Tag: Media Planning & Management Mumbai University BMS Notes

Television has often been referred to as the ideal advertising medium, and to many people it personifies the glamour and excitement of the industry. Radio, on the other hand, does not enjoy much of a respect from many advertisers. Dominated by network programming and national advertisers before the growth of TV, radio has evolved into a primarily local advertising medium.

Radio advertising sales represent the sale of airtime on local radio organizations, typically to local businesses and nonprofit organizations. This type of advertising is one of the oldest forms of business advertising. Different factors can affect radio advertising sales made to businesses, and many of these factors depend on the local market and radio station. These factors include time of advertisements, competition with other stations, types of advertisements available and cost of advertisements. Other economic factors might result in times of greater or lesser sales, just like with any other business.

Factors:

Radio Advertising Cost 1: Time and frequency

The time of day and frequency of playing your ad are important factors for radio advertising costs.

Time

A 15-second ad played during prime hours may cost the same as a 60-second ad played outside of peak periods. Keep in mind the morning and evening hours are more expensive than airtime in the middle of the day since many listeners turn on their radios during their commute.

Because the size of the radio audience changes drastically during the day, the radio rates will reflect the number of listeners you are expected to reach at any given time. For instance, during the midday, or from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., there may be few employed listeners tuning in to the radio station. This situation is because many people do not listen to the radio while at work.

The best airtimes to maximize the size of your audience are from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. After this hour, people tend to switch to television time. Note that radio stations often provide their audience data when you enquire about the slot you are interested in taking.

Aside from the time slot, another factor that may cause a price surge is when there are events in your area, such as festivals or elections. Many companies or candidates may want to advertise during these times, so expect to shell out extra money during these times.

Frequency

Another factor that will affect your radio advertising costs is the frequency of playing your ad. The key to a successful ad campaign is consistency. If your target audience only hears your ad once, it may not stick in their mind. If you want to engage current and future customers, your ad should run regularly over a suitable period of time. This tip will not only lead to increased foot traffic but also improved social media statistics.

Most brands use the 21/52 strategy, which specifies that your ad should run 21 times per week throughout the year. By following this, you will have around 1,100 opportunities to connect with your audience in the span of one year.

Radio Advertising Cost 2: The Market

One of the major factors that can affect your radio advertising costs is the radio market size of your preferred station. This consideration covers the surrounding area and communities, as well as the households and listeners that tune in to a particular station.

If you run a marketing campaign in large cities such as New York, expect to pay a higher fee compared to fees in a small town. When a radio station has a broader reach, this larger audience commands higher advertising costs.

Radio Advertising Cost 3: Ad quality

When it comes to your radio advertising costs, you get what you pay for. This factor is not only true when it comes to the time slot, but also your radio ad quality. The efficiency of the production, creative side, copy, and even call to action of your radio ad will significantly impact its effectiveness in urging customers to act. Your radio ad should be consistent across all marketing channels. So, it is highly recommended that you invest in hiring experienced professionals that can tailor your ads perfectly to your goals and vision.

Radio Advertising Cost 4: Regional rates

You may run your radio ad on local stations and pay less because they do not have the same number of listeners compared to a national radio station. If you have a small local business, there is no need to invest in national exposure. You just have to shoulder the flat rate of the local radio advertising costs. Because of this, you can run radio ads even if you’re on a tight budget.

Radio Advertising Cost 5: Negotiating Factors

When considering radio advertising costs, what you see isn’t always what you get. In other words, keep in mind that prices can be negotiable. For example, a local radio station might give you a larger discount if you commit to running an ad for a longer period.

Advantages of Radio Advertising

Radio has many advantages over other media, including cost and efficiency, selectivity, flexibility, mental imagery, integrated marketing opportunities etc. Some of the important ones are listed as under:

Selectivity: Another major advantage of radio is the high degree of audience selectivity available through the various program formats and geographic coverage of the numerous stations. Radio lets companies focus their advertising on specialized audiences such as certain demographic and lifestyle groups. Most areas have radio stations, which format such programs as adult contemporary, classical music, news, talk shows, top 20, to name a few. Some of the radio programs are meant exclusively for women and children. This provides radio geographic selectivity as well as target audience selectivity.

Cost and efficiency: One of the main strengths of radio as an advertising medium is its low-cost. Radio commercials are very inexpensive to produce. They require only a script of the commercial to be read by the radio announcers or a copy of the pre-recorded message that can be broadcast by the station. The cost for radio time is also low. The low cost of radio means advertisers can build more reach and frequency into their media schedule within a certain budget. Radio commercials can be produced more quickly than TV spots, and the companies can run them more often.

Flexibility: Radio is probably the most flexible of all the advertising media because it has a very short closing period, which means advertisers can change their message almost up to the time it goes on the air. Radio commercials can usually be produced and scheduled on a very short notice. Radio advertisers can easily adjust their messages to local market conditions and marketing situations.

Mental imagery: A potential advantage of radio that is often overlooked is that it encourages listeners to use their imagination when processing a commercial message. While the creative options of radio are limited, many advertisers take advantage of the absence of a visual element to let consumers create their own picture of what is happening in the radio message. Radio may also reinforce television messages through a technique called image transfer, where the images of a TV commercial are implanted into a radio spot. The idea is that when consumers hear the radio message, they will make the connection to a TV commercial, reinforcing its video images. Image transfer offers advertisers a way to make radio and TV ads work together synergistically.

Widest possible geographic coverage: Radio can and does reach almost every where, in India. Even at those places, where there is no television connectivity, people cannot read and write, still, they do have a radio or a transistor with the help of which they connect themselves with the rest of the world. This makes radio a truly mass media.

Mobility: Radio is extremely mobile. It follows the listener’s from room to room, goes to the beach, and rides in the car. There are few places it cannot go. It can even follow workers to their place of business.

Integrated marketing opportunities: Radio provides marketers with a variety of integrated marketing opportunities. Radio stations become an integral part of many communities, and the DJs and program hosts may become popular figures. Advertisers often use radio stations and personalities to enhance their involvement with a local market and to gain influence with their local retailers. Radio also works very effectively in conjunction with place-based/point-of-purchase promotions. Retailers often use onsite radio broadcasts, combined with special sales or promotions to attract consumers to their stores and get them to make a purchase. Live radio broad casts are also used in conjunction with events marketing.

Mass appeal: Radio as a medium is good for people from all the backgrounds, whether they are rich or poor, literate or illiterate, from every religion, caste, creed, or sex.

Sales promotion schemes: Radio is a very effective medium for the introduction of a new product, or a special announcement or for the promotion of a new sales promotion incentive.

Audio element: It depends solely on the spoken words in human voice. Listeners can hear the programs and the commercials, while doing other things such as driving a car or doing other household work. The touch of human voice also adds to the reception of radio commercials. Human voice has a warmth and persuasiveness in conveying a message that can be most effective. So, radio commercials call for least effort on the part of the target audience to listen to the commercials and get the message across.

Limitations of Radio Advertising

Several factors limit the effectiveness of radio as an advertising medium, among them, creative limitations, fragmentation, chaotic buying procedures, limited research data, limited listener attention, and clutter. Media planner must consider them in determining the role the medium will play in the advertising program.

Fragmentation: Another problem with radio is the high level of audience fragmentation due to the large number of stations. The percentage of the market tuned to any particular station is usually very small. The top-rated radio station in many major metropolitan areas with a number of AM and FM stations may attract less than 10 percent of the total listening audience. Advertisers that want a broad reach in their radio advertising media schedule have to buy time on a number of stations to cover even a local market.

Creative limitations: A major drawback of radio as an advertising medium is the absence of a visual image. The radio advertiser cannot show the product, demonstrate it, or use any type of visual appeal or information. A radio commercial is, like a TV ad, a short lived and fleeting message that is externally placed and does not allow receiver to control the rate at which it is processed. Because of these creative limitations, many companies tend to ignore radio, and agencies often assign junior people to the development of radio commercials.

