Tag: Media Planning & Management Mumbai University BMS Notes

Media planning includes all such decisions like selecting appropriate media, appropriate media mix and deciding the scheduling of advertisement. All these decisions help the organization in achieving advertising objectives, i.e., to communicate the message to target audience and thus to promote sales.

Media planning includes the answer to following 5 Ws:

1. Which: Which media is to be picked for communicating with our target audience? i.e., identifying suitable media-mix.
2. When: When the ad is to be issued? i.e., deciding month, day, time of ad.
3. What: What type of message should be communicated? i.e., the message is informative or demonstrative in nature.
4. Whom: Whom does a marketer want to reach? i.e., identifying target audience (potential customers).
5. Where: Where are potential customers located? i.e., identifying geographical area.

Factors Influencing Media Planning Decisions

(a) Internal Factors: Internal factors are those factors which are directly related to company like size of company, advertising budget, size of organization, distribution strategy of organization, potential market area etc. Advertising budget is very important factor, while selecting media planning. If size of ad-budget is more, then costly media like T.V. can be selected. If size of ad budget is small, the cheap media will be selected.

(b) External Factors: External factors includes media coverage, media image, media adopted by competitors etc. while selecting the media, the advertiser must consider the media selected by competitors and leaders of that industry. Along with cost of various media should be compared.

Media planning is a continuous process. Data used in media planning is affected by external environment factors, these environment factors may change at any time. For example, if at present a particular T.V. programme is very popular, but soon its popularity may decline with the launch of another popular T.V. programme at the same time in another T.V. channel. So, the viewership of first T.V. programme may decline. Similarly, other environment factors viz. competitors’ media strategy may change. These fast-changing environment factors may render the media planning less effective.

Nature of Product:

Product to be advertised can be industrial/technical product or consumer product. Industrial/technical products can better be advertised in specific trade- journals/magazines. Consumer products can be better advertised through mass media such as television, newspaper, outdoor advertising etc. Similarly, products for farmers like fertilizers, seeds etc. can be advertised in T.V., radio, wall painting, etc.

Distribution of Product:

If the product is to be distributed locally or regionally, then media with local coverage and reach should be considered like local newspaper, cable-network, etc. If product is distributed on national level, then media with national coverage like national dailies (newspaper), national-level T.V. channels will be suitable. If the product is to be sold at international level, then media having reach and circulation in foreign countries will be effective e.g. internet, magazines with circulation in foreign countries, T.V. channels having international coverage like B.B.C., CNN should be considered.

Nature of Customers:

An appropriate media plan must consider the type or number of consumers, for whom advertising is to be done. Different consumers differ in their age-group, sex, income, personality, educational level, attitude etc. On the basis of consumer traits, consumer groups can be- men, women, children, young, old, professional, businessmen, high income group, middle-income group, low-income group, Literate, illiterate, etc.

Some of the consumer traits affecting media selection are described below:

(a) Age: For advertising for kids-products, television is the best for communicating message. In T.V. ad can be given in cartoon channels. If target audience is young then television, magazines, internet is suitable. If target audience consists of old age-group, then newspaper, television will be good choice.

(b) Level of Education: If target-audience is highly educated, then advertisement should be given in magazines, national newspapers, internet, television etc. If target audiences are less educated as in rural area then local newspapers printed in local languages, T.V. etc. are suitable. If audiences are illiterate, then print-media is not suitable. Here broadcast media is a good choice.

(c) Number of Customers: If number of target customers is more, then mass-media like television, newspaper will be suitable. If number of target customers is less, then direct mail- media, tele-advertising (advertising through telephone) are suitable.

Advertising Objectives:

The main objective of every advertising campaign is to get favourable response from customer, but the specific objectives can be different. If the objectives of advertising campaign are to get immediate result then fast media of communication like newspapers, banners, pamphlets will be considered. If the objective of advertising is to build corporate-goodwill and brand-equity, then magazines, television, neon signboards will be considered.

Nature of Message:

If advertising message is informative in nature, then newspaper will be suitable. If ad- message is to persuade consumers, and potential consumers need to be given emotional-appeal, rational-appeal, demonstration of product, then television media will be suitable for advertising. If ad-message is to inform the potential customers of sale-promotion schemes, discount offers, exchange offer, festival offers, then it can be advertised through posters, banners, newspaper-inserts and newspapers, etc.

Media Used by Competitors:

While planning for media the advertiser must consider the media used by competitors and leaders of that industry. If advertiser does not consider competitor’s move regarding media, then it is possible that advertiser’s market share is taken by competition. If industry-leader is using T.V. as media, then the advertiser too must consider the same media. The advertiser must have a close watch on media-strategies and ad-budget of competitors. However, competitor’s strategies should not be followed blindly, as it is possible that decision of competitor is wrong.

Size of Ad-Budget:

If amount of advertisement budget is more, then costly media like television, national dailies can be selected. If amount of ad-budget is less, then low cost media like posters, banners, cable-network, local newspaper, pamphlets will be suitable.

Media Availability:

Sometimes it is possible that desired space for advertisements in print media is booked by some other advertisers and hence not available. For example, advertiser wants to issue an advertisement on front page of newspaper or on the cover-page of any magazine, but this space is already booked by some other advertiser, then this media is not available to the advertiser.

So the advertiser will have to plan for some other media or he will have to change timing of advertisement. Similarly if an advertisement is to be issued on television during a particular programme, then it is possible that it may have been booked/sponsored by other advertisers. So media-availability must be considered for media planning.

Media Reach and Coverage:

Such media should be selected as has wide reach and can cover our target customers. If the advertiser has two available media, involving same cost, then media with more reach and coverage of our target audience will be selected. Media reach means total circulation/viewership of media in a given period of time, (say, one day). If ad is given on T.V., then expected audience size of that T.V. programme in which ad is issued, in a given period of time is called its reach. It measures the number of persons who are exposed at least once to this media in a specific period of time.

