Media Plan

SBM 338

Lanny Wilke

Some Basic Concepts and Terms

Media planning – the series of decisions involved in delivering the promotional message to prospective purchasers and/or users of the product or brand.

Media plan – guide for media selectionRequires development of specific

media objectives and media strategies

Medium – the general category of available delivery systems.Broadcast mediaPrint mediaDirect mailOutdoor advertising

Media vehicle – magazines or shows

Reach – a measure of the number of different audience members exposed at least once to a media vehicle in a given period of time. (actual audience)

Coverage – the potential audience Frequency – the number of times the

receiver is exposed to the media vehicle in a specified period.

Problems in Media Planning

Insufficient information Inconsistent terminologies Time pressures Difficulty measuring effectiveness

Market Analysis & Target Market Identification

To Whom Shall We Advertise? Index number – good indicator of the

potential of the market.

Percentage of users

in a demographic segment Index = X 100

Percentage of population

in the same segment

Index number over 100 –use of product is proportionately greater in that segment than in one that is average or less. 100 is average.

Index is useful but should not be used alone.Simmons and MRI

Demographic, geographic & psychographic info.

What Internal & External Factors are Operating?

Internal factorsSize of the media budgetManagerial & administrative

capabilitiesThe organization of the agency

External factorsThe economyChanges in technologyCompetitive factors

Deciding Where to Promote

Relates to geographic considerations

Using indexes to determine where to promoteSurvey of buying power index

Published annually by Sales & Marketing Management magazine.

Brand development index (BDI) Helps marketers factor the rate

of product usage by geographic area.

Percentage of brand to total U.S. sales in the marketBDI =

X 100Percentage of total U.S. population in the market

Category development index (CDI)Computed in the same manner as

the BDI, except it uses info regarding the product category.

Provides info on the potential for development of the total product category rather than specific brands.

Establishing Media Objectives

Designed to lead to the attainment of communications and marketing objectives.

Goals for the media program. Limited to those that can be accomplished through media strategies.

Developing & Implementing Media Strategies

The media mix Target market coverage

FullPartialOverexposure (waste coverage)

Geographic coverage

SchedulingContinuity – a continuous pattern

of advertisingFlighting – employs a less regular

schedule, with intermittent periods of advertising & nonadvertising

Pulsing – a combination of the first two. Continuity is maintained, but at certain times, promotional efforts are stepped up.

Additional Scheduling Patterns

Bursting – running the same commercial every half hour on the same network during prime time.

Roadblocking – buying air time on all three networks simultaneously.

Blinking – flood the airwaves to make it virtually impossible to miss the ads.

Reach Versus Frequency

How much reach is necessary? What frequency level is needed? Establishing Reach & Frequency

ObjectivesUnduplicated reachDuplicated reachPotential reach – program rating

Using gross ratings points (GRPs)Based on the total audience the

media schedule may reach.Uses a duplicated reach estimate.Does not measure actual reach.GRP = Reach X Frequency

Using Target Rating Points (TRPs)The number of people in the

primary target market the media buy will reach – and the number of times.

Does not include waste.

Determining effective reachRepresents the percentage of a

vehicle’s audience reached at each effective frequency increment.

Advertisers have concluded that three exposures are required for an ad to have an impact.

More than 10 is considered overexposure.

Creative Aspects and Mood

Creative aspectsA strong creative campaign can

increase product success but must employ a medium that will support that strategy.

MoodCertain media enhance the

creativity of a message because they create a mood that carries over to the communication.

Flexibility

Flexibility may be needed to address the following:Market opportunitiesMarket threatsAvailability of mediaChanges in media or media

vehicles

Characteristics of Media

TelevisionAdvantages Disadvantages

Mass coverage

High reach

Impact of sight, sound, and motion

High prestige

Low cost per exposure

Attention getting

Favorable image

Low selectivity

Short message life

High absolute cost

High production costs

Clutter

Part 2 – Media Budget