Limited research data: Audience research data on radio are often limited, particularly compared with TV, magazines, or newspapers. Most radio stations are small operators and lack the revenue to support detailed studies of their audiences. And most users of radio are local companies that cannot support research on radio listenership in their markets. Thus, media planners do not have as much audience information available to guide them in their purchase of radio time as they do with other media.

Clutter: Clutter is just as much a problem with radio as with other advertising media. Most radio stations carry an average of nearly 10 minutes of commercials every hour. During the popular morning and evening rush hours, the amount of commercial time may exceed to 12 minutes. Also contributing to the clutter problem is the practice of some stations to offer “commercial-free” blocks of music to attract listeners.

Limited listener attention: Another problem that affects radio is that it is difficult to retain listener attention to commercials. Radio programming, particularly music, is often the background to some other activity and may not receive the listeners’ full attention. Thus, they may miss some or all of the commercials. One environment where radio has a more captive audience is in cars. But getting listeners to pay attention to commercials can still be difficult.

Transient Quality: Radio, like any time medium, is fleeting. The message is not available for reference or for rereading.

Keeping your finger on the pulse of your competition is one of the best ways to learn what works and what doesn’t. How successful are they in using certain channels? Chances are, they’re after the same demographic you are, right? Learn from them and make yours better.

Digital trends come and go. Instagram and Vine were extremely useful for many brands, but that doesn’t mean they were right for yours. Hang back and see what works for others before you spend money that could be wasteful.

Once you understand the pros and cons to various media, you can better determine what is right for your target consumer. Print ads in the paper will probably never be seen by a millennial, for example, who goes first to digital content. Whereas a baby boomer may not catch that Pinterest ad you’re running. Research, investigate, test. Then you’ll determine the right mix for your campaign.

Honest considerations about your product and brand.

• Budget carefully. Figure out how much money you’re working with. This will help you narrow down and prioritize the channels that will give you the best ROI.
• But know that just spending lots of money won’t automatically bring high results. The most important factor weighing on your campaign is the message. Invest in good branding and writing so that your ads have substance.
• Understand and define your product, brand, and value proposition. This will help you craft a message that speaks to who you are.
• Know your audience. Know not just who they are and where they shop, but also what they value so that your message reflects those same values.
• Know where your competitors are advertising. This can give you an indication of where you yourself may get the best ROI.
• Set realistic goals and then measure them. There’s no better way to refine your marketing strategy than by monitoring your results and implementing the findings on future campaigns.

Strategy:

Find the Right Media Mix

Using multiple advertising mediums to promote your products and services is often a great idea for a campaign, but it’s important to get that mix right. Different combinations work better with different audiences. It’s essential that you understand your target audience to determine what media mix to use to use. The choices you make in your media strategy will determine how successful you are with your advertising strategy.

Here are two key thoughts for guidance with your eventual media mix:

1) Defining your target audience with a reasonable amount of certainty.

2) Backing up your choices of media with accurate and current data of your audience’s media consumption habits.

Define the target audience

Defining the target audience for your product or service should take into account basic demographic data like gender, income, age, location and education levels. You should also know who are likely customers for your offering. Your team can develop customer personas to further drill down on your likely target audience types.

Use good data to choose media targets

Collecting more data on your target audience increases your opportunities to see relevant media matches, across formats, platforms and time zones. This should be clean data. This data can include organic research, industry research, competitor audits and more. Learning how to gather, analyze and effectively use data is one of the most important tools in any digital marketer’s toolkit.

Check the data from media viewing research sites including comScore, Nielsen, and local network affiliates, depending on your product or service. Collect specific data on gender, income, and region. Using the right data can provide the insight needed to boost engagement among target audiences and increase return on investment (ROI).

Omnichannel approach

Marketers are increasingly adopting an omnichannel approach to online advertising. Instead of narrowly focusing on a few niche channels, advertisers are going wide across the board. This means using retargeting, web ads, email marketing, online display ads, direct mail, social media ad programs, and pay-per-click channels to gain the attention of online customers.

The ultimate goal in an omnichannel approach is to spread the touches with your customers. The more times they see your ads, the more attention you can bring to your product or service

Use different media effectively

Maybe your budget doesn’t allow for for a wide omnichannel approach. Maybe your target audience stays glued to YouTube sports clips every evening. You’ll find this out by analyzing the YouTube viewer data for your preferred target customer. If that’s the case, you can concentrate a portion of your ad spend on this particular platform.

Actual selection of the best medium or media for particular advertiser will depend on variables like specific situation or circumstances under which he is carrying on his business, the market conditions, the marketing programme and the peculiarities of each medium of advertising.

Strictly speaking, there is no one best medium/media for all similar units. What is “best” is decided by unique individual circumstances. However, in general, the following factors govern the choice of an advertising media.

The problem of selection of the best medium or media for a particular advertiser will vary greatly, depending on the particular situation, circumstances and different other factors in which a person is conducting individual business. Media selection involves a basic understanding of the capabilities and costs of the major media. The problems which the advertising has to face in the selection of media are:

• Profile of the target market
• Coverage or exposure
• Frequency
• Continuity
• Impact
• Copy formulation
• Media cost and media availability.

In addition to these problems there are a number of other major factors which influence the decision of the advertiser and therefore, the same must be considered while selecting the media. The most significant of these factors are:

• Objectives of the campaign
• Budget available
• Research concerning client
• The product
• Type of message or selling appeal
• Relative cost
• Clutter
• The potential market
• Miscellaneous factors.

Factors Governing the Choice:

The nature of product:

A product that is needed by all will encourage mass media like print, broadcast, telecast, outdoor and the like. A product needing demonstration warrants television and screen advertising. Industrial products find favour of print media than broadcast media. Products like cigarettes, wines and alcohols are never advertised on radio, television and screen.

Potential market:

The aim of every advertising effort is to carry on the ad message to the prospects economically and effectively. This crucial task rests in identification of potential market for the product in terms of the number of customers, geographic spread, income pattern, age group, tastes, likes and dislikes and the like.

If the message is to reach the people with high income group, magazine is the best. If local area is to be covered, newspaper and outdoor advertising are of much help. If illiterate folk is to be approached, radio, television and cinema advertising are preferred.

The type of distribution strategy:

The advertising coverage and the distribution system that the company has developed have direct correlation. Thus, there is no point in advertising a product if it is not available in these outlets where he normally buys. Similarly, the advertiser need not use national media if not supported by nationwide distribution network.

The advertising objectives:

Though the major objective of every company is to influence the consumer behaviour favourably, the specific objectives may be to have local or regional or national coverage to popularize a product or a service or the company to create primary or secondary demand to achieve immediate or delayed action to maintain the secrets of the house.

If it wants immediate action, direct or specialty advertising fitting most. If national coverage is needed, use television and news-paper with nationwide coverage.

The type of selling message:

It is more of the advertising requirements that decide the appropriate choice. The advertisers may be interested in appealing the prospects by colour advertisements. In that case, magazine, film, television, bill- boards, bulletin boards serve the purpose.

If the timeliness is the greater concern, one should go in for news-paper, radio, posters. If demonstration is needed there is nothing like television and screen media. If new product is to be introduced, promotional advertising is most welcome.

The budget available:

A manufacturer may have a very colourful and bold plan of advertising. He may be dreaming of advertising on a national television net-work and films. If budget does not allow, then he is to be happy with a low budget media like his news-paper and outdoor advertising.

Instead of colour print in magazine, he may be forced to go in for black and white. Thus, it is the resource constraints that decide the choice.