For example, if advertisement is issued on newspaper, then number of copies circulated in a given period of time (say, a day) will be called its reach. Media- coverage means number of advertiser’s target customers exposed to media in a specific time- period.

It is possible that reach of a media is large, but its coverage for advertiser is poor, i.e. the media has wide circulation, but it is not popular among the target customers of advertiser. So such media is not of much use to the advertiser. The advertiser should select that media whose reach and coverage, both are large. For improving coverage of target customers, advertisers generally use combination of media (media-mix).

Media Frequency:

Media frequency refers to average number of times, the audience is exposed to media vehicle in a specified period of time. Higher media-frequency is preferred. Greater the frequency, more are the chances of advertisement message making deep impression on the minds of consumers. In case of print media, frequency of newspaper is very less as the receiver is not exposed to the same newspaper for a long period of time.

On the next day he will be getting the new newspaper and old newspaper will be discarded the same day. In case of magazine, media-frequency is more as same magazine may be opened by audience many a time, as he will get the next issue of magazine after a month, a fortnight or after a week. Higher frequency will create better impressions on target audience. So, media with higher frequency should be selected.

Media Image:

Some media-vehicles enjoy better image in comparison to other media vehicles. Media- image enhances the communication value of advertisement. Good reputation of editorial board and well established media enjoy better image among public, so advertisements given in such media enhance the credibility and trust of advertisements. So, media with good image should be selected. Media image also affects the product image and advertiser’s image. So, we should not select media with bad image.

Media Discount:

Sometimes some media offer attractive discount schemes. The advertisers consider these discount schemes while selecting media as it reduces their media cost. Sometimes some advertisers use only one medium or one class of media regularly so as to get media discount offered by media to their regular users.

Language:

The advertiser selects that media which communicates in the language well known to our target customers. Like if ad is given for less educated customers, then ad in English newspaper will be of little use.

In mass communication, media are the communication outlets or tools used to store and deliver information or data. The term refers to components of the mass media communications industry, such as print media, publishing, the news media, photography, cinema, broadcasting (radio and television), digital media, and advertising.

The development of early writing and paper enabling longer-distance communication systems such as mail, including in the Persian Empire and Roman Empire, which can be interpreted as early forms of media. Writers such as Howard Rheingold have framed early forms of human communication as early forms of media, such as the Lascaux cave paintings and early writing. Another framing of the history of media starts with the Chauvet Cave paintings and continues with other ways to carry human communication beyond the short range of voice: smoke signals, trail markers, and sculpture.

The Term media in its modern application relating to communication channels was first used by Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan, who stated in Counterblast (1954): “The media are not toys; they should not be in the hands of Mother Goose and Peter Pan executives. They can be entrusted only to new artists because they are art forms.” By the mid-1960s, the term had spread to general use in North America and the United Kingdom. The phrase “mass media” was, according to H.L. Mencken, used as early as 1923 in the United States.

The term “medium” (the singular form of “media”) is defined as “one of the means or channels of general communication, information, or entertainment in society, as newspapers, radio, or television.”

Media simply refers to a vehicle or means of message delivery system to carry an ad message to a targeted audience. Media like TV, Radio, Print, Outdoor and Internet are instruments to convey an advertising message to the public.

The main task of media planners is to select the most appropriate media channels that can effectively communicate the advertising message to a targeted audience. Hence, it is essential for media planners to:

• Keep up with New technological developments.
• Keep up with latest media trends.
• Determine long- and short-term effects of different media.
• Analyse Strengths and Weaknesses of different media.

Factors determining Media selection

• Market requirements
• Nature of product
• Advertising objectives
• Nature of message and appeal
• Distribution strategy
• Advertising Budget
• Media availability
• Competitor’s choices
• Penetration
• Size and Nature of business

Functions of mass media

Mass media in written, spoken, or broadcast forms has a significant impact on the masses. Commercials on TV, billboards, and social media platforms allow brands to build brand awareness. Companies search for the most effective ways to convey their message when it comes to branding, including sites, social media channels, blogs, and forums. When they find the right type of mass media channel for their businesses, they can communicate their ideas and conduct branding campaigns.

Mass media informs, educates, and entertains people in a wide variety of ways. Brands can educate users to get the most of their products. The majority of companies now use social media platforms, create blog posts on their sites, and launch commercials on YouTube to describe their best features, the problems their products can solve, and provide step-by-step guides.

Features of mass media

Over the years, the impact of mass communication has increased drastically because of the improvements made.

• It communicates a public message.
• It can appeal to a wide target audience.
• There’s a distance between a source of information and people who obtain it.
• It has a heterogeneous audience.
• It can be transmitted through various channels, such as tv, the internet, radio, and newspapers.
• News or information communicated through tv, radio, and print media can’t receive feedback.

Media planning that requires knowledge of both marketing and mass communication skills is the process of determining deals with the biggest portion of the advertiser’s budget in terms of cost for buying placement of advertisement.

Media planning refers to an analytical method for making media decisions, and describes the process of taking the message across to the target audience at the right time and place, and using the right media vehicle.

Media planning is the process of identifying and selecting media outlets mainly newspapers, magazines, websites, TV and radio stations, and outdoor placement in which to place paid advertisements. The person responsible for evaluating the many media options and strategizing campaigns to support a particular product, service, or brand is called a media planner. Media planners typically are employed by advertising agencies.

Scope of Media planning

Media planning in simpler terms refers to planning each stage of media executions for brand promotions, product launch, sales push campaigns and allied. The relevance of media planning varies accordingly based on the selection of integrated media mix such as Newspaper & Radio, Digital & Out of Home or individual promotional such as on television. Media planning is extremely important for the following 3 reasons:

Brand Objective: Defining a brand; campaign objective is paramount while considering media planning. What are we looking to achieve? Is it mere sales promotion or a new product launch etc. Whom are we going to communicate with? Where is my audience?

