters or pattern of relay

services. This factor is important not only to small regional advertisers but also to

national advertisers whose sales patterns and resistance varies from region to

region.

Class:

Most media have overwhelming bias towards any social economic class, being

read and seen so widely that the class distinction is largely eliminated. But there

are also many media in which the class bias is obvious or atleast definable eg.

High priced

fashion magazines are biased towards high society women.

Age groups:

The age factor may be extremely important for some products. For eg. Its no use

trying to sell toothpaste to people with false teeth. General observation and


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common sense shows that certain types of media vehicles, by the virtue of their

content itself, appeal to certain age groups rather than others. In contrast, certain

other media evidently have equal chance of reaching all age groups eg. Posters,

billboards etc.

Power to reach special groups. Even within socio-economic groups there are

certain special groups that could be important to advertisers. Different media are

available for reaching a pre-selected target audience as required by the

advertiser. Eg. The Motoring Times targets males interested in Motor vehicles.

Physical characteristics of the media:

Another important character aspect is the physical characteristics of the

medium. Whether it is oral, written or visual. Whether it admits movement or not,

etc. For eg. A message that requires demonstration would use the television

medium, but which require personal interactive demonstration would use

exhibitions or POP demos.

Assistance to Selling:

Another aspect of character is the degree to which the medium assists the

process ofselling. Some advertisements aim at hard core selling where as some

require the creation of a prestigious atmosphere. Mediums differ in the level of

assistance to selling. For eg. Mediums like POPs have a high level of

assistance as compared to television. Choosing the medium according to the

advertising objective is extremely important. For eg. Using only down-to-earth

mediums for the brand building exercise of expensive cosmetics would not only

be detrimental to the brand but also poor returns for the money spent.


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Duration of interest:

The time given by the audience to the advertisements in a particular medium is

another very important aspect. Some advertising messages are just reminders so

mediums which have only a few seconds of observer time like posters serve the

purpose. But other messages may require mediums with higher duration of

interest.

Timing. The moment at which the message is seen or read is also of immense

importance. For eg. For products that have a casual or impulse buying pattern,

its imperative that the media used for advertising used is as close to the point of

purchase as possible. The day of the week, month, time of the day, season etc

also affect the degree to which the message is effective.

Impact and repetition:

The characteristics of the medium also affect the impact offered by the

medium. For eg. An inch-high font size might be effective on a full page

newspaper ad, but a foot high font size is totally ineffective for a hoarding. The

cost of the medium also determines the ability to use it for repetitions. For

messages where repetition is more effective then lengthy once in a whiles.

Using TV for short advertisements is more effective then for longer duration films.

Indirect effects on influential groups like retailers. Another important value of the

advertising budget is that it gives the retailer confidence to stock the goods and

to display them prominently. This confidence can be formed only when the

retailer respects the ad or sees the ad in the course of events. This many a times

becomes an important deciding factor between two equivalent media. For eg. For

a womens product sold through grocers, if the choice is between a womens


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magazine and a daily newspaper, it is more likely that the grocer will see the ad

in the newspaper, thus the newspaper is a more efficient medium.

2. ATMOSPHERE :

The character of a medium is essentially a very objective and largely physical

aspect. The other element is the subjective and atmospheric aspect of any

medium. Atmosphere is the mood of the audience and the relationship between

the message and the atmosphere of the medium carrying it. Evaluating

atmosphere begins with drawing the distinction between media whose primary

function is advertising eg. Posters, and media whose objective is different eg.

Entertainment for television channels, where the advertising matter is the

intruder, whether acceptable or otherwise. Many media have the ability to reach

customers when they are deciding their purchases. Any advertising message at

this moment is not only acceptable but is also considered helpful. This increases

the level ofassistance to selling tremendously. For eg. A magazine that talks

about beauty and fashion is highly effective in telling its readers about the latest

beauty products available. The atmosphere of this particular medium is highly

conducive to the advertisements of beauty products.

POPs as an example, rates very high on atmosphere as it is not only acceptable

but also extremely relevant to the context. The customer is there to buy and

these aid the process of selection. On the other hand, cinema, radio and

television fall into the opposite category where advertising is generally intrusive.

Another aspect of atmosphere is the character of the medium, the atmosphere in

which the medium is viewed


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Cinemas are generally a cheerful escape for the audience into a world of glamour and fantasy.

Advertising for happy, glamorous products would be more effective in this case rather than for

hard core household products. The newspaper would be more effective for news oriented

messages like an upcoming discount, or asales promotion.