Competitive advertising:

A shrewd advertiser is one who studies carefully the moves of his competitor or competitors as to the media selected and the pattern of expenditure portrayed. Meticulous evaluation of media strategy and advertising budget paves way for better choice.

It is because, whenever a rival spends heavily on a particular medium or media and has been successful, it is the outcome of his experience and tactics. However, blind copying should be misleading and disastrous.

Media availability:

The problem of media availability is of much relevance because; all the required media may not be available at the opportune time. This is particularly true in case of media like radio and television; so is the case with screen medium. Thus, non-availability of a medium or a media poses a new challenge to the media planners and the people advertising industry. It is basically an external limit than the internal constraint.

Characteristics of media:

Media characteristics differ widely and these differences have deep bearing on the choice of media vehicle.

These characteristics are:

• Coverage
• Reach
• Cost
• Consumer confidence
• Frequency

‘Coverage’ refers to the circulation or the speed of the message provided by the media vehicle. Larger the coverage, greater the chances of message exposure to the audiences. Advertisers prefer the media vehicles with largest coverage for the amount spent.

The vehicles like radio, television, news-papers, magazines and cinema are of this kind; on the other hand, direct advertising and outdoor advertising are known for local coverage. ‘Reach’ is the vehicle’s access to different individuals or homes over a given period of time.

It refers to readership, listenership and viewership. It is the actual number reading than the persons buying or owning these.

For instance, one need not own a television set to have advertising message so also a news-paper and a magazine. ‘Relative cost’ refers to the amount of money spent on using a particular vehicle. It is one that involves inter vehicle and medium cost analysis and comparison.

This cost is expressed with reference to the time and the space bought, in case of news-papers, it is milline rate; in case of magazine, it is rate per thousand readers; in case of radio and television, it is per thousand listeners or viewers per minute and ten seconds. ‘Consumer confidence’ refers to the confidence placed in the medium by the consumers.

This consumer credibility of a vehicle is important because, credibility of advertising message is depending on it. Speaking from this point of view, news-papers and magazines enjoy high degree of credibility than radio and television commercials.

Outdoor medium is considered the least credible. ‘Frequency’ refers to the number of times an audience is reached in a given period of time.

Limited frequency makes little or no impression on the target audience. Thus, news-papers, television, radio and outdoor media are known for highest frequency while, magazine, screen, display and direct advertising the lowest.

In a nut-shell, the advertiser, to get the best results for the money spent and the efforts put in, should consider all the above nine factors that govern selection of a medium or media and media vehicle. Media selection is a matter of juggling, adjusting, tailoring, filling, revising and reworking to match to his individual situation.

The concept of Mass Communication entails the transmission of messages to a large number of assorted, heterogenous people who are anonymous. These recipients or receivers of the messages delivered through the process of Mass communication are also called the Audience.

The term Mass Media Audience is often identified by the choice of Media made by the Audience. For instance the Audience of a ‘Newspaper’ includes the readers of a Newspaper; the audience of a particular Author or a series of books like Harry Potter, are its readers from all across the world; the audience of an FM channel on Radio or a given Radio Station are its listeners who regularly tune into the channel; The audience of a given Television Channel or a News Channel are those who watch the particular channel or serial from all across the world; the same applies in todays context for OTT content (Over the Top Content) like Netflix and Amazon Prime, Hotstar, etc which are accessible on your mobiles or your laptops, etc. The audience downloads these apps for a price and starts watching programmes, movies or series of serials which are available for them on these applications.

The Mass Media Audience is often characterised by the term Mass which enumerates how a Mass Audience is. The term Mass can be identified here as a large number of people who are heterogenous, assorted and anonymous in nature.

‘Large’ here would mean a relatively big audience or people who are many in number. However, it does not include everyone. People have their own choices in the consumption of Mass mediated messages. The Mass Media audience could be a small community with a thousand listeners or a large audience with billions glued to watching the Football World Cup finals.

‘Assorted’ here would mean a varied lot. Mass Media Channels have a huge audience but they are often assorted and spread out. They need not always be accumulated in the same place. The audience for a particular Media channel can differ not just from place to place but even in the precincts of a house. For instance, the children in the house may only prefer to watch cartoons on a particular channel, however, the parents may want to watch news, sports or any other tele-serial. The audience is scattered. Children in different homes from all across India may be watching a particular cartoon. Due to satellite Technology, this serial could even have an audience across countries. They may or may not be from a particular geographical context. They are assorted and from different places. However, for a Mass Media channel like a Community Radio, the audience is normally a particular community of people to whom the channel caters.

As Marco Dohle (2008) writes on the topic ‘Audience’ in the book, ‘The international Encyclopedia of Communication- Vol 1’ Contrary to the traditional Audience, the mass media Audience is not assembled where the received contents take place or are produced. The audience of Mass media is dispersed: as a general rule, the individual audience members are spatially separated from each other or, at the most, assembled only in small groups (Co-viewing). The members of an audience do not know or see each other; they do not communicate with each other either. However, they are aware that they are not the only recipients of mass media content, but that co- audience exists.

‘Heterogeneous’ here would mean that the audience includes different types of people. A Mass Media channel may have viewers from rich or poor backgrounds, educated or uneducated based on the content, it could be youth or adults, bureaucrats or ordinary middle- class family members.

‘Anonymous’ would mean that the audience is nameless and unspecified.  While analysis can predict the number of hits a channel gets or the popularity a particular serial or book garners, once cannot identify the specific characteristic of every individual audience member. You may identify the place in which your audience exists but you will not be able to identify the person by his or her name. The Audience is Anonymous.

However, in some cases, in todays digital arena where the Mobiles have people’s identity registered, it is easier to recognise the Audience from the details fed into the App.

Another factor that accompanies the Mass Media Audience member is the fact that a particular Mass Media Consumer can be part of the News Paper audience, an avid book reader, and a particular tele-serial follower at the same time. Which means such a person categorises as an audience for a newspaper as much as he or she categorises as a book reader or a Particular tele serial audience.

Media Reach

The owners and producers of the mass media conceive the total population whom their communications can reach. The signals of All India Radio are available to about 95 per cent of the population living in about 85 per cent of the country’s area.

So, the total population of India may be treated as audience for All India Radio. Similarly, Doordarshan can claim more than 80 per cent of the population as its audience because its signals can reach that many people. For a newspaper, audience would be defined in terms of all individuals who are within the distribution range of the papers. For a cable TV system, the audience reach will include all residents within the wired area.

Media Access

Mass media may be available but the capacity or willingness tome the media may not be there. A large section of the population does not have the radio receivers or television sets. Thus, only those who own the radio sets may be treated as audiences of All India Radio. But access may not overlap ownership. In fact, there are many people who watch television programmes at the houses of neighbours or friends or in community centres. Groups watching a popular television programme at a television shop is a common sight.

Media Exposure

Everyone who has access to radio or television does not necessarily use them. In a family that subscribes to a newspaper, everyone does not read it. So only these individuals who actually expose themselves to the media are the media audiences.

Media Effects Another way to think about audiences is in terms of individuals who have been exposed to mass communication products and have undergone a change in their knowledge, opinions, attitude or behaviour. A person may not recall anything of the information received after listening or watching a news Programme. The same person, after watching an advertisement, may immediately rash to buy the advertised product. Voters generally do not change their voting preference after listening to election broadcasts by the representatives of political parties.

Mass Media Audience and the Social Context

The Social Context also plays an important role in defining some of the Audiences. Particular serials in particular languages or dialects or cultures are often aimed at a particular audience. McQuail says, “Actual audiences were shown to consist of many overlapping networks of social relations based on locality and common interests, and the mass media were incorporated into these networks in different ways. Many Media operate in local environments and are embedded in local cultures. Since most people make their own media choices freely, they do not feel manipulated by remote powers.”