Budgets and Reach: A very crucial aspect of determining your ad spends (media spends). If you cannot measure your spends and reach, you are not doing it right. You will never know where you ad spends are. Is it even reaching the right audience. i.e. An average 30 seconds commercial on television on a non-prime time television show can cost you in thousands while the same ad, which is part of your television campaign can cost you up to a lakh during an IPL, Prime Time Breaking News or on a top GEC (General Entertainment Channel) show. It is always a good practice to approach a media planning consultant who take off the burden and complexity and work along with you and your brand by creating the cost-effective media solutions which can be monitored and tailored as per your brand’s need.

Measurability & ROI: With technology in today’s times, any advertising spend on media such as digital or television can be targeted and measured for effective reach and increase in a brand’s share of voice (among its competitors on the media space). With solutions from Amagi MIX, you can now create your advertising plan in few minutes. Currently the media solutions are provided for television, but with geo targeted options, you can now create your regional media plan on national channels for your geography. You can also speak to their consultant on a possible ROI / Measurability and define success factors for your ads, while getting one created for your brand at truly affordable cost.

Media Strategy

Media strategy can be defined as the usage of an appropriate media mix in order to achieve desired and optimum outcomes from the advertising campaign. It plays a key role in advertising campaigns. The objective of Media Strategy is not just about procuring customers for their product or services but also focusses on placing a right message towards the right people at the right time and ensuring that the message is relevant and persuasive. Media Strategy is designed to achieve the above-mentioned target but the budget is always kept in mind.

Challenges include but are not limited to:

Consumer-Level Targeting: The media plan must understand consumers at a granular level to determine what types of messages resonate with them, requiring in-depth marketing analytics.

Platform Preference: Brands must also know the various channels and platforms that target audience members engage with and when. This will allow them to effectively choose media on which to run campaigns. All of this must be done with budget and media spend in mind.

Heavy Budget Focus: Media planning continues to revolve around budget rather than customer engagement. There is limited flexibility in a budget and plan to allow marketers to course correct as campaigns run and new insights are discovered. Modern media planning requires the flexibility to allocate budget to different channels if they prove to be more successful.

Integrating Measurements: Because there are so many channels online and offline, it has become infinitely more difficult for marketers to measure the success of these campaigns alongside each other to determine which are most effective and which should be updated.

Media planning is generally outsourced and entails sourcing and selecting optimal media platforms for a client’s brand or product to use. The goal of media planning is to determine the best combination of media to achieve the clients objectives.

A media plan consists of:

1) Media objectives which support marketing and advertising objectives (what do we need to do).

2) Media strategies which outline how to address the media objectives (how are we going to do it).

3) Media tactics which get into specific media opportunities and execution options (where are we going to advertise).

4) An evaluation/measurement plan for determining what worked and what didn’t, allowing for future or ongoing adjustments.

What → How → Where → Improve

The considerations that help shape this plan include:

1) What are the marketing and advertising objectives?

2) What is the competitive situation?

3) What is the budget, and how was it determined?

4) What has been done historically and how well did it work?

5) What are the geographical requirements?

6) Are there any rules/laws as to what audiences or media can be targeted?

7) What additional data is available for consideration?

These considerations are not a comprehensive list. Specific categories of business will have considerations unique to that business.

Key outputs of a media plan should identify who the target audience is, what their media habits are, and how to effectively reach them. It should consist of a media investment plan which discusses best use of the budget in terms of timing, ad types/sizes, and the media mix.

Developing a Media Plan

Market Analysis -> Establishments of Main objectives -> Media Strategy development and implementation -> Evaluation and Follow-up

The fundamental purpose of a media plan is to determine the best way to convey a message to the target audience. A media plan sets out a systematic process that synchronizes all contributing elements in order to achieve this specific goal. The media plan is broken down into four stages; market analysis, establishment of media objectives, media strategy development and implementation, and evaluation and follow-up.

Similarities can be made to other marketing concepts such as the consumer decision-making process with comparisons such as, increasing brand awareness, improving brand image, and the maximization of customer satisfaction.

The first phase of any media plan is the initial market analysis, which consists of a situation analysis and the marketing strategy plan. These form the basis of information which the rest of the media plan is reliant on. The purpose of a situation analysis is to understand the marketing problem, in relation to their competitors. For example, undertaking an internal and external review or competitive strategy evaluation.

The marketing strategy plan should establish specific objectives and goals that will solve the marketing problems that developed. Once the market analysis is complete the improved knowledge gained should indicate a proffered target market. Enabling the marketers to understand where the prime advertising space would be to gain sufficient exposure, what factors affect that certain demographic, and how to promote to the audience effectively.

The second phase in the media plan is the establishment of media objectives. Just as the marketing analysis leads to specific marketing objectives, this phase will result in explicit media objectives; such as creating a positive brand image through stimulating creativity. These objectives should be limited to those that can only be obtained through media strategies.

Media strategy development and implementation is the third phase and is the point in the process that is directly influenced by the actions from previously determined objectives. Actions that meet these objectives are taken into consideration with the following criteria; media mix, target market, coverage consideration, geographic coverage, scheduling, reach & frequency, creative aspects & mood, flexibility, or budget considerations. Each of these criteria are explained briefly below:

Media Mix: A combination of communication and media channels use that are utilized to meet marketing objectives, such as social media platforms and magazines.

Target Market: A specific group of consumers that has been identified to aim its marketing and advertising campaigns towards, as they are the most likely to purchase the particular product.

Coverage Consideration: To alter the level of exposure of media to the target market, whilst minimizing the amount of overexposure and saturation into other demographics.

Geographic Coverage: Increased emphasis of exposure to a certain area where interest may thrive, whilst reducing exposure to areas they have less relevance.