Another variation of atmosphere lies in the prestige of the medium and

particularly in its capacity to instill confidence in the buyer about the goods. For

eg. National daily papers are more effective as a selling media rather than local

weekly papers because their credibility is much higher. This aspect is two way, it

follows the company-you-keep concept, where not only does the advertisement

derive its atmosphere from the medium but also vice-versa.


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MEDIA VEHICLES

Deciding to include advertising in the communication mix process is a relatively

easy decision compared to deciding which media and media vehicle (for example

which magazine or which cancel on TV, etc.)

Most of the advertising budget gets spent on the media (and not the creative or

production side).This is why a careful planning, negotiating and knowledge skills

are very important. Expert media planners and buyers got the best out of the

advertising by finding the right spaces or places for an ad campaign at the lowest

cost.

There are a wide variety of media available today for the advertisers to choose

from. The decision is depended on a lot of factors at the same time it is a very

crucial decision since the success ofthe campaign is highly depended on the

media selection aspect.

TYPES OF MEDIA VEHICLES

BROADCAST MEDIA

Broadcast media are quite young in comparison to the printed word.

Fundamentally there are two main forms of broadcast: television and radio.

Advertisers use these classes of media in order to reach mass audiences with

theirmessages at a relatively low cost per target reached.


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The media allows the advertisers to add audio and /or visuals to their

messages. The media gives life and energy to the advertising message which is

not really possible through other media.

However people are normally unable and unwilling to become actively involved in

the broadcast advertising message. They cant consume the pace at which the

meaasge is seen and understood as the time is very short due to the cost aspect.

The advertisers are also unable to provide excessive details and information.

As a result the medium becomes more suitable for low involvement products.

Advertising messages through the broadcast media use a small time period,

normally 15 or 30 or 60 seconds depending on their budget and the availability.

NARROWCASTING

The word "narrowcasting" is particularly unique to the industry of media

specifically that of broadcast media. It is, according to the dictionary, the ability to

"aim a radio or TV program orprogramming at a specific, limited audience or

consumer market."

The practice came to the forefront with the advent of cable television. As this

specialty media has matured, narrowcasting has become a fine art.

In the earlier days of Indian television, the two major networks (doordarshans)

dominated programming and sought to obtain the widest audience possible.

They avoided programming content that might appeal only to a small segment of

the mass population and succeeded in their goal by reaching nearly 90%

(combined) of the television viewing audience on a regular basis.


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The networks maintained their stronghold until competition emerged through the

addition of many independent stations, the proliferation of cable channels and the

popularity of videocassettes. These competitors provided television audiences

with many more viewing options. Consequently, the large numbers previously

achieved through mass-oriented programming dwindled and "narrowcasting"

took hold.

With narrowcasting the programmer or producer assumes that only a limited

number of people or a specific demographic group will be interested in the

subject matter of a program. In many ways, this is the essence of cable

television's programming strategy.

Following the format or characteristics of specialized magazines, a cable

television program or channel may emphasize one subject or a few closely

related subjects.

For example, music television is presented on MTV (Music Television), or

Channel V, CMM.ETC, CNN (Cable News Network) offers 24-hour news

coverage; ESPN (Entertainment Sports Network) boasts an all sports format; and

Star TV, Zee etc, covers the family entertainment segment. Other cable channels

feature programming such as shopping, comedy, science-fiction, or programs

aimed at specific ethnic or gender groups highly prized by specific advertisers


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NEW MEDIA

Recent technological advances have increased the range of new media available

to the advertisers to communicate with their prospects and the consumers. New

media allows for far greater level of interactions between the advertiser and the

receiver.

The new media would include internet and short message service (SMS).

New media is different from traditional media on a number of fronts, bu the most

important being the time that elapses between message receipt and response.

With new media the advertisers can target tightly clustered audiences with well

defined messages.

INTERNET ADVERTISING

The World Wide Web is a hybrid medium, which shares characteristics with mass

communication as well as interpersonal communication. The medium combines

the ability of the mass media to disperse a message to a wider audience with

some of interpersonal communications possibilities of feed-back and interaction.

From a marketing view point, one of the implications of this is that exposure and

action advertising and transactions can be integrated. Since the medium is

interactive, users of the World Wide Web play a much more active role in the

communication process than users of traditional mass media.


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Where traditional mass media are characterized by an information push, the

communication processes on the Web are driven by a basic information pull,

meaning that the control balance of the communication process has shifted in

favor of the user. The immense body of information available to the individual

user further pushes the control of the communication process towards the user,

and has lead to a highly fragmented content structure that allows the individual

user to pursue his specific interests.

Internet advertising has gained significant momentum across the world and has

become a part of the media mix that is being considered by advertisers

worldwide.