The audience may be large and assorted, but may follow similar cultural contexts. For instance, some serials that are popular in the Hindi language in India are often dubbed in other languages for people’s consumption across India. And these have a varied Indian Audience who just the same identify with the Indian culture and its practices and context.

As McQuail says, “Audiences are both a product of social context, (which leads to shared cultural interests. Understandings and information needs) and a response to a particular pattern of media provision. Often, they are both at the same time, as when a medium sets out to appeal to the members of a social category or the residents of a certain place. Media use also reflects broader patterns of time use, availability, lifestyle and everyday routines”.

A Targeted ‘Mass Media Audience’

Another important factor, that one should remember is that Mass Media Content is often made keeping in mind a target audience. For instance, Harry Porter series was a huge craze among children and teens. Cartoons like Mickey Mouse or Duck tales are meant for Kids. In case of Mass Media like Television or Radio, we need to understand that Tele- serials are made keeping in mind the Audience of the place the serial is aired. Or the Music aired on particular Radio Channels are aimed at particular audiences.

Audience as Market

The Audience and its receptivity of a particular Media product decides the fate of that product. Thus, before producing a product or making a product for general consumption of the people, a lot of hard work and Money is spent on Target Analysis and ‘Audience Research’. Secondly, if a particular Media product has a huge audience, the Advertisement revenue garnered for this serial is also big. Which would mean, the audience is actually compelled to see a particular Advertisement, due to the popularity of the serial. We are prospective consumers being doled out to an Advertisement company for the sale of their products.

Keval J. Kumar (2010) in his book ‘Mass Communication in India’ says, “The primary objective of market research is to provide advertisers and advertising agencies with quantitative data about the access and exposure of selected (segmented) audiences to the various mass media or to their various components. Armed with such ‘reliable’ data (believed to be ‘scientifically’ collected), advertisers can ‘slot’ their advertising spots in newspapers or magazines with the highest readership among audiences that have a good purchasing power (often termed ‘target audience’) or on the radio or TV programmes which have the highest rating or even on websites, search engines, blogs and social networks hat have the highest number of ‘page-views’, ‘hits’ or ‘click throughs’.”

McQuail puts it rightly in his book ‘Mass communication theory,’ “In an innovative and sophisticated move, the Canadian Dallas Smythe gave birth to the theory that audiences actually work for advertisers (thus for their ultimate oppressors). They do so by giving their free time to watch media, which labour is then sold by the media to advertisers as a new kind of; commodity.’ The whole system of commercial television and the press rests on this extraction of surplus value from an economically exploited Audience. The same audience has to pay yet again for its media, by way of the extra cost added to the advertised goods.”

Growth in the definition of the concept Mass media ‘Audience’

Thus, Mass Media Audience which was once relegated to town halls, theaters, stages and forums of rhetoric in different parts of the world has today become a diversified concept. In India too, this concept has existed over a period of centuries, where there has been preaching and talk, dance and folk dance performances, folk lore and folk art have drawn mass audiences in a time when Mass communication using mass media did not exist.

The concept of Audience was initially considered to be those who entered a hall to hear a talk or watch a Live performance, etc. It was with the arrival of the Mass Media, especially the Printing press, the radio and the television in the second half of the nineteenth and the early twentieth century, that the concept of a Mass Media Audience began getting defined.

In the words of McQuail (1997), one can’t speak of a “Mass media audience” before the circulation of printed- books and their use by a reading public at the end of the sixteenth century.

In the twenty-first century, the concept of Audiences has gone through a drastic change. Digitised content, the internet and the world wide web, has led to the Audience no more remaining passive in their behavior. The mediatisation of daily life where, people are buying, reading, shopping, banking, and interacting online has transformed the concept of Audience and its feedback. Audiences are responding, giving feedbacks, and are reciprocating to Mass Media content. The ‘Online’ world is virtual, large and perhaps unidentifiable but none the less, it is for real.

The social networking forums where Media content gets displayed has active audience interactions. Audience’s comment, are free to like or dislike and state their grievances on different forums. While there may be blocks, today’s audience finds its own way of sending its message loud and clear. The advertisers too are making drastic move towards online audiences with the huge increase in the number of people who are active online.

Various Categories Of Media Audiences

• The Mass Audience represents the dominant majority in a society. They are relatively average people. Mass audience represents almost all segments of the society.
• The Elite Audience comprises of highly educated people and their number in the society in relatively small.
• The Specialized Audience refers to the special interest groups in the society.
• The Interactive Audience consists of those who have control over the communication process in a society. They may be newspapers journalists or Radio or TV broadcasters.

Media mix is used to refer that the combination of communications channels which is used for the purpose of advertising particular goods or services by any particular business entities. The main objective of the media mix is to help the businesses in meeting up with the various marketing objectives.

Typically, these include newspapers, radio, television, billboards, websites, email, direct mail, the Internet and social media, such as Facebook or Twitter. Combining these channels in a media mix enables you to communicate in the most effective way with different types of customers and prospects at different stages of the purchase decision, according to Entrepreneur.

Integrated Media Work Harder

The components of a media mix are more effective when they are integrated. The benefit of an integrated campaign is that the media mix is more effective when the components work together and communicate consistent messages each time, according to MMC Learning. In practical terms, that means using the same creative themes and marketing messages across all elements of your media mix. Prospects viewing an advertisement, website page, direct mail piece or product guide from an integrated campaign would receive consistent messages, with each element of the mix reinforcing the others.

Right Message to the Right Audience

An effective media mix delivers the right marketing message to your customers and prospects at the lowest cost and with minimal waste. If you want to reach a consumer audience across the country, you might use a media mix that includes national newspapers, radio or television. If you wanted to reach a specific group of business decision-makers, such as technical directors, your mix might include specialist business magazines or exhibitions aimed at those directors. To reach a small number of key executives who influence a major purchasing decision, you might include personalized direct mail or an executive briefing session in your mix.

Aligning Media Mix With Buying Stages

Entrepreneur notes that the emphasis in the media mix changes at different stages in the buying cycle. When prospects are looking for information, they may read publications covering their interests, search websites, visit trade shows or check product review sites. So, it’s important that you have information in the places they are likely to visit. The emphasis in your media mix would be on raising awareness through advertisements, press releases, product pages on your website, participation in trade shows or comments on social media.

When prospects have expressed an interest in your products, you can use a different media mix to nurture them and move them toward a buying decision. The mix at this stage might include email offering detailed product information, a seminar or a customized sales proposal.

Fine-Tuning the Mix

Analytical tools are available to assess your media mix and improve the results you achieve. These tools identify the strengths and weaknesses of your marketing programs and your media mix. By demonstrating how changes in the mix can affect results, the tools help you to reallocate your budgets and create a better mix to improve marketing performance.

Advantages

• It helps the marketers in understanding the latest marketing trend that is going on in the market.
• Its take into account various external factors which makes it an effective tool for planning of the budget.
• It also helps in formulating a better strategy so that more and more people can get encouraged to buy the product.

Disadvantages of media mix

The disadvantage of them is that it is not able to provide gradual and person level insight which one important factor on which most of the modern marketers truly rely on. This way the media missing dens did not help in measuring the digital and the traditional form of marketing ROI when combined together.

It is a very powerful strategy to help advertise a product or any service that is being newly launched in the market.  The only things that should be taken care of are that it should be prepared by first researching well.

Usage of media mix

It is majorly used in the marketing industry. It is considered to be one of the masters marketing strategies and should be inculcated by all the businesses that are planning to grow at a rapid rate and survive in the industry for the longest time.  The media mix is used by all kinds of companies be it a new startup or a small company to any really big and well-established company.

Media mixing is a selling strategy which is compulsory for all. it is used by these companies to select the right kind of advertising channels that will help them advertise their products as many people as possible.