Scheduling: The concept of aligning communication activity to coincide with peak potential consumer exposure times, such as around a big sports game on television.

Reach & Frequency: The decision to have a certain message seen / heard by a large number (reach) or expose the same message to a smaller group more often (frequency).

Creative Aspects & Mood: Different mediums for communication should be considered when developing a campaign. Social media might be more effective to generate emotion than a billboard poster on a main road.

Flexibility: In order to adapt to rapidly changing marketing environments it is important for strategies to be flexible. Such as unique opportunities in the market, media availability or brand threats.

Budget Considerations: The relationship between the effectiveness of a media campaign and the cost involved needs to be carefully managed. There should be an optimal level of response from the consumer for the price for the exposure.

Components of a media plan

Define the marketing problem. Where is the business coming from and where is the potential for increased business? Does the ad need to reach everybody or only a select group of consumers? How often is the product used? How much product loyalty exists? How to build awareness or drive consideration through use of optimized contextual based material?

Translate the marketing requirements into media objectives. Must the ad reach people in a wide area? Then mass media, like newspaper and radio, might work. If the target market is a select group in a defined geographic area, then direct mail could be best.

Define a media solution by formulating media strategies. 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 is being reached.

Media planning’s major steps include:

• Targeting
• Environmental scan
• Understanding the audience
• Determination of content

Media planning is the process by which marketers determine where, when, and how often they will run an advertisement in order to maximize engagements and ROI. The media plan might split advertising spend and resources between various online and offline channels such as broadcast, print, paid ads, video ads or native content.

Media planning is the process of identifying and selecting media outlets like television, newspapers, radio, magazines, etc., on which paid advertisements can be done. The person who is in charge of evaluating these media options and strategizing the advertising campaign to promote the said products or services is known as the media planner. Media plans help in finding the most efficient way to deliver the advertiser’s message across its audience.

1. Market Analysis:

Every media plan begins with the market analysis of environmental analysis. Complete review of internal and external factors is required to be done.

At this stage media planners try to identify answers of the following questions:

• Identification of the Target Audience:

Which is the audience for our product? This happens to be the most important consideration in the media decisions. We first examine our market plans and advertising plans. These provide us details about the audience for our product.

Detailed studies of our audience can be made. We can describe our audience in terms of age, religion, sex, education – these are demographic characteristics. We can describe it in terms of their income and occupation.

Audience can also be described in psychographic terms – activities, interests, opinions forming a lifestyle, personality traits, brand preferences. After having a complete picture of our target audience, we undertake the study of the media’s readership in terms of demographic, economic and psychographic terms.

Agencies conduct their own media research. Even media itself provides a demographic profile of their readers. There are readership surveys to guide us. We have to select those media vehicles whose demographic profile matches the target audience of our product. We can target our product to a segment of the market.

Then we have to select that media vehicle which reaches this segment. We may have to use another media vehicle to reach some other segment. It should, however, be seen that a united image is projected and consistency of message is maintained through different media mix.

The target audience can be classified in terms of age, sex, income, occupation and other variables. The classification of target audience helps media planner to understand the media consumption habit, and accordingly choose the most appropriate media or media mix. Different customers differ with regard to age, income, education level, personality, attitude etc. If target audience or customers are educated and young, print media and T.V., can be selected. If number of target customers is more, then mass-media like, T.V., Newspapers will be suitable.

• Study of Factors Affecting Media Planning:

There are various factors which affect media planning.

While making media planning, the media-planner must consider these factors which are described as follows:

(a) Internal Factors: Internal factors are those factors which are directly related to company like size of company, advertising budget, size of organization, distribution strategy of organization, potential market area etc. Advertising budget is very important factor, while selecting media planning. If size of ad-budget is more, then costly media like T.V. can be selected. If size of ad budget is small, the cheap media will be selected.

(b) External Factors: External factors includes media coverage, media image, media adopted by competitors etc. while selecting the media, the advertiser must consider the media selected by competitors and leaders of that industry. Along with cost of various media should be compared.

• Identifying the Geographical Area:

Total geographical area of target market is identified. Those areas, where the sale of the company’s product is more, are identified. For low potential market area, smaller advertising budget is allocated. The geographical area also includes whether advertising should be done at local level or national level or international level.

2. Message Distribution:

The first step in the setting up of objectives was the definition of the target audience. The next step is the distribution of message to this audience. The number of messages and the frequency of their appearance matter a lot.

We have to decide whether a single message is sufficient or there should be several repetitions of the same. These lead us to the concepts of reach and frequency, which are to be balanced.

The overall constraint on both these concepts is the advertising budget. We also have to calculate the total message weight of the campaign.

• Reach:

Reach indicates a percentage of target audience who is exposed at least once in a given period to a particular media vehicle. It does not matter how many times they actually see or hear the ad message.

We concentrate on one exposure only. Thus, if 3,000 out of a target audience of 10,000 teenagers tune into the FM radio one or more times during a month, the reach is 30 per cent, i.e., 3,000 divided by 10,000.

Though reach measures exposure, it does not actually measure those who have noticed a particular ad. The objective of reaching 30 p.c. of target audience is based on the people who tune in radio FM, irrespective of the fact whether these people have taken cognizance of our ad.

It is a term that is used for all media (print, TV, radio) and indicates the number of people who are actually exposed to the medium in a given period which is normally linked to the periodicity of the medium.

While deciding about the reach, the time period selected is either four weeks or corresponds to the purchase cycle of the product.

• Frequency:

Frequency indicates the number of times people in the target audience are exposed to a media vehicle during a given period of time. Average frequency gives the average number of times people or households in our target audience are exposed to a media vehicle.

Generally, a single exposure may not work either in creating an awareness or provoking someone to buy. The more the exposures, the better the impact. Besides, more exposures make us rise above the competitive noise. It is good to plan how many we would like our audience to see the message in a given medium.