SMS - Selling Made Smarter!

A significant addition to the increasing list of communication carriers, is that of

SMS, Short Messaging Service. SMS has become the fastest, easiest and the

most convenient way to communicate today. For reasons personal or

professional, SMS works across purposes. The most recent application of SMS

has been to reach out to the consumer offering him products and services just as

any of the other mass media would. Be it in the form of promotions or advertising

or even sales, the functionality of SMS usage is crossing all barriers.


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The Media Clutter

Amongst the sea ofcommunication channels hitting the consumer constantly, the

actual message usually gets lost. Many a times, the possibility of the right

message reaching the right target is also dwindled, not ruling out the fact that this

has a direct impact on the costs shelled out for such activities.

Unlike the mass media, SMS enables micro targeting, which ensures that there is

no spillover of the communication.

The use of this medium also allows the consumer to react to the communication

on the spot, which helps measure the effectiveness ofthe campaign. Then there

is always the option to explore the possibility of this medium being used to

propagate word-of-mouth. Every single target that the communication is being

sent to carries the potential to be the originator of a new chain of targets. It just

depends on how interesting and action-provoking the message designed is for

the chain to remain continual.

SMS has graduated from a mere add-on service into a communication channelalongside voice calls in India.

Media players too have picked up the pulse and are using this medium for many

of its unique advantages. HBO promoted 'The Mummy Returns' contest via SMS

which allowed consumers to respond using the Internet and SMS. The response

to the warm-up contests was overwhelming with over 5000 responses received in

the first week itself!

BBC World, in its marketing of the ongoing quiz show `University Challenge',

used SMS along with radio and the Internet (yahoo.com) as a medium for

entries, and received more than 15,000 entries on SMS alone.


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Radio Mirchi broke new grounds in FM Radio interactive programming by

auctioning a date with Kareena Kapoor. Listeners had to SMS their bid to 8888.

The auction could be played by anyone with an access to a mobile phone. The

bidding for the lunch date began with Rs 5,000 and on the first day of the two-day

auction, there were already more than 1,800 responses and the bid has crossed

Rs 85,600 in Mumbai alone. The proceeds of the auction were donated to Nav

Nirman Foundation, a home for the poor, addicts and the mentally challenged.


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INNOVATIVE MEDIA

Innovative media focuses on alternative platforms of which open up new

avenues foradvertisers. As technological breakthroughs facilitate better modes

of communication, the emergence of new media has enhanced reach on several

levels.

The result is new advertising vehicles which are wider in reach, specific in

targeting and most of all, lower in cost.

Voice Reach:

Voice Reach advertising is an exciting new medium for advertisers which

enables them to broadcast audio messages to a precisely defined target

audience. The idea behind this service is simple and powerful. It allows people to

communicate with each other within and across cities, at the cost of a local

telephone call. How it works is as follows. A person in Mumbai can call up a local

number and leave a message for his friend, relative orbusiness associate in

Mumbai and Delhi. The system will deliver the message to the recipient's mailbox

or voicebox, which can be accessed by calling a local number in Delhi. Thus, it

provides the convenience of listening to a familiar voice, which otherwise is a

rare occasion and expensive. It is cheaper than long distance calling, more

convenient than e-mail and requires no knowledge of the Internet or PC. To

hear/access the messages posted in their inbox, users have to hear a

commercial announcement. These announcements are targeted according to the

profile submitted by users at the time of registration. This service is not just

convenient, but also completely free. Moreover, all the technology required to

use this service is a telephone. All these factors promise to make the Voice

Reach service immensely popular.


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Advertising & Promotions

Voice Reach is undoubtedly an advertising platform with massive potential. As

expected, this enormously valuable service is drawing users across all ages,

occupations, socio economic classes and geographical areas of India.

Advertisers, in effect, not only have an ever-growing user base to target, they

also have the advantage of reaching out to their specific target group.

Voice Reach advertising promises:

y Better one-to-one marketing capabilities than the Internet

y Guaranteed ad consumption : The advertisement comes before a user hears or

sends messages

y Target-based advertising

y Interactive Advertising

Commercial announcements are just the beginning of a strong line-up of services

which Voice Reach offers.


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Customised Promotions & Contests

Everybody runs contests. But are these contests really effective? How many

people do they reach? How many people respond? How many people actually

remember to fill up a postcard, orsend a fax (if they can), or remember to send

an e-mail.

The fact is - very few do. Geography is no longer a limiting factor, your audience

can now be an active part of your contests just by dialing a local number. Make

yourtelevision programs more interactive, let yourviewers talk to you. Your

viewers, anywhere in India, can call a local number and leave a message for you.