Thus, there is plenty of usage of the media mixing and when it is used with the right kind of approach will help the companies to generate a lot so sales revenue and profit.

Importance of media mix

It is a powerful media to help advertise the goods and services of a particular business entity so that its sales revenue and profit can grow at a rapid rate.  The importance of the media mix can be stated from the fact that if it is used in the right manner, the companies are able to deliver exactly the same kind of message that they want to.

It prospects lower cost and minimum waste. it holds importance as it lets the company reach to even those parts of the locations which are quite separated from the rest of the world.

No to reach for a particular ours which includes all kinds of decisions makers, the technical analyst then it is possible for the media mix to consist of business magazines and even a few of the exhibition which is entirely aimed at those directors. Also, it helps in reaching a small segment of the population which can be done by contacting the customers via personalized email and even an executive session in the media mix.

Also, a well-planned media mix helps in strengthening the media channel so that more and more people can get influenced.  The media mix helps in coordinating creativity with the right kind of timing and an apt frequency.

This creates a powerful impact on the demographic and encourages them to purchase the goods or the services that are being advertised. The media mix is also important because it does not remain fixed with time.

It understands the need for continues changes that people are going through and hence is adjustable according to the demand of the time. Also for a media mix to be effective is essential that continuous research is done and progressive changes are eking made to keep in touch with the latest trends and create an impact on the masses.

Print media advertising is a form of advertising that uses physically printed media, such as magazines and newspapers, to reach consumers, business customers and prospects. Advertisers also use digital media, such as banner ads, mobile advertising, and advertising in social media, to reach the same target audiences. The proliferation of digital media has led to a decline in advertising expenditure in traditional print media, but print isn’t dead.

Print advertisements are only effective when people see them. When people browse through newspapers and publications, these advertisements should grab the attention of the potential customer. Therefore, these advertisements should be created in such a manner that they can hold the attention of the customer to some extent. Usually, a team of individuals is required in order to design the advertisements.

The newspaper or magazine ad should be such that it should compel people to spend money on the products. This is just what the advertising team does. To create such an ad, the team members work on a concept and develop the wordings and images of the ad. These wordings and images are then brought together to form the final ad. Then there are people who deal with the placement of the ad. They have to make sure that if the client has paid for premium place, they get the desired exposure. For example, an ad on the first page will get instant attention of the reader than the ad on the subsequent pages. Likewise, an ad which occupies greater space is likely to get more attention. All these factors have to be looked into while designing the ad.

Factors Affecting Selection of Print Media Decisions

Class of the audience: Firstly, the advertiser must note the class of the audience to be influenced by the medium. The audience can be classified into different groups by their social status, age, income, educational standard, religion, cultural interests. They may also be divided into men and women.

Extent of coverage: Secondly, the advertiser must consider the number of audiences to be covered by the medium. Every media has a general as well as an effective circulation. The general circulation is made up of the total number of people who read or subscribe to the media. The effective circulation is the number prospective customers who read it and the number of those who influences sales, though they may not buy for themselves. Effective circulation must be considered while estimating the number of people to be covered. The extent to which the medium reaches the same audience as that covered by some other media i.e., the percentage of over-lapping must also be taken into account.

Nature of the product: Nature of the product itself is a principal factor governing the selection of the medium. Products can be classified into various kinds; consumer’s products and manufacturer’s products etc.

Nature of the competition: The nature of the competition exerts greater influence of the selection of the media. If the competition is stiff utmost care is needed in the selection of medium and a larger advertising budget is also required. In many cases where the advertising copy is similar or the choice of the media solely determines the effectiveness of the campaign as compared with that of the other competitors.

Reputation of the medium: Newspapers and magazines can offer a beautiful illustration for the reputation of the media. There are a few newspapers and magazines which have international reputation with a high readership. Advertisements in such magazines and newspapers are generally recognized and believed as true. Such advertisements also add prestige to the product.

Cost of the media: Cost of the medium in most cases, is an important factor in the selection of the medium. Advertisements in certain media are expensive. For instance, TV and Radio advertisements. Magazines and newspaper advertisements are generally considered as less expensive. Yet, certain magazines and newspapers, having larger circulation and high reputation charge higher rates. The rates also differ depending upon the space occupied and the preferential positions. The first page of a newspaper is rarely missed by the reader. Hence, they have more attention value, than the advertisements presented anywhere inside the newspaper.

Time and location of buying decisions: The location of the audience and the time by which it should reach them must also be looked into. This consideration also enables the advertiser to keep his retail outlets in the proximity of the customers.

Newspaper Advertising. Newspaper reading is a common habit among most of the educated people. Besides daily newspapers, there are bi-weekly and weekly newspapers also Newspapers reach almost every place and are read by all kinds of people. Therefore, newspaper can be used as a medium of advertisement with great advantage. While selecting a newspaper for this purpose, an advertiser has to take into consideration the strength of circulation, the class of readers it serves, the geographical region over which it is popular, and the cost of space.

Magazine Advertising. Magazine or periodicals are an excellent medium of advertisement when a high quality of printing in colour is desired. Magazine advertisements can be directed towards a particular class of people. . Thus, marketers can avoid wasteful expenditure on advertising.

Magazine advertising is considered to be superior to newspaper advertising because of the following merits:

• Magazines are read more carefully and at greater leisure. Advertising through magazines is more effective.
• The life of the magazine advertisements is longer. Magazines are preserved for a long period of time and are read time and again.

Types of Print Media

Print media include those media of communication which are controlled by time. It can be read at any available time and can be kept for record. Following are the major print media of mass communication.

Book

It is most effective mass media. It is best source of education. It is best and cheapest means of storing and transmitting to others the records. It is best example of print mass media. By books people easily get information and knowledge

Newspaper

It is most effective and important media of mass communication. Its valuable services to the community like information, education, entertainment, record facility etc. It gives information to the people in the printed form. It is good example of print media

Magazine

It is most important print media of mass communication. It gives information to the people. In magazines people show their talent in the form of anything. it is predecessor of the daily newspaper.

Advantages

Higher Frequency of Viewing

One of the best benefits of print media is that it has a higher frequency opportunity of viewing than online ads. Since the newspaper or magazine may sit on a table or rack at a business or home, repeated exposures are allowed. Flyers, brochures, and other physical pieces are often reviewed multiple times and shared with other prospects. Unlike digital messaging, print media does not disappear after generating an impression. It piles up, creates clutter, and is thereby reviewed once more, even before recycling or discarding. Because of this long shelf life, you can benefit from having your ad seen by more people, more often.

Holds Readers’ Attention

If you’ve ever tried to read a lengthy article online, you’ll understand how much the digital age has nearly killed the human attention span. People surf the Internet with multiple tabs open, while texting their friends, and half-listening to the television in the background. With all this constant stimulation, it’s almost impossible to focus on a single thing for very long. That’s why print media is the better option for your advertising. Print readers cannot multitask while they are reading your magazine or newspaper. This means they can focus on what they see and be more receptive to the ads within the publication. This benefit of newspaper advertising is one of the reasons why so many big brands still post ads in print.

Flexibility

Print ads are amazing at allowing you to target your audience. You’re in full control of exactly what section of the newspaper or magazine you place your ad in, and you can do this based on information about where your audience is most likely to read. You can run your ad in specialty magazines related to your topic or in general papers that deliver to your geographic locations. You can also run your ad on a specific day of the week. You can tailor your campaigns to suit your budget by changing the size and colour of your ad. Even more, you will be working with a human being when you buy your ad space, so you won’t be at the mercy of an online algorithm that decides where your ads are seen. Print media provides you much more customization than digital ads.