While introducing a new product more frequency. When the ad size is small, we need more frequency. When the message is complex, we need more fre­quency. Higher frequency helps us stand out in the clutter.

We have to decide the effective frequency-it is not frequency which is needed to communicate effectively with the target audience. It is a difficult thing to settle. There can be a minimum frequency and maximum frequency to be effective.

Lesser frequency makes the communication ineffective. Higher frequency may be a waste of ad resources. There can be also ad fatigue if there are too many repetitions.

While we talk of effective frequency to set the least number of exposures needed, we also consider effective reach to indicate the percentage of the target audience exposed to the ad, some minimum number of times or more. This adds the dimension of repetition to the concept of reach and frequency.

Greater reach and frequency stretches the media budget. It is necessary to optimise both reach and frequency. Balancing is difficult especially when two or more ads are being employed or two or more media are being used. We have, therefore, to consider the message weight of the entire media plan. 

• Message Weight:

The sum of the reach number of specific media vehicles in a given media plan gives the message weight. Here, while summing the reach, duplication or overlapping is ignored. Message weight is expressed in terms of gross impressions or gross rating points (GRP).

Gross impressions are a summation of exposures of the target audience to media vehicles in a media plan. Each exposure is counted as one impression. Suppose an advertiser puts advertisements on a programme of a TV channel viewed five times by 6,000 people in the target audience and seven times by 6,000 people in a four weeks period.

Also suppose during the same four weeks period, the ad is put on another programme of a second TV channel viewed 3 times by 3,000 people in the target audience, the gross impressions would be:

For a mass media like a TV channel, message weight is expressed in gross rating points (GRPs). It is a sum of the rating points of all programmes in the TV media plan. One rating point indicates one per cent of the target audience. GRPs of the entire media plan are given by:

GRPs for TV are calculated generally for a week or a month. Television Rating Points in (TRPs) are available in India calculated on the basis of the panel method. The ultimate business of TV is to deliver the eyeballs. It is obviously an issue of audience share. Gross impressions in print media are counted for every ad in every media vehicle used during the whole campaign.

There should be an attempt in the media objectives to balance the reach and frequency. There should be an appropriate message weight at the same time. This will help us realise our advertising plan. To face a heavy competitive campaign, we should have greater frequency to ensure the repetition of the message.

It is not so important to have a wider reach. While advertising an innovation, a greater reach is preferred to a greater frequency. It is also important to have a large message weight. Once the media objectives are set, we are ready to develop strategies to realise them.

3. Selecting Suitable Media:

For selecting appropriate media, different media are compared on the basis of cost per reader, cost per viewer, media-image, etc. While selecting media, the advertiser should ensure that media matches with features of target audience. The selected media should match with message-requirements, e.g. If message involves demonstration, then media with audio visual effects will be selected. While selecting suitable media, availability of media should also be kept in mind. It is possible that a particular media suits our requirements, but it is already booked, so some other media will have to be selected.

4. Selecting Optimum Media-Mix:

If the advertiser feels that no single media is sufficient in itself in achieving advertising objectives then different media can be used in combination and their optimum mix is decided by the advertiser. By combining different media, advertiser can increase coverage and improve the chances of achieving advertising goals. Overall ad-budget also influences the ration of different elements of media mix.

For example, to achieve advertising objectives and after considering advertising budget, the advertiser may decide a mix of 45% television, 20% newspaper, 10% magazine, 15% outdoor media and 10% internet media. Different advertisers may decide different media-mix depending upon their requirements, but media-mix should be such that advertiser can communicate advertising-message to the target audience most effectively and at lowest possible cost.

5. Selecting Suitable Media Vehicle within Each Selected Media:

After selecting media, appropriate media vehicles are to be selected. For example, after deciding that advertising is to be done through newspaper, it is decided that in which newspaper it is be done-whether through Indian Express, Tribune, or Hindustan Times, etc.

If it is decided that advertising is to be done through magazine, then out of various magazines, appropriate magazine/magazines are selected. If advertising is to be done through television, then it is decided that at which T.V. channel or in which T.V. programme advertisement is to be given. Suitable media vehicles are selected to attain media objectives.

6. Media Scheduling:

In media scheduling, decisions regarding date or time when these advertisements are to be shown are taken. In media-scheduling, time-gap in two advertisements is also decided. Purpose of media-scheduling is to issue advertisements at appropriate time with appropriate frequency so that target audience can be contacted at minimum advertising cost.

It helps to control wasteful advertising expenses. If advertisement is related to product to be used by school/college going children, then it is better to show the advertisement in the evening time in T.V. programmes. If the product is of seasonal nature, then ad should be shown more frequently in the season period and less frequently in the off season period.

7. Executing Advertising Programme:

After selecting media and deciding its schedule, advertising department is given the task of designing suitable advertising copy and executing it in the selected media. Some companies assign this task of designing advertising to professional advertising agencies.

8. Follow-Up and Evaluation:

After implementing advertising programme, advertiser evaluates its effectiveness to know whether media objectives have been achieved, whether media-plan has contributed in achieving overall advertising-objectives. Answers to these questions help the advertiser to know success or failure of media strategy. If our media strategy is not effective, then corrective actions will be taken for future media planning, so that in future, better media-plans can be made.

Media Research is the study of the effects of the different mass media on social, psychological and physical aspects. Research segments the people based on what television programs they watch, radio they listen, media they access and magazines they read.

It is also called “Audience Research”. It provides information regarding the popularity & effectiveness of each advertising medium & the comparative position of the cost of advertising in each medium. This facilitates the selection of the most suitable media mix for the benefit of the advertiser.

It includes achievements and effects of media and a study about the development of media. Newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, Cinema or other mass media analysis and collection of information’s. It helps to understand the ways in which media can meet the needs of the audience. Whether it can provide information and entertainment to more and different types of people. New technological improvements that help to improve or enhance the medium. Thus in order to deal with social and political issues insightfully, management and regulation of media is needed. Unbiased evaluation of data can be achieved through media research.

