The media planning process is not an easy one. Options include mass media such as television, newspapers, radio, and magazines (and the choices available within each of these categories) as well as out-of-the-home media such as outdoor advertising, transit advertising, and electronic billboards. A variety of support media such as direct marketing, interactive media, promotional products advertising, and in-store point-of-purchase options must also be considered. The Internet and interactive media such as those described in the chapter lead-in increase the complexity of this process.
While at first glance the choices among these alternatives might seem relatively straightforward, this is rarely the case. Part of the reason media selection becomes so involved is the nature of the media themselves. TV combines both sight and sound, an advantage not offered by other media. Magazines can convey more information and may keep the message available to the potential buyer for a much longer time. Newspapers also offer their own advantages, as do outdoor, direct media, and each of the others. The Internet offers many of the advantages of other media but is also limited in its capabilities. The characteristics of each alternative must be considered, along with many other factors. This process becomes even more complicated when the manager has to choose between alternatives within the same medium—for example, between The potential for achieving effective communications through a well-designed media strategy warrants the added attention. The power of an effective media strategy was demonstrated by PC Flowers, at one time the smallest of the 25,000 members in the Florists’ Transworld Delivery Association. The company then started to advertise its services on the Internet. Within four months, PC Flowers moved into the top 10; now it consistently ranks as one of the top two FTD members in the world. Likewise, an online advertising and e-mail campaign with a budget of only $300,000 was effective enough to get 12,000 new members to sign up for British Air’s frequent-flyer program (40 percent more than its goal) in only two weeks. The product and/or service being advertised affects the media planning process.
As demonstrated in Figure 10-1, firms have found some media more useful than others in conveying their messages to specific target audiences. For example, GM and Procter & Gamble tend to rely more heavily on broadcast media, while others like JCPenney and Federated Department Stores (not shown) place more emphasis on print media. The result is placement of advertising dollars in these preferred media— and significantly different media strategies.
Some Basic Terms and Concepts
Before beginning our discussion of media planning, we review some basic terms and concepts used in the media planning and strategy process. Media planning is the series of decisions involved in delivering the promotional message to the prospective purchasers and/or users of the product or brand. Media planning is a process, which means a number of decisions are made, each of which may be altered or abandoned as the plan develops. The media plan is the guide for media selection. It requires development of specific media objectives and specific media strategies (plans of action) designed to attain these objectives. Once the decisions have been made and the objectives and strategies formulated, this information is organized into the media plan. The medium is the general category of available delivery systems, which includes broadcast media (like TV and radio), print media (like newspapers and magazines), direct mail, outdoor advertising, and other support media. The media vehicle is the specific carrier within a medium category. For example, Time and Newsweek are print vehicles; 20/20 and 60 Minutes are broadcast vehicles. As you will see in later chapters, each vehicle has its own characteristics as well as its own relative advantages and disadvantages. Specific decisions must be made as to the value of each in delivering the message.
Reach is a measure of the number of different audience members exposed at least once to a media vehicle in a given period of time. Coverage refers to the potential audience that might receive the message through a vehicle. Coverage relates to potential audience; reach refers to the actual audience delivered. (The importance of this distinction will become clearer later in this chapter.) Finally, frequency refers to the number of times the receiver is exposed to the media vehicle in a specified period.