Credibility Increases Reader Loyalty

Print publications are better able to increase reader loyalty because they are credible. Many people subscribe to magazines and newspapers because they understand and believe that the information provided to them is credible and accurate. Publishing an article in print takes a lot more effort than publishing something online. This is because you only have one chance to get every word and image right before it gets published. With online ads, you can go back in to change or tweak your ad and send it back out. Since there is this pressure on accuracy and credibility and print media, readers are more likely to trust this platform. This works to your advantage by generating leads and sales much easier. As an added benefit, this trustworthiness leads to better reader loyalty.

Control over Appearance

Another newspaper advertising advantage is that you can control the way it looks. You have complete power over the colours you use and the characteristics of the paper. Every aspect of typography, colour choices, graphics, and design allow you to create a presentation that meets the expectations of your prospects. Other types of media provide less control over these aspects. Digital media can be subject to operating systems and browser configurations, and television advertising only appears and sounds as good as the technology it is presented upon.

Encourages Action

When people use the Internet, they try to avoid ads at all cost. It’s easy to click the “X” button within seconds of an ad popping up on the screen it’s almost instantaneous. Online users hate ads. There are even apps designed to block ads from showing up on webpages. This isn’t the case with print media. Most print readers are motivated to take some form of action after viewing a magazine or newspaper ad. For example, ads for a local grocery chain product sale encourage customers to visit the store and buy the product right away, instead of waiting until they actually need it. The idea that the item, at such a good price, could go out of stock sends signals to the reader that they need to take immediate or soon action, so they don’t miss out.

More Accurate Targeting

It’s hard to know exactly whether print media or digital media are better at reaching a targeted audience. Print allows you to choose a publication that your target audience is most likely to read. This can be a trade magazine that caters to a specific industry or a local newspaper. This is why many say print is better at reaching local audiences. Print media allows you to advertise directly to your audience, by publishing your ad in magazines that rely on subscriptions. For example, if you sell gardening tools, you can post your ad in gardening and home magazines. Since digital ads can get lost on the Internet and are subject to algorithms, you can benefit from choosing a print media marketing solution. You have the time to better understand your target audience and specify your ad to appeal to them.

Sensory Experience

Some people simply enjoy the act of flipping through magazine pages, creating “dog ears” on the pages they want to turn back to, and carrying the information everywhere they go. When people wait at a doctor’s office, it’s second nature to pick up the magazine or newspaper on the front table and start reading. When people take a flight on an airplane, they often bring reading material to enjoy as they relax and try to get their mind off how high up they are. This sensory experience of touching the page of the ad is on improves the impact it has on consumers.

Limitations

Competition for attention is fierce: Research shows that Americans now engage with seven different types of information sources each day from print, TV and radio to online videos while spending one of every four minutes on a social media platform. Rather than fight this trend, savvy business owners work to ensure that their media mix covers all the opportunities available to them.

Print media requires multiple exposures: Consumers need to see an ad several times before they will take action. Marketing professionals call these exposures “touches.” This is why print ad buys are usually made in bundles for multiple exposures. Print media can quickly add up to be a costly proposition for the small business owner, which is why it’s imperative to select the different media carefully, so that you increase the chance of a return.

Print media requires longer lead times: The immediacy of social media has cast a brighter light on the meaning of the word “long.” Even if it’s not particularly well done, an ad can be written and posted on a social media platform within minutes. Competition has helped shorten lead times, but print ads must be written, produced and distributed. Knowing this, small business owners should plan accordingly, designating print media for messages that are less time-conscious in nature and are less likely to change at a moment’s notice.

• Requires multiple exposures
• Not for a global audience
• Requires a lot of planning
• Hard to target a specific audience
• Competition for attention is fierce
• Higher cost
• Requires longer lead times

Broad Media Classes

Video Advertising: Television & YouTube

On July 1st, 1941, the first-ever legal television advertisement was broadcast in the state of New York during a Brooklyn Dodgers versus Philadelphia Phillies game, which was on the screens of about 4,000 televisions. In the decades that followed, the popularity of television advertising swelled along with the popularity of mass marketing. Today, television is one of the most popular media channels for marketers, especially with the advent of connected TV advertising, which uses viewer data for more effective segmentation.

Audio Channels: Radio & Podcasts

While radio technology was developed during the 19th century, the commercial capabilities of radio broadcasts was not harnessed until 1912, where record companies supplied free music to broadcasters in exchange for mentioning which company provided the record. By the late 1920s, almost every U.S. radio station would play commercially sponsored programs. Today, traditional radio remains incredibly popular for listeners and advertisers alike and with the rise of internet radio, it appears this audio-only method of advertising will remain popular throughout the digital revolution.

Newspapers

Print mediums, such as newspapers, are one of the oldest media channels for advertisers in fact, newspaper advertisements predate brands. As literacy rates increased in the 16th century, advertisers in Italy, Germany, and Holland began publishing print advertisements in weekly gazettes.

Magazines (Print & Digital)

The first magazines were published in the late 1600s as a form of entertainment for the upper class, and often discussed matters of philosophy, culture, and lifestyle. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the middle class began desiring magazines, so publishers started selling ad space to offset exorbitant printing costs and expand their readership. By the 20th century, magazines were known for having distinct audiences and the option to purchase sizable ads in full color. In 2019, magazine advertising spending was worth an estimated $15.6 billion.

Media Vehicles

Media vehicle refers to a specific method (like digital, radio, newspaper etc.) of media used by a business to deliver advertising messages to its target audience. The first step is to pick a suitable media class, that is, a general category of media, like radio, television, the Internet, newspapers or magazines. This is followed by selection of the right media vehicle, such as a specific radio station, television channel, online website or print publication. The aim is to reach the target consumer group and receive a good response to the advertising messages from the group.

Media Vehicle Types

The different kinds of media vehicles have been explained below:

Print Vehicles

Newspapers are also feasible for small businesses owing to relatively low ad costs. Both national newspapers and community newspapers (that can reach a local audience) are good options. Magazines are not quite as accessible for small businesses as they cater to a niche audience and cost per target is therefore high. However, some regions have local magazines that offer community events, entertainment and themed topics.

Broadcast Vehicles

This includes television and radio stations. Such vehicles can be used to target mass audiences, and the cost per target is low. They are more effective than print media as the ads include audio and video. They can be effectively used for low involvement products because of short ad durations and lack of excessive detail-sharing. Television vehicles in India include networks such as STAR India, Network 18, Zee Network, UTV and so on. Sometimes, small businesses can not afford to advertise on national networks, and so they often associate themselves with local network affiliate stations, or radio vehicles.

Digital Vehicles and Others

Online or digital/interactive vehicles along with mobile communication opportunities provide low-cost advertising options. Other supportive media vehicles include directories, buses, billboards and benches. These are usually used to reinforce messages that have been delivered through broader mass media. Billboards are comparatively expensive, but they have a very wide reach.

Media Units

Media buying

While some advertisers prefer to purchase advertising spots by dealing directly with media owners (e.g. newspapers, magazines or broadcast networks), in practice most media buying is purchased as part of broader negotiations via a media buying agency or media buying group. Well-known centralised buying groups include Zenith or Optimedia. These large media agencies are able to exert market power through volume purchasing by buying up space for an entire year. Media agencies benefit advertisers by providing advertising units at lower rates and also through the provision of added value services such as media planning services.

Most media outlets use dynamic pricing, a form of yield management which means that there are no fixed rates. Prices depend on a number of factors including the advertiser’s prior relationship with the network, the volume of inventory being purchased, the timing of the booking and whether the advertiser is using cross-media promotions such as product placements. Advertising spots purchased closer to air-time tend to be more expensive.

Buying advertising spots on national TV is very expensive. Given that most media outlets use dynamic pricing, rates vary from day to day, creating difficulties locating indicative rates. However, from time to time, trade magazines publish adrates which may be used as a general guide. The following table provides indicative advertising rates for selected popular programs on American national television networks, broadcast during prime time viewing hours.