Parameters in Media Research

• The nature of medium being used.
• The working of the medium.
• Technologies involved in it.
• Difference and similarities between it and other media vehicles.
• Functions and services provided by it.
• Cost associated and access to new medium.
• Effectiveness and how it can be improved.

As decision process depends on data, thus media research has grown to be utilized for long range planning. Research is in growth phase due to competitions between different media.

Mass Media Research Importance

Why do people want to study mass media? Well, there are many questions to answer. Many businesses are trying to target advertising, but some people are also concerned with the well-being of a very plugged-in society. Businesses study mass media to see which form of mass media produces the greater result for its advertisements. In contrast, from a public health standpoint, studies have been performed to see what kinds of effects depictions of violence can have on children. While the studies conducted do show correlations, the results have never been consistent with regard to their significance.

Nevertheless, media companies have adopted a better-safe-than-sorry approach with a lot of their programing, primarily by limiting the amount of violence portrayed in programs that don’t fall under the adults-only or adolescence-plus ratings. Thus, the purpose of mass media research is mainly for business purposes and for public health reasons.

When used for business purposes, mass media research is important, as it helps businesses figure out which forms of advertising work. Businesses want to see more sales, so mass media research for business focuses more on conversions, the number of people watching or reading a mass media form and then turning into customers. This is important, as the numbers found through mass media research helps the business decide whether a certain form of advertising is financially worth it.

For example, to advertise on an animal channel costs $1,000. The animal channel tells you that they have over 4 million people viewing the channel each day. Your advertisement only takes up 30 seconds of the day, so your potential audience is significantly less than that 4 million. It may be only 500,000. Your own market research tells you that of those who view your commercial, 2 percent will become customers. That means you’ll get 500,000 * 0.02 = 10,000 customers from your commercial. If this is enough to recoup the cost of the commercial and to provide enough profit, then this form of advertisement is worth it. Businesses can also use mass media research to help figure out how customers view their product by looking at what they are posting about the business online.

Mass media research for health and well-being reasons is important, as scientists are still learning about how technology is affecting people in both positive and negative ways. For example, with the increasingly prevalent use of smartphones, some scientists are concerned that the increased exposure to radiation will negatively impact people’s health. Is this true? This is something that scientists are still trying to figure out through mass media research.

Another example is studying the effects of young people using social media instead of communicating with people face to face. Scientists are seeing these younger people experiencing more loneliness than people who don’t depend on social media as much.

Functions of media research:

Three major functions of media research & these are:

Vehicle distribution:

If refers to the number of copies of newspaper or magazine circulation in a particular region or throughout the country. In case of T.V. it refers to the no. of programmes distributed on each channel.

Vehicle exposure:

It refers to the kind of people expose to newspaper or T.V.

Advertising exposure:

If refers to the no. of people exposed to the advertising message.

Media Research is Important

• To study the viewership or to know the TRP. It helps the advertising agencies or advertisers to know the TRP and rating of programs which later boosts the sponsership cycle
• Formative and summative assessment of various programs, movies, documentaries or traditional media helps the researchers and producers and promotes a better understanding of the need of the market and the audiences. It creates a bridge between the need and supply of content which is being provided.
• It is also helpful in quantifying the Impact of media on the audience or viewers
• It compares the former media content with the running content to show the statistical differences between the contents.

The influence of media on consumer behavior is profound. The billions of dollars spent in advertising each year attest to the impact of media on consumer purchasing and buying preferences. The ability of media to shape consumer trends and tastes through media such as movies, television shows and music is all-pervasive. New media such as Internet sites accelerates consumer receptivity to products through comments made on websites and blogs.

Entertainment Media

Media can shape who we are as both public and private people. The adage you are what you consume should apply to media as much as it does to food. A celebrity wears a certain clothes ensemble or mentions the designer, manufacturer or store where it was purchased and almost immediately, sales for that item skyrocket. Celebrity endorsers bring instant brand awareness and receptivity even if indirect. Advertisers pay to get their products conspicuous placement in TV and movies because they believe these seemingly non-commercial associations will result in positive uplift and eventually, sales.

Advertising Media

Media is such a part of our daily lives that we don’t even realize it’s influencing us in big and small ways. Media use in advertising is purposely designed to elicit a change in consumer action, belief and perception. It unabashedly woos us to buy products we don’t need and trust wholly with product claims that are puffery or exaggerated. While it’s generally known that we’re being swayed for commercial reasons, the consuming public allows these forays because media pays for shows on television or music on the radio as well as the information and news we read in newspapers and magazines.

Caveat Emptor

Websites such as Angies’ List and The Urban Shopper exist to guide consumers in their choice of products and services, locally and nationally. The consumerism adage “Buyer Beware” is needed more than ever as the power of all media to influence and inform and impact consumerism continues grows exponentially, and more people have access to that media, with fewer controls in place to scrutinize what’s respectable or true.

Online Media

The Internet has added significantly to media’s ability to influence consumers. There are thousands of websites from both commercial and private sources hawking everything for sale under the sun. While consumers still retain a bit of guarded concern on those commercial entities they know are out for a buck, they tend to be swayed and a bit more open to entreaties from bloggers and forum posts, which they typically view as unbiased third parties.

Advertising products and services

Mass communication plays a vital role in adverting products and services. Mass media like radio, television, newspapers, and magazines are the prime vehicles of advertisement. Through advertisement on mass media, businesses can persuade potential customers easily.

Facing competition

Business organizations are engaged in constant competition. In order to survive and to face the communication media like; advertisement, publicity, personal selling, etc. greatly contribute to enhance demand and to prepare better for facing competition.

