Definition: The process of establishing the exact media vehicles to be used for
advertising
Choosing which media or type of advertising to use is sometimes
tricky for small firms with limited budgets and know-how.
Large-market television and newspapers are often too expensive for
a company that services only a small area (although local
newspapers can be used). Magazines, unless local, usually cover too
much territory to be cost-efficient for a small firm, although some
national publications offer regional or city editions. Metropolitan
radio stations present the same problems as TV and metro
newspapers; however, in smaller markets, the local radio station
and newspaper may sufficiently cover a small firm's audience.
That's why it's important to put together a media plan for your
advertising campaign. The three components of a media plan are as
follows:
1. Defining the marketing problem. Do you know where your
business is coming from and where the potential for increased
business lies? Do you know which markets offer the greatest
opportunity? Do you need to reach everybody or only a select group
of consumers? How often is the product used? How much product
loyalty exists?
2. Translating the marketing requirements into attainable
media objectives. Do you want to reach lots of people in a wide
area (to get the most out of your advertising dollar)? Then mass
media, like newspaper and radio, might work for you. If your target
market is a select group in a defined geographic area, then direct
mail could be your best bet.
3. Defining a media solution by formulating media
strategies. Certain schedules work best with different media.
For example, the rule of thumb is that a print ad must run three
times before it gets noticed. Radio advertising is most effective
when run at certain times of the day or around certain programs,
depending on what market you're trying to reach.
Advertising media generally include:
- Television
- Radio
- Newspapers
- Magazines (consumer and trade)
- Outdoor billboards
- Public transportation
- Yellow Pages
- Direct mail
- Specialty advertising (on items such as matchbooks, pencils,
calendars, telephone pads, shopping bags and so on)
- Other media (catalogs, samples, handouts, brochures,
newsletters and so on)
When comparing the cost and effectiveness of various advertising
media, consider the following factors:
- Reach. Expressed as a percentage, reach is
the number of individuals (or homes) you want to expose your
product to through specific media scheduled over a given period of
time.
- Frequency. Using specific media, how many
times, on average, should the individuals in your target audience
be exposed to your advertising message? It takes an average of
three or more exposures to an advertising message before consumers
take action.
- Cost per thousand. How much will it cost to
reach a thousand of your prospective customers (a method used in
comparing print media)? To determine a publication's cost per
thousand, also known as CPM, divide the cost of the advertising by
the publication's circulation in thousands.
- Cost per point. How much will it cost to
buy one rating point for your target audience, a method used in
comparing broadcast media. One rating point equals 1 percent of
your target audience. Divide the cost of the schedule being
considered by the number of rating points it delivers.
- Impact. Does the medium in question offer
full opportunities for appealing to the appropriate senses, such as
sight and hearing, in its graphic design and production
quality?
- Selectivity. To what degree can the message
be restricted to those people who are known to be the most logical
prospects?
Reach and frequency are important aspects of an advertising plan
and are used to analyze alternative advertising schedules to
determine which produce the best results relative to the media
plan's objectives.
Calculate reach and frequency and then compare the two on the
basis of how many people you'll reach with each schedule and the
number of times you'll connect with the average person. Let's say
you aired one commercial in each of four television programs (A, B,
C, D), and each program has a 20 rating, resulting in a total of 80
gross rating points. It's possible that some viewers will see more
than one announcement--some viewers of program A might also see
program B, C, or D, or any combination of them.
For example, in a population of 100 TV homes, a total of 40 are
exposed to one or more TV programs. The reach of the four programs
combined is therefore 40 percent (40 homes reached divided by the
100 TV-home population).
Many researchers have charted the reach achieved with different
media schedules. These tabulations are put into formulas from which
you can estimate the level of delivery (reach) for any given
schedule. A reach curve is the technical term describing how reach
changes with increasing use of a medium. The media salespeople you
work with or your advertising agency can supply you with these
reach curves and numbers.
Now let's use the same schedule of one commercial in each of
four TV programs (A, B, C, D) to determine reach versus frequency.
In our example, 17 homes viewed only one program, 11 homes viewed
two programs, seven viewed three programs, and five homes viewed
all four programs. If we add the number of programs each home
viewed, the 40 homes in total viewed the equivalent of 80 programs
and therefore were exposed to the equivalent of 80 commercials. By
dividing 80 by 40, we establish that any one home was exposed to an
average of two commercials.
To increase reach, you'd include additional media in your plan
or expand the timing of your message. For example, if you're only
buying "drive time" on the radio, you might also include some
daytime and evening spots to increase your audience. To increase
frequency, you'd add spots or insertions to your existing schedule.
For example, if you were running three insertions in a local
magazine, you'd increase that to six insertions so that your
audience would be exposed to your ad more often.
Gross rating points (GRPs) are used to estimate broadcast reach
and frequency from tabulations and formulas. Once your schedule
delivery has been determined from your reach curves, you can obtain
your average frequency by dividing the GRPs by the reach. For
example, 200 GRPs divided by an 80 percent reach equals a 2.5
average frequency.
Frequency is important because it takes a while to build up
awareness and break through the consumer's selection process.
People are always screening out messages they're not interested in,
picking up only on those things that are important to them.
Repetition is the key word here. For frequency, it's much better to
advertise regularly in small spaces than it is to have a one-time
expensive advertising extravaganza.