These messages in turn will be delivered at your doorstep. A very valuable

service for any broadcaster on television or radio.Voice Reach, thus, is the

perfect medium to carry messages from the viewer to the broadcaster, enabling

your audience to enter your contests with a simple phone call.

Highlights

1) Customised contests - National Participation through a local calls.

2) Making TV shows more interactive

3) Messages transferred over a local telephone could be -

y Requests

y Feedback

y Queries

y Opinion polls


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The Vidiwall:

The Vidiwall is an intensely captivating advertising medium which truly

represents the best of today's technology. The Vidiwall is essentially a mega

screen capable of broadcasting high quality audio-visuals, banners, logos &

slides of stunning size, resolution and picture quality. Placed at Mumbai's premier

shopping plaza, Crossroads, the Vidiwall is fast being recognized as a medium

that grabs attention like nothing else. Vidiwalls, a trademarked Philips solution,

have been adapted for dedicated Point-Of-Sale and Point-Of-Information usage.

Known to have a tremendous impact on people, the Vidwall is a highly effective

tool to maximize brand recall.

The Vidiwall is an exceptional means for advertisers who wish to target

Mumbaiites. Crossroads boasts of shopper strength of 10,000-20,000 footfalls

per weekday and 32,000-60,000 footfalls per weekend. The minimum

cummulative of which is 4,76,000 footfalls per month. The consumer profile of

Crossroads' visitors ranges from SEC A/B/C+ lying in a Catchment area of

Colaba to Bandra. Another interesting facet that speaks of the involving effect

that the Vidiwall has on Mumbaiites is its arresting nature...the mean for one-time

viewers of the Vidiwall is 2.9 mins, whereas, the mean for 2 or more time

viewers is 4.3 mins. A clear indicator of its addictive nature.


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INNOVATIVE RURAL MEDIA

In addition to the conventional media vehicles, a lot of innovative mediums are

used in rural advertising and marketing. Some of the most striking ones are:

Puppetry

Puppetry is the indigenous theatre of India. From time immortal it has been the

most popular form and well-appreciated form of entertainment available to the

village people. It is an inexpensive activity. The manipulator uses the puppets as

a medium to express and communicate ideas, values and social messages.

Life Insurance Corporation of India used puppets to educate rural massesaboutLife Insurance;

enlisting the help of the literacy house inLuck now. These plays were shown to the audience in

villages in UP, Bihar, & MP. The number of inquires at localLife Insurance Companies during the

period immediately following the performance was compared with normal frequency and found to

be considerable higher. The field staff of the corporation also reported a definite impact on the

business.

Folk Theater

Folk theaters are mainly short and rhythmic in form. The simple tunes help in

informing and educating the people in informal and interesting manner. It has

been used as an effective medium for social protest against injustice, exploitation

and oppression.

Government has used this media for popularizing improved variety of seeds, agricultural

implements, fertilizer etc. PunjabAgricultural Universityproduced Two AudioCassettes.

y Balliye Kanak Biye - WheatCultivation.

y Khiran Kepah Narme -Cotton Cultivation.


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Both were well received by farmers.

BBLIL used Magician quite effectively for launch of KadakChhap Tea in Etawah.

Demonstration:

"Direct Contact" is a face-to-face relationship with people individually and with

groups such as the Panchayats and other village groups. Such contact helps in

arousing the villager's interest in their own problem and motivating them towards

self-development.

Demonstration may be

y Method demonstration

y Result demonstration

y Simple Demonstration

y Composite Demonstration

In result demonstration, help of audio -visual media can add value. Asian Paints

launched Utsav range by painting Mukhiya's house or Post office to demonstrate

that paint does not peel off.

Wall Paintings

Wall Paintings are an effective and economical medium for advertising in rural

areas. They are silent unlike traditional theatre .A speech or film comes to an

end, but wall painting stays as long as the weather allows it to.

Retailer normally welcomes paintings of their shops, walls, and name boards.

Since it makes the shop look cleaner and better. Their shops look alluring and


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stand out among other outlets. Besides rural households shopkeepers and

panchayats do not except any payment, for their wall to be painted with product

messages. To get one's wall painted with the product messages is seemed as a

status symbol. The greatest advantage of the medium is the power of the picture

completed with its local touch. The images used have a strong emotional

association with the surrounding, a feet impossible for even a moving visual

medium like television, which must use general image to cater to greatest

number of viewers.


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MEDIA MIX

After understanding the various aspects of each media separately and the

advantages and the limitations of each, we can conclude that no single media

would be able to reach the target population individually.