Interdepartmental coordination

Large organizations usually have various departments like production, procurement, marketing sales, administration, accounts, etc. Success of that business depends on timely completion of various departmental activities in a coordinated way. Mass communication helps in coordinating those activities in a coordinated way. Mass communication helps in coordinating those activities through monthly, quarterly or yearly reports, handbill, circular letter etc.

Launching business

Media of mass communication are used to make a wide circulation of news regarding forming and launching a new business. Mass media can bring the matter to the knowledge of concerned parties very quickly and seek their patronization and support.

Informing market demand and supply

Equilibrium condition of demand and supply of goods in the market is essential for market stabilization. If there is more demand than the supply, prices will go up again in the reverse situation, the prices will go down. Both of these conditions are harmful for the business. Mass media bring these matters to the knowledge of business executives and help to maintain market stability.

Administering the business organization

A large organization may employ thousands of employees. Top-level executives cannot personally communicate with all of them. In such a situation mass communication is the best way to provide the employees with the necessary information instruction orders, guidelines, etc.

• Gather market intelligence.
• Recruitment
• Sharing product information.
• Foster brand communities

Role of Media Planner

The role of a media planner starts the moment the creative development of an advertisement is complete. The media planning department is responsible for the planning, scheduling booking of ads and purchasing space and time in newspapers, magazines, radio and TV outdoor hoardings, etc. The basic aim of a media planner is to assist the client in achieving his business objectives through advertising by recommending the best media platforms available to advertisers. The media planning department must therefore devise the most effective strategy to bring a campaign message to the target audience within a given budget.

Responsibilities

Work with the client and the account team to understand the client’s business objectives and advertising strategy liaise with the creative agency team, clients and consumers to develop media strategies and campaigns

• Work on several projects at the same time, often for several different clients
• Make decisions on the best form of media for specific clients and campaigns
• Undertake research and analyse data using specialist industry resources
• Identify target audiences and analyse their characteristics, behaviour and media habits
• Present proposals, including cost schedules, to clients
• Recommend the most appropriate types of media to use, as well as the most effective time spans and locations
• Work with colleagues, other departments and media buyers either in-house or in a specialist agency
• Make and maintain good contacts with media owners, such as newspapers, magazines and websites
• Manage client relationships to build respect and gain their trust in your judgement
• Proofread advertisement content before release
• Maintain detailed records
• Evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns to inform future ones.

Skill Sets: A media planner must have a thorough understanding of the client’s products the target audience for those products and their buying patterns, along with knowledge of every media vehicle. It is imperative that a media planner be aware of the prevalent market condition and be equipped with the knowledge to predict future trends. The ability to plan and work within a specified budget, good analytical skills, an aptitude for handling large numbers and negotiating rates with media sellers and the clients are other required skill sets.

Scope of a career in Media planning: With an increasing number of foreign products intents on making a debut in India, the future looks bright for those considering media planning as a career option. At this stage, it is important to understand where the market is headed. The role of the modern media planner is expanding. Today, a media planner also performs the role of a communication planner, brand planner or strategist. This reflects a shift from traditional media planning to a more holistic approach with the planner now having to consider, amongst other things, PR, below the line channels, in-sore, digital media, product placement and other emerging communications channels. If you have an understanding of the market and the consumer and are willing to put in long hours, which are necessary for media planning, you could find yourself carving a successful career in this much coveted field.

Challenges of Media Planning

Time Pressure:

Sometimes environment changes are sudden and quick. These sudden changes require immediate decisions regarding advertisements. In such case, media planning decisions are made without proper analysis of various factors affecting media planning e.g. change in media strategies of our immediate competitor requires immediate counter media strategies. It exerts a lot of time pressure on media-planners, to take quick decisions. So decisions taken in a hurry may be wrong.

It is difficult to assess the effectiveness of a particular media for con­veying relevant message through the media. The reach of the media to the target audience cannot be measured accurately. The study regarding the readership or exposure to the viewers are conducted only for a limited period and the limited study cannot reflect the total effect of exposure; through a medium.

Insufficient Information:

Media planning requires lot of information regarding nature of target customers like their age, education level, their geographical concentration, their size, etc. It also needs information about competitors, media strategies of competitors; information about media like their rates, Image, rating etc. Collecting all such information is a tedious job. Sampling technique is used for collecting all such information. If this information is not sufficient or is incorrect then whole process of media planning will fail.

Difficulty in Audience Measurement:

Audience measurement here refers to number of persons who are exposed to a particular media. It is very difficult to measure the number of audience of any media especially broadcast media. For example, it is very difficult to ascertain how many persons watch a particular television programme. If the number of viewers of a media is ascertained, even then it is very difficult to ascertain the number of target audience out of total number of viewers. Audience measurements are a key element in selecting media. In the absence of this information, media planning may be wrong.

Changing Environment Factors:

Media planning is a continuous process. Data used in media planning is affected by external environment factors, these environment factors may change at any time. For example, if at present a particular T.V. programme is very popular, but soon its popularity may decline with the launch of another popular T.V. programme at the same time in another T.V. channel. So, the viewership of first T.V. programme may decline. Similarly, other environment factors viz. competitors’ media strategy may change. These fast-changing environment factors may render the media planning less effective.

Difficulty in Cost Comparison:

While evaluating the relative effectiveness of different media, cost comparison of different media is done. But cost of different media is available on different basis. Like in case of print media, cost per word or per square centimetre is known; in case of broadcast media, cost per second is known, in case of outdoor media, cost per sign board/sky balloon, etc. is known. All these costs are on different basis. Hence, cost comparison of different media is very difficult. In the absence of proper cost comparison, selection of appropriate media is difficult.

Media Decisions Based on Guess Work:

All media decisions are not quantitatively determined. Many media decisions are based on judgment of ad-manager e.g. mangers have to make guess regarding image of a particular media in the market. Sometimes these guess works are made without adequate analysis. So these guess works may be wrong.