This medium consists of various forms like terrestrial, satellite and cable. The ads on this medium are normally measured in term of slots (normally as a multiple of 10 seconds) both in duration and frequency.

Television was introduced in India on September 15, 1959 as a pilot project in Delhi. Two one hour telecast from a studio in Aakashvani Bhavan were transmitted through equipment gifted by UNES. But many never knew that television is there in India. By early seventies the television telecast started m full swing. And today we have satellite channels in so large a number. Television channels are international, national as well as regional and local. Moreover, the advertisements are audio-visual advertisements.

It is extremely important that whatever has been advertised in the commercial is true. For this reason, organizations such as Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are there to monitor the commercials on television and radio. This ensures that the advertisers are not making any false claims to lure consumers to buy their products.

Most of the radio and television advertisements are paid though there are some public service ads which can be aired for free. The advertisers usually have to pay for the spot which lasts for 30 seconds. In rare cases, this spot can increase to 60 seconds too.

These days radio and television ads are prepared by advertising agencies for their clients. They understand the need of the client and make the commercial keeping in mind the current state of affairs. Broadcast advertising has become a very essential part of marketing in recent times. Companies allocate specific budget for radio and television ads and make an estimate of how much revenue they can earn through broadcast advertising. For example, marketing consultants are hired to determine the return on investment (ROI) for spending on radio and television ads. Sometimes the marketing consultants of these businesses run sample ads to judge its popularity among the viewers.

Full opportunity exists for product demonstration and amplification of selling points with audio presentation. It is really a wonderful means of mass communication for creating market. Television combines all of the elements of communication:

(1) illustration

(2) Music

(3) Spoken words

(4) written words.

We can have short commercials as well as sponsored programmes combining entertainment with advertisement. It represents typical combination of salesmanship and advertising.

However, television has limited market coverage. Advertising on TV is expensive. In addition to time costs, the costs of producing TV shows are considerable. Both radio and TV messages have no life span like the messages in printed form. TV cannot have a long advertising copy.

Factors Affecting Selection of Television Media Decisions

Television is the fast-growing medium of advertisement because of huge expansion of electronic media and cable network. It makes its appeal through both the eye and the ear. Products can be demonstrated as well as explained as in film advertisement. Advertising may take the form of short commercials and sponsored programmes.

T.V. advertising has all the merits of film advertising. It has greater effectiveness as the message is conveyed at their homes to the people. Selectivity of message can also be achieved. Commercials may be given during that time period when the prospective buyers are supposed to watch television programmes.

T.V advertising has got all the demerits of film advertising. Television is a very costly medium of advertisement and can be made use of by the well-established companies only. Another limitation of television advertisement is that once it is presented, its back reference is not possible.

Advantages

• The creative potential for the fusion of sight, sound and motion through pictures, symbols, movement, colour, text, music, effects and dialogue ensures advertising has a high impact on viewers.
• It gives access to vast audiences, and can raise awareness very quickly
• It gives opportunities to match advertising messages to likely audiences for programmes.
• It offers selectivity through regional coverage, broadcast time and programme con catering to the selected target audience as per requirement.
• It appeals to the sense.
• Model day after day become familiar and part of the family and hence whatever they say are more convincing.
• It is very convenient and effective to demonstrate the product m the television.
• High attention is possible due to the combination of sound and visuals.
• It is a very powerful media in building up the image of the product.

Limitations

• It is an expensive media of advertising compared to the Press media. The cost “a time is very high and along with that the cost of producing good quality advertisement for this m
• Advertisers might need to deliver the message to a selected group of audience, which is very narrow Television causes overexposure of the advertisement thus losing the cost effectiveness.
• The advertisement on TV is short lived as the commercials last for 30 seconds or less, which might be very less to create an impact. The advertisers are becoming shorter day by day because of the increasing cost and demand of the media time.
• Like the other media there is a huge clutter of advertisement on television also because of which it is facing trouble being noticed.
• This is a media, which attracts people or its creative commercials. But on the other hand, it has a limitation also that attention paid by viewers is limited because of increase number о commercials, channel zapping i.e. changing channels to avoid commercials, zipping i.e. forwarding through commercials if watching a prerecorded movie.
• It takes longer time compared to the print media to produce the commercials and sponsored programmes.
• The commercial is there on the screen for few seconds and is then gone. So it is essential, that jingles are catchy and sales message is repeated again in again leading to higher customer brand recall and also higher expenditure.
• Generally it is difficult to carry the television set along with you.
• Television commercials have to abide by the broadcast code strictly.

Following are also some different organizational structures on the basis of factors affecting an organization’s functioning:

1. On the basis of Hierarchy: Vertical Organizational Systems, Hub & Spokes, Horizontal/ Cross Departmental, Cross Industry / Platform, Conglomerates
2. Hybrid Organizations, i.e, organizations adopting more than one pattern structure.
3. On the basis of geographical spread: National, Regional, Local, Trans-National, Global
4. On the basis of ownership of the organization: Cooperative, Proprietorship, Partnership, Subsidiaries, Sister Concerns.

Functional Organizational Structure

One of the most common types of organizational structures, the functional structure departmentalizes an organization based on common job functions.

An organization with a functional org structure, for instance, would group all of the marketers together in one department, group all of the salespeople together in a separate department, and group all of the customer service people together in a third department.

Product-Based Divisional Structure

A divisional organizational structure is comprised of multiple, smaller functional structures (i.e. each division within a divisional structure can have its own marketing team, its own sales team, and so on). In this case a product-based divisional structure each division within the organization is dedicated to a particular product line.

Market-Based Divisional Structure

Another variety of the divisional organizational structure is the market-based structure, wherein the divisions of an organization are based around markets, industries, or customer types.

Geographical Divisional Structure

The geographical organizational structure establishes its divisions based on you guessed it geography. More specifically, the divisions of a geographical structure can include territories, regions, or districts.

Process-Based Structure

Process-based organizational structures are designed around the end-to-end flow of different processes, such as “Research & Development,” “Customer Acquisition,” and “Order Fulfillment.” Unlike a strictly functional structure, a process-based structure considers not only the activities employees perform, but also how those different activities interact with one another.

Matrix Structure

Unlike the other structures we’ve looked at so far, a matrix organizational structure doesn’t follow the traditional, hierarchical model. Instead, all employees (represented by the green boxes) have dual reporting relationships. Typically, there is a functional reporting line (shown in blue) as well as a product- based reporting line

Circular Structure

While it might appear drastically different from the other organizational structures highlighted in this section, the circular structure still relies on hierarchy, with higher-level employees occupying the inner rings of the circle and lower-level employees occupying the outer rings.

Flat Structure

While a more traditional organizational structure might look more like a pyramid with multiple tiers of supervisors, managers and directors between staff and leadership, the flat structure limits the levels of management so all staff are only a few steps away from leadership. It also might not always take the form or a pyramid, or any shape for that matter.

Network Structure

A network structure is often created when one company works with another to share resources or if your company has multiple locations with different functions and leadership. You might also use this structure to explain your company workflows if much of your staffing or services is outsourced to freelancers or multiple other businesses.

Creative Department

This department majorly incorporates the following job positions which are also arranged in a manner of highest job position at the top and then proceeding further:

Creative Director: These professionals are required to develop the conceptual designs to meet up the requirements of the client in order to advance the company’s brand. These are required to figure out the best ways for visually presenting a company’s identity.

Art Director: Art directors are expected to design materials for clients and represent their company expectantly.

Copywriter: The major job duties include persuading customers to purchase a new product or demonstrating why a business needs a specific service.

Production Artists: These are fresher hired at entry level.

Account Department

Account related professionals are hired to liaise with the customers in any Media Company. Majorly they handle accounting related work.

The hierarchy of Media Company is quite critical since it is such a wide field. Well to make it simple the hierarchy of Media Company has been categorized into these three core levels:

Lower Level

The professionals at this level of hierarchy of Media Company incorporates both fresher as well as experienced one. Following are few profiles that get hold of middle level in the hierarchy of Media Company:

• Media Technical Supervisor
• Media Information Officer
• Photographer Head
• Media Information Assistant
• Web development expert
• Social Media Specialist
• Assistant Photographer
• Technical Writer
• Relationship Manager
• Sound Mixer
• Stage Hand
• Media Analyst
• Senior Media Associates
• Media Mentor
• Media Associate
• Trainee

Middle Level

This level features all the job profiles at middle executive levels. Following are few profiles that get hold of middle level in the hierarchy of Media Company:

• Media Administrator
• Copywriter
• Production Artist
• Corporate Communications Specialist
• Reporter
• Program Coordinator
• Public Affairs Specialist
• Media Information Specialist
• Concept Development Manager
• Publicist

Senior Level

These are the highest job title attainable in the hierarchy of Social Media jobs in the media Company. Following are few profiles that get hold of middle level in the hierarchy of Media Company:

• Director of Media Company
• Chief Media Officer
• Creative Director
• Media Company Manager
• General Media Manager
• Chief Media Executive
• Media Branch Manager
• Art Director
• Section Editor
• Producer
• Assistant Media Manager
• Multimedia designer

Mass media regulations are rules enforced by the jurisdiction of law. Guidelines for media use differ across the world. This regulation, via law, rules or procedures, can have various goals, for example intervention to protect a stated “Public interest“, or encouraging competition and an effective media market, or establishing common technical standards.

The principal targets of mass media regulation are the press, radio and television, but may also include film, recorded music, cable, satellite, storage and distribution technology (discs, tapes etc.), the internet, mobile phones etc.

Principal foundations

• Balance between positive and negative defined liberties: The negative defined liberties, legislating the role of media institutions in society and securing their freedom of expression, publication, private ownership, commerce, and enterprise, must be balanced by legislation ensuring the positive freedom of citizens of their access to information.
• Balance between state and market: Media is at a position between the commerce and democracy.

Government control over media

Media in India are self- regulated. The government does not have control over the media except a few. It depends what type of media we are talking about. Media is broadly classified into 5 parts in India:

• Print media in which more emphasis is given to Newspapers;
• Broadcasting, includes Radio;
• Cable and Telecommunication includes Television;
• Films;
• OTT platforms.

Newspaper

Generally, the government does not regulate newspapers and magazines. The Press Council of India is a quasi- judicial body constituted by the parliament and regulates print media in India. Its main objective is to maintain and improve the quality of newspaper and news agencies and to preserve the freedom of press. But it does not have the power to impose a penalty.  There are also other laws which deal with the regulations imposed upon the print media which include the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 which came under British rule with the motive that if anything derogatory or explicit or ethically wrong/misleading or anything which creates a threat to the security and sovereignty of the nation, then the publisher can be proven guilty.

Television

Government regulated

Television came to India in 1969 and back then the government was controlling it and used to show only those programmes which can educate, entertain and inform the people. Doordarshan along with AIR is completely under government control working as department of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. All the programmes were shown on Doordarshan channel which was controlled by the government. Later on with the establishment of Prasar Bharati Act 1990, Doordarshan along with AIR became autonomous in 1997.

Private ownership

But in the early 90’s the government faced financial problems and then they started with private channels, which later started to turn into companies and started earning huge profit but at the same time the quality of the programmes started degrading and the need of regulation was felt. All the private channels came together and insisted not to imply any law instead proposed the self created guidelines and assured the court to abide by it.

Other self- regulatory bodies which govern television content in India without government intervention includes Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, Policy Guidelines for downlinking of Television Channels and Guidelines for obtaining DTH license among others. News channels are governed by a self-regulation body, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA).

Radio

Government regulated AIR

With the liquidation of Indian Broadcasting Company in 1930, the government of India started controlling radio broadcasting. Firstly it was called All India Radio in 1936 and later was renamed as Akashvani from 1957. With the establishment of Prasar Bharati Act, 1990 the radio broadcasting became free from government control and later AIR also became an autonomous body without government control.

Private radio broadcasting

There are ranges of different types of private broadcasters from big Multinational Corporation to small local FM stations. All private broadcasters usually earn a huge profit. As radio was almost used by every household the government in 1999 approved the establishment of 150 private FM radio stations.

Films

Film industry of India is completely free and independent. The filmmakers are free to make the film as they want. But the distribution networks of films are controlled by the government. Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. The main task of CBFC is to regulate the public exhibition of films in theatre by giving certificates and not to do censorship of the contents under the provision of Cinematography Act, 1952.  The board currently issues four certificates. The certificates are:

U: Unrestricted public exhibition.

U/A: Parental guidance for children under age 12.

A: Restricted to adults.

S: Restricted to a specialised group of people, such as engineers, doctors or scientists.

The board may also refuse to certify a film. In the recent case of Phantom Film Pvt. Ltd. & Anr vs. Central Board of Film Certification, the film titled “Udta Punjab” what CBFC did that they acted beyond its power and gave direction to delete the name of Indian states given in the title of the film and even to remove references to several cuss words, and inexplicably, the deletion of a name of a dog jackie chan. The CBFC granted ‘A’ certificate to the film and then the producer of the film challenged the decision of CBFC before the Bombay High Court, 1 wherein the producers sought that the ‘A’ certification be granted without any conditions or cuts in the film. The Bombay High Court examined each of the deletions proposed by the CBFC, and held that the film cannot be objectionable merely due to depiction of the use or sale of drugs in a particular state and because of the political references therein and opined that the story must be viewed in its entirety.

National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) was established in 1980 with the task of promoting good cinema, to produce and finance films, and overseas distribution of films.

National Centre of films for Children’s and Young People (CFSI) established in 1955, which produce and distribute films which essentially provide a clean and healthy environment for children and young people.

OTT Platforms

As OTT platforms are not regulated by any statutory body it enjoys ample amount of freedom and displays content with all sought of vulgarity. But in the recent time OTT platforms like (Hotstar, Voot, Netflix, Amazon prime etc) have considered self regulation of online content through voluntary code specifically for language, violence and sex.

Importance of Media Regulation

Media regulation would include regulation of conduct, structure or content of media. Regulation would prohibit libel and defamation, would set up provision regarding national security, obscenity, blasphemy, sedition promoted via the media, regarding the contents of films. Media regulation would also help in protecting privacy laws, laws concerning intellectual property rights, and prohibitions against incitement to violence or racial hatred, pornography etc. Need for regulating the press is also important in terms of moderating or supervising the credibility of the information that is published. News that has been displayed on television or published in a newspaper should be factual and based on actual happening; it should be a justified interpretation of the event and not “point of view” of what has happened.

Media Laws

During British period as well as post independence of India there have been various laws or legislation passed by the authorities in order to regulate the media activities and to protect the freedom of media. To name some of the important media laws:

• First Press Regulation, 1799
• Gagging Act, 1857
• Indian Press Act, 1910
• Vernacular Press Act, 1878
• Constitutional Provisions regarding Press Freedom
• Official Secrets Act, 1923
• Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867
• Contempt of Court Act
• Cinematography Act, 1952
• Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act, 1956
• Parliamentary Proceedings Act, 1956
• Delivery of Books and Newspapers Act, 1954
• Copyright Act, 1957
• Press Council of India Act, 1965
• Prasar Bharati Act, 1990
• Cable Television Regulation Act, 1995
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, 1997
• Sports Broadcasting Signal (mandatory sharing with prasar bharati) Act, 2007