The advertisers need to prepare an extensive media mix in order to accomplish

their objective of maximum reach and frequency. Considering the advertising

companys marketing objectives will arrive this at, its target market, media

characteristics, and its matching with the target market. Also, the overall

advertising budget does influence the nature of such a mix, in addition to t heavailable gross audience.

The primary need for a combination of media naturally arises from the necessity

to reach more people in more ways than any single medium can encompass.

There are few other needs too.

1) The need for getting the campaign

message over to different types of public, such as professional people as

well as consumers, or retail traders as well as both.

2) The combination of a short term and a

long term element in the campaigns objective, which cannot be satisfied

within the limits of a single medium; e.g., the need for building up the

products reputation while giving reminder at point-of-sale.

3) The superimposition of a piece of

marketing news, such as a new size or a special pack, on top of a steady

long-term development of the brand image .


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4) The combination of a need for detailed

and perhaps technical specifications with a more superficial appeal to a

much wider market.

5) The different attitudes which different

sections of the population bring to the choosing of a given product, and

the consequent need to catch each section in the appropriate mood.

6) Competitive circumstances which

necessitate a strong temporary impact superimposed on the steady long-

term effort.

7) Differences of buying psychology at

different times of the year, e.g., holiday seasons compared with normal

seasons.


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MEDIA BRIEF

Theirmedia briefwas to basically cover these 3 points

1. To develop a composite media plan using all available forms of media so as

to ensure that the key target markets are reached with the core messages.

2. To create better awareness of the use of Debit Cards

3. To build the SBI Debit Card brand

To encourage more users to use the Debit Card services provided

The media brief can be referred to as a checklist for the media planners to help

them prepare media plan for a client organization. Media planning is not an

isolated function but an integral part of an overall campaign planning. Hence a

media plannerneeds to have a thorough knowledge of all the variables.

Media brief gives a background to the whole planning. It will cover details on the

product/service, the overall marketing strategy, and the proposition being made.

Ideal media brief. In other words, what should it contain to help the media

planner in making an ideal plan to help facilitate decision-making at the clients

end? With the proliferation in the media and media markets becoming more

complex, given the heterogeneity of the target audience, special efforts are

made to prepare the media brief. A good media brief should ideally include the

following:

Marketing information checklist: This should reflect the marketing objectives and

proposed strategies, product characteristics, distribution channels, brand

category, expenditure level and ad. expenditure of close competitors, ad.

expenditure for the current, previous years and proposed appropriation.


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The objectives: The media brief must indicate the objective or objectives; the

proposed advertising is trying to accomplish. This must clearly indicate whether

the objective is to introduce a new product, increase awareness about the

existing brand, reinforce the current position, reposition the current brand,

relaunch a declining brand, elicit direct response, improve or enhance the

companys reputation or change the peoples attitude towards the company,

brand or product category. It would also indicate the source of business, i.e., the

target audience, profile of the current users, proposed users, etc.

Product category information: It is pertinent for the media planner to have athorough knowledge about the product category and the positioning of the brand

being handled. This helps in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the

brand and also helps in setting achievable targets.

Geography/location: The media brief helps the planner in knowing his media

markets. In other words, for example, if the product is only available in the

metros, then the planner will restrict his media options to only those vehicles,

which reach the target audience in the metros. In case, however, the product is

being launched on all-country basis, the media planner although keeping in view

the holistic approach will also keep in mind the consumption pattern in various

geographical locations for giving relative weightage to areas, where the product

usage is more. Besides this, he will also keep in view the brand development

index, sales volume and local market problems and opportunities.

Seasonality/timing: Information regarding seasonality of the product is an

important consideration for the media planner. In the Indian context, where there

are extreme climates in different parts of the country at the same time, some

products are season-specific.


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A brief description is required with respect to the product itself, its uses, the

pack, the price, the method of distribution,etc. what sales movement are taking

place with respect to the product of this category, is the market expanding or is

steady.

With respect to competitors, how are their brands advertised or promoted.Is it an

established brand or a new brand fighting for a bench head.

The otherinformation details can be : market share of the various brands, sales

volume of each brand, life cycle stage for brand/category (new, mature,

stagnating or near extinct), market expansion opportunity, interest level

(high/low), responsiveness to advertising, purchase cycle of the product-to helpdetermine the scheduling pattern.

The sale of woolens is always there in the hilly areas especially, Srinagar,

Himachal Pradesh and higher reaches of Uttar Pradesh, while in southern

India, except probably in some parts of Karnataka, woolens are generally not

available. The North experience severe cold for some months, hence one

sees a spurt in advertising during this period. Besides, the planner should

keep track of the sales pattern, influence factors such as festivals, holidays

and the weather, spending considerations, specific sales promotion drive, and

client mandated spending constraint, etc.

Even in case of rural advertising generally the consumers have a high buying

power immediately after the harvest hence showing advertisements at this

point of time would be a good strategy then showing it all year round.


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Target audience: it will be futile to aim the advertisements at every body. In that

way the effort is diffused and no one thinks the advertisement is meant for him.

Hence there should be a precise definition of the people the advertising is to

reach. The definition of the target may be a simple.

A profile of those who buy the existing category as also those who buy

competitive brands is a very important consideration for the media planner.

Buying habits must also include information about buying cycles, purchase

points, frequency of purchase, etc. This helps the planner to know the

consumer characteristics by category, brand and competitor; demographics-age, income, education, occupation and motivation; special market segments

like doctors, architects, children, etc. as also media usage data for heavy

users, light users of various media vehicles.

Budget: At the briefing stage the planner also needs to know the media budget-

after the cost of producing the advertisement and the other expenditures have

been deducted.

In a nutshell, the media brief should aim at answering-in which markets are the

media to be concentrated; what is the product category-media relationship; how

do competitors use the media; who is the media talking to (the specific target

audience); and how much weight needs to be placed on various media in terms

of ad appropriation.


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DECIDING ON TARGET MARKETS:

Every media plan begins with target audience. The target audience can be

classified in terms of age, sex, income, education, occupation and other

variables. The audience can also be classified as children,

teenagers, young adults, office goers, newly married couples, parents,

grandparents, etc.

The classification of the target audience helps the media planner to understand

the media consumption habits, and accordingly choose the most appropriate

media or media-mix The media planner can also select the most appropriate

programme (in case of radio and TV) to insert advertisement.

Matching media and market

Advertisers must always attempt to match the profile of the target market with

the demographic characteristics of a given mediums audience

Let us consider an example of cigarette advertising. The target market for this is

men in the age group of 25 to 60 years. The advertiser would consider placing

ads in magazines having a predominantly male readership. Advertising in

magazines having a predominantly female readership would be mostly wasteful

for this product. It may be true that rarely does any magazine have a 100 percent

male readership. Even so, when selecting a predominantly mens magazine, the

advertiser would minimize wasteful expenditure,Some media, such as general

interest consumer magazines and newspapers, network radio and television offer

to an advertiser the means of transmitting ad messages to a cross-section of the

consumer market. Against this, some other media, such as spot radio and

television, special interest magazines, business publications, and some business

newspapers offer the means of reaching selective group of audience. The


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selectivity offered by some media is useful for advertisers, for it enables them to

reach a distinct target market with minimum waste. In fact, a great deal of

information on the media about their demographic characteristics is provided by

the media themselves.

The objective of anymedia planner is to achieve the best possible matching of

the media and the market.

1. DECIDING ON MEDIA OBJECTIVES:

The media planner has to decide on the media objectives. Media objectives

often are stated in terms of reach, frequency, gross rating points and continuity.

Media objectives

You can contribute most to the media process in the definition of objectives

(what you want the plan to accomplish)

Before media planning can start, companies have to define the marketing

objectives of the product/ idea proposed to be advertised.

For example, if a professional camera manufacturer decides to launch an

automatic camera to expand his market, his marketing objective would be to

reach those segments of the population who are photo enthusiasts but do not

want to be hassled by the intricacies of operation of professional cameras, the

fun loving people who want to capture moments of joy and togetherness. The

manufacturer may also target the existing professional camera users to consider

a replacement in order to have the pleasure of an automatic camera, which

obviously will be faster, having mastered the manual one. The marketing


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objective, hence, would be to extend distribution into new geographic markets or

income groups as also the current users of cameras

The following could b the media objectives

1. To reach photo enthusiasts of that age and income group who are the

chief purchasers.

2. To concentrate the greatest weight in urban areas where the target

audience would normally be found and where new ideas gain a quicker

response.

3. To provide advertising support at a consistent level except when it needs

extra weight during announcements and the holiday season, when such

target buyers are planning to visit exotic places or to meet their kith and

kin.

4. To select those media, which will help strengthen the creative strategy and

help demonstrate convenience, ease of shooting and, of course, excellent

results. The Hot Shot camera with theKhatak sound became an instant

success with the photo enthusiasts in the late eighties in India.

5. To reach target buyers through those media to gain greater frequency and

lesser cost per opportunity

Media objectives are built around answers to five questions: who, when, where,

how often, and in what way?