Confusions Regarding Different Terminologies:

Different terms are used for measuring different forms of media. It is difficult to measure the total effect of the advertisements, focused through different media. For example, in print media the effectiveness is calcu­lated on the basis of cost to reach a thousand people i.e., cost per thousand or CPM.

In broadcast media like TV or radio, the effectiveness is calcu­lated on the basis of cost per ratings point or CPRP. But the media planner should be interested to know the reach and the coverage of a particular medium to assess the ultimate effectiveness of the exposures.

Inadequate Expertise:

The work of media planning requires the services of talented, experienced and skilled ad- mangers. If the ad-manager does not have sufficient exposure, knowledge, experience, talent then media decisions may go wrong.

Immediate Action:

Considering certain pressures, the advertiser sometimes may be compelled to release advertisements, through different media, without any proper media planning. Some situations like, in case of any important urgent announcement, any particular offer for a very limited period, to take advantage of certain eventualities etc. may inspire or compel the advertisers to release the advertisements through different media without proper planning.

Audit Bureau of Circulation

Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) is an independent nonprofit auditing organization formed in 1914 whose membership is composed of advertisers, advertising agencies, and publishers of newspapers, magazines, and web sites that sell advertising space. Its purpose is to audit and validate print media circulation claims and Internet traffic figures for the benefit of its members. Relied upon as a principal information source by media planners, the bureau publishes annual Audit Reports that detail the findings of its auditors as well as semiannual Publisher’s Statements.

The Bureau issues ABC certificates every six months to those publisher members whose circulation figures confirm to the rules and regulations as set out by it. Circulation figures that are checked and certified by an independent body are an important tool and critical to the advertising business community.

Press Audits

A media audit is a research tool used to determine where and how your organization has been covered before, as well as where and how your competitors and topics of expertise are being discussed by the media. When done well, a media audit will uncover specific areas where you have an opportunity to “own the conversation” and be seen as a thought leader from a media perspective.

A comprehensive media audit is the foundation for a focused media relations strategy. Armed with information about how your organization, your competitors and your field are being covered, you can determine a set of highly focused topics about which your organization can become known as an expert.

From there, you’ll be able to define specific media pitches that set your organization up for thought leadership in those key topical areas of focus. You’ll also be well-positioned to build a targeted list of media contacts for each individual pitch.

Knowledge of a journalists’ prior work and interests helps foster connections and makes it easier to tailor pitches to individual reporters and producers, so use what you learn in the media audit about the focus of a reporter’s work to your advantage. Members of the media, whether broadcast producers, magazine journalists, bloggers or anyone else, are more likely to take interest in your story when it is clear you’ve made an effort to read, view or listen to their past work, and approached them with something that’s a good fit. It can be a win-win situation when you pitch the right reporters you get coverage that reaches your ideal audience, and they get a story that their audience will find interesting. The piece is more likely to be shared by engaged readers, viewers or listeners. If your outreach is not a good match, however, neither your business nor the reporter will gain anything from the opportunity.

National Readership Survey/IRS

The Indian Readership Survey (IRS) is the largest continuous readership research study in the world with an annual sample size exceeding 2.56 lakh (256,000) respondents. IRS collects a comprehensive range of demographic information and provides extensive coverage of consumer and product categories, including cars, household appliances, household durables, household care and personal care products, food and beverages, finance and holidays. IRS is not restricted to survey of readership alone but is synonymous with both readership & consumption across various FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) products throughout India. IRS covers information on over 100 product categories. IRS is conducted by MRUC (Media Research Users Council) and RSCI (Readership Studies Council of India).

IRS was launched in the year 1995 with an objective of setting an industry standard for readership & other media measurement, & to provide insights on media & product consumption as well as consumer behavior patterns. In the year 1995-96, 23 Metro Reports were released followed by the All India Report consisting of urban and rural data. Simultaneously a software programme was developed to not just enable the optimum use of raw data but to also carry out multi media planning which provided a common basis of media evaluation. Over the years IRS has evolved to be very progressive, covering a broad spectrum of categories from Media data, Indian Demographics, Indian Market, Product Profiles, to the recently developed Telecom Report, TV Report, and IRS Countryside. Apart from a range of products offered new changes have been introduced in the method of classification of sub-regions from SCR’s to ISD’s, which is a more microscopic view of the consumer profile based on the socio−cultural ethnicity. From a user’s perspective, a few introductions in the form of participative sampling, customized queries have been introduced. Sub Metro level reporting for a better understanding of the consumer behavior patterns across different zones in the Metros & Edition wise reporting is the other recent introduction.

Sampling

• The annual sample spread exceeds 2.56 lakh (256,000) respondents with continuous fieldwork spread across 10 months of the year.
• Sample allocated proportionate to 12 years+ Universe of a geographic unit.
• More than 1 Lakh towns are sampled.
• All publication towns and districts are sampled in the four rounds.
• Remaining towns and non-publication districts are randomly sampled.
• Rural Sampling: Once a district is selected, 2 Talukas from the district are randomly sampled.

Businessmen’s Readership Survey

TRP

A target rating point (TRP) (or television rating point for televisions) is a metric used in marketing and advertising to compare target audience impressions of a campaign or advertisement through a communication medium relative to the target audience population size. In the particular case of television, a device is attached to the TV set in a few thousand viewers’ houses to measure impressions. These numbers are treated as a sample from the overall TV owners in different geographical and demographic sectors. Using a device, a special code is telecasted during the programme, which records the time and the programme that a viewer watches on a particular day. The average is taken for a 30-day period, which gives the viewership status for the particular channel. This has an average limit between 0-3.0.

Calculating TRP

In India, two electronic methods are there for calculating TRP:

• People meters device is installed in some places or set in selected homes to calculate the TRP. In this way some thousand viewers are surveyed in the form of justice and sampling. These gadgