Advertising Strategy and Media Planning
Target Audience Decision Making…
…and Selection
7
Advertising is always to someone…
The brand and its target market are inextricably entwined
Even the largest, most popular brands are only used by a minority of the population
Media audiences are segmented - need to match advertising target audience with media audience
Products and services – including media – always designed for clearly defined population sectors.
Market research allows advertisers to know who these consumers are
Fletcher (2010 pp 6 – 7)
Percy and Elliott’s Five Steps…
Select the target audience
Understand target audience decision making
Determine the best positioning
Develop a communications strategy
Setting a media strategy
Percy and Elliott, 2009
How does the target audience make buying decisions?
Low involvement/high involvement (high risk/low risk)
Decision-making…
Need to know the where, how and who of decision making
Percy and Elliott (2012)
what is their role, who influences them, trade influence?
why are they the target audience?
Roles… Initiator, influencer, decider, purchaser, user…
Can link target marketing to target audience
Generic Consumer Decision-Making Model…
Need arousal
Usage
Brand consideration
4 stages in the decision-making…
Purchase
Percy and Elliott (2012)
At each decision stage we need to consider…
Who is involved – as ‘individuals’ and their role
The timing of the stage
How the stage is likely to occur
Where the stage is likely to occur
Percy and Elliott (2012)
Decision Stage
Need Arousal Brand Consideration
Purchase Usage
Individuals involved and their decision roles
Where the stage is likely to occur
Timing of the stage - when
How the stage is likely to occur
Generic Consumer Decision-Making Model… Percy and Elliott (2012)
Percy and Elliott’s Five Steps…
Select the target audience
Understand target audience decision making
Determine the best positioning
Develop a communications strategy
Setting a media strategy
Percy and Elliott, 2009
We can keep it really simple
What is the target audience action objective?
Trial Purchase – Non-users
Repeat purchase - Users
General level - descriptive characteristics…
Psychographics (attitudes, personality, values…)
Target market groups
Demographics (age, gender, income, education, employment, socio-economic status,
family stage…)
(Antonides and van Raaij cited in Percy and Elliott, 2009)
Geographic (location)
Domain level- associated with product category…
decision-making process
Target market groups
category usage behaviour
(Antonides and van Raaij cited in Percy and Elliott, 2009)
attitudes towards category
Brand specific level - associated with a particular brand…
brand buying intentions
Target market groups
brand loyalty
(Antonides and van Raaij cited in Percy and Elliott, 2009)
beliefs about the brand
Percy and Elliott loyalty model
Satisfaction
Low High
Perceived Risk in Switching
High
Low
Loyalty Model Groupings, Percy and Elliott, 2012
Loyal
Vulnerable
Frustrated
Switchable
Cost implications…
Loyalif to your brand, relatively inexpensive to maintain
if not using your brand then more expensive
Frustratedif with your brand, building more positive attitude rather expensive
if with other brand, some risk in switching so more expensive
If to a different brand, very expensive or even beyond reach
Vulnerable
From your brand, expensive, as receptive to competitors
if sometimes use your brand, relatively inexpensive
from other brands, similar as receptive to competitors
Percy and Elliott, 2012
Switchable
Buyer Group Awareness and Attitude Considerations
UsersBrand Loyals Highest awareness
Most positive brand attitude, likely to filter competitive messages
Favourable Brand Switchers
Awareness should be highPositive attitude but moderate preference
Non-usersOther Brand-Switchers May or may not be aware
Attitude likely to be neutral or positive
Other-Brand Loyals May or may not be awarePositivity towards competitive brand
New Category User Both brand awareness and attitude less important here than category awareness and attitude
Awareness and Attitude Considerations for Potential
Audience Buyer Groups, Percy and Elliott, 2012
Profiling the target audience
Offers a much more detailed understanding…
demographic, geographic and geo-demographic
Objective Characteristics…
Subjective Characteristics…
Psychographics – lifestyle, values, personality
Locations… region, country, continent,
Objective and easy to measure, but…
…doesn’t consider variables like loyalty so useful for a market
but not necessarily an audience
Geographic and Demographic
Age, income, education, religion, family, job
Attitudes and behaviours can span different demographics and
locations
We can combine the too… and often do
Geo-Demographics
MOSAIC and ACORN for example
A number of databases exist…
Useful for targeting audiences in specific locations
MOSAIC
ACORN
Socio-Economic Class (NRS)
…where do we socialise?
Harris Interactive, May 2014
…growth in key technology platform usage…
Ofcom, 2014
Radio media consumption…
Subjective Characteristics –
Psychographics…
Lifestyle variables
Non-product related characteristics that can influence
buyer behaviour
Useful for helping to guide creative development
Attitudes, interests and opinions
Personality…
Can effect how advertising is processed and interpreted
Personality states… more temporarye.g. anxiety, worry, happiness, friendliness, professionalism
Personality traits… more or less permanente.g. level of self-esteem, introversion/extraversion, etc.
Values…
Considers resources
and motivation…
So motivated by ideals and having a
lot of resources (income, education
and similar) makes us ‘thinkers’
culture…
Segmentation…
About defining a target market, and then defining a
target audience…
Target market segmentation part of marketing strategy
Target market for the brand often wider than the target
audience for a particular campaign
Target audience selection part of advertising strategy
Who does all of this…
Marketing Manager/Brand Manager (advertiser)
Market Researcher (market research company)
Usually working in close conjunction with…
Account Planner and Account Manager/Director (advertising agency)
Account planners work closely with and always represent the opinions and wishes of consumers, of the target market
Fletcher, 2010, p78
References and reading
Fletcher, W. (2010) Advertising: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Percy, L. and Elliott, R. (2012) Strategic Advertising Management. Oxford,
Oxford University Press.
Yeshin, T. (2006). Advertising. London: Thomson
Go to Library Online and look for recent articles in academic journals (via
EBSCO and Emerald) and on WARC using “advertising strategy” as your
search words.
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