3.MEDIA EVALUATION

After the objectives are defined there is a need to evaluate each media in order

to reach a conclusion about the type of media that will be most effective for the

accomplishment of the objectives.


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shop window and so on. Sometimes a change is as good as an increased

budget.

Proven effectiveness:

When there is evidence that a particular medium is the most efficient, the choice

is obvious. The evidence may come from the tests on our own product or from a

study of competitors activities.

The advertiser often insists on using the same medium as before, even without

testing its effectiveness. The best predictor of an advertising schedule is the

schedule for the previous year. This is not always laziness. It is partly because

the media scene is not very different from year to year: media change is dictated

by a major shift in the market place, a new medium, a new definition of the target,

or a new advertising idea. Advertisers resist change because it involves more

risk than to continue with a proven, viable strategy.

Availability and timing:

The type ofproduct or copy claim may prevent the use of a medium- this is most

likely to rule out TV, on which, for example cigarettes are not advertised. The

flexibility required by the advertiser, for example being able to cancel or change

advertising at a few days notice, may also rule out a medium-for example it may

make colour press impossible.

Competition:

We cant come off the box, thats where our competitors are.

Look, theres no advertising for this product in womens magazines: lets

dominate there.


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Of the two policies- match the competition or avoid it- the first is more common in

media choice. This may be because the main purpose of the advertising is

defensive- to reassure existing buyers and reassure existing buyers and diffuse

competitors attacks. It may also be a fear of leaving him to dominate a medium.

Or the medium normally chosen is simply the most suitable for that product

group. Or the consumer and the trade have come to expect the advertising to be

in that medium and look for it there, so it works best there.; on the same

principle, shops often do better together in the High Street than scattered over

the town.

These arguments apply to large advertisers: McDougalls will not leave spillers to

be the only large flour manufacturer on TV, nor Cadburys leave TV to Mars. But

for the small budgets it could be inefficient to hit competition at knee-level. A

small advertiser might do better to dominate a less used medium.

CHOOSING AMONG MAJOR MEDIA TYPES:

The media planner has to know the capacity of the major media types to deliver

reach, frequency, and impact. The major advertising media along with their

costs, advantages, and limitations are to be well understood. Every media plan

requires that specific media types be selected Doordarshan, Direct mail,

satellite TV, newspapers, magazines, etc. Media planners must consider several

variables before choosing among major types:

Target audience media habits:

This is the most important factor. Housewives watch more of television, whereas,

working women go for magazines. Again television programmes have different

viewers. For instance, world this week is viewed by teenagers and young

adults. Therefore, it would be advisable to advertise during World this week

such products which are of interest to teenagers and young adults. Radio and

television are the most effective media for reaching teenagers.


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Products:

Products that require demonstration can suit for television. For example, thedemonstration of the use of a vacuum cleaner by Eureka Forbes. Financial

advertising such as new issue of shares is good in newspapers. Women's

dresses are best shown in color magazines, and Polaroid cameras a best

demonstrated on television. Media types have different potentials for

demonstration, visualization, explanation, believability, and color.

Again there are media restrictions on certain products. For instance, alcoholic

drinks and cigarettes cannot be advertised in press as well as on DD and AIR,

hence these two options are totally ruled out.

Message:

The type of message dictates the type of media. For example, an ad that

features technical information is best suited for specific magazines. Again, an ad

from retailer announcing major sale on discount requires more of local

newspapers.

Cost Factor:

Television is very expensive, where as, radio is very economical. However, cost

is not the only factor, even if it is calculated on the basis of cost per- person

reached. The impact of the media is to be taken into account.

5. SELECTING SPECIFIC MEDIA VEHICLES:-

Once a decision is made on media types, specific media vehicles within each

medium must be chosen. For instance, the media plannermay take a decision to

select only magazines. The question now appears in which magazines. There


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are several classes of magazines- General interest like Readers digest, Women

Interest magazines like Femina, Savvy, Elle, Business interest magazines like

Business India, Business Today. If the decision is to select Business Interest

Magazines- then the media planner may consider the following:

Business India

Business World

Fortune India

Dalal Street Journal

Business Today

Advertising & Marketing


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EVALUATION

After the objectives are defined there is a need to evaluate each media in order

to reach a conclusion about the type of media that will be most effective for the

accomplishment of the objectives.

The objects of the evaluation are:

1. To see which media are feasible.

2. To pick the main medium.

3. To prepare for the decision on how it should be used.

4. To see whether there are suitable supporting media if required.

Creative suitability:

There may be obvious reasons why a particular medium is especially suitable for

the campaign or another is unsuitable, a coupon is to be included or the absence

of colour is critical. Often the preference of the creative group is not backed up by

concrete evidence but they have strong views nevertheless about the media to

use and those not to use.

The agency is not in the business of reaching consumers with exposures of

advertisements (which tend to be the media departments natural criterion), but in

the business of selling the product. So if the creative choice looks at all

reasonable in media terms, it is usually sensible for the planning to accept it.

Sometimes the creative choice is unreasonable and may have been reached

without full consideration of the alternatives.


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An idea:

Sometimes a media idea, or better an idea which involves media and creative

content, is obviously right or simply a novelty, which is expected to attract

attention and so work. A press advertisement in the shape of the product, using

publications that have never before carried this type of advertising, a radio

commercial announcing officially there is now no shortage of the product, a TV

commercial that starts with silence and black screen, a poster that looks like a

shop window and so on. Sometimes a change is as good as an increased

budget.

Proven effectiveness:

When there is evidence that a particular medium is the most efficient, the choice

is obvious. The evidence may come from the tests on our own product or from a

study of competitors activities.

The advertiser often insists on using the same medium as before, even without

testing its effectiveness. The best predictor of an advertising schedule is the

schedule for the previous year. This is not always laziness. It is partly because

the media scene is not very different from year to year: media change is dictated

by a major shift in the market place, a new medium, a new definition of the target,

or a new advertising idea. Advertisers resist change because it involves more

risk than to continue with a proven, viable strategy.

Availability and timing:

The type of product or copy claim may prevent the use of a medium- this is most

likely to rule out TV, on which, for example cigarettes are not advertised. The

flexibility required by the advertiser, for example being able to cancel or change


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advertising at a few days notice, may also rule out a medium-for example it may

make colour press impossible.

Competition:

We cant come off the box, thats where our competitors are.

Look, theres no advertising for this product in womens magazines: lets

dominate there.

Of the two policies- match the competition or avoid it- the first is more common in

media choice. This may be because the main purpose of the advertising is

defensive- to reassure existing buyers and reassure existing buyers and diffuse

competitors attacks. It may also be a fear of leaving him to dominate a medium.

Or the medium normally chosen is simply the most suitable for that product

group. Or the consumer and the trade have come to expect the advertising to be

in that medium and look for it there, so it works best there.; on the same

principle, shops often do better together in the High Street than scattered over

the town.

These arguments apply to large advertisers: McDougalls will not leave spillers to

be the only large flour manufacturer on TV, nor Cadburys leave TV to Mars. But

for the small budgets it could be inefficient to hit competition at knee-level. A

small advertiser might do better to dominate a less used medium.


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MEDIA BUYING

Planning and buying are two parts of a single operation: spending effectively the

advertisers money. The two cannot in practiced be separate. The former is the

strategy formulation while the later talks about the implementation of the plan.

The two jobs are often done by different people, though planner-buyer is also

found.

MEDIA BUYER:

The media person negotiates foradvertising time or space, trying to get the most

favorable buys in terms of programming or environment and price. He or she is

responsible for checking that the advertising runs as planned and bought. A

skilled media buyercan save enormous sums by playing one media owner over

the other.

MEDIA BUYING:

Media buying refers to buying time and space in the various selected media.

STEPS IN MEDIA BUYING:

y Selection of publication or programmes on Doordarshan, radio or satellite TV.

y Getting approval from the client regarding the selection of publication /

programmes.

y Inviting press-media representatives or other media representatives from the

selected list of media.

y Finalising package deals far as group publications are concerned. i.e. to obtain

concessions in the media charges , if the ad is to run simultaneously in two or


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three publications of the same group such as Indian Express Group of

Publications.

y Negotiating charges for bleed ads. Normally, publications charge 10% more.

Negotiations are in respect of waiving the extra charges.

y Negotiations may also take place to obtain premium positioning of the ads such

as back cover, spread, etc.

y Non-accredited publications (those which are not recognized by INS) do provide

more than 15% commission. Negotiations take place to get more commission

from such publications. The benefits of extra commission is passed on by the

agency to client (advertiser)

y Media planning department also hold meetings with the producers of serials on

DD, Satellite TV, etc. This enables the agency to get serial /programme

sponsored by its client.

y The media planning department may obtain a final approval from the client.

y Based on the final approved plan from the media planner, the media operators

department books time and space in the media.

y The media operations department makes all necessary arrangement to supply

advertising material such as U-matic tapes, audio cassettes, art work and copy,

etc.to various madis well before the deadline.

y The billing and checking department checks on monitors the publications/

broadcasting / telecasting of the ad.


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Documents

Media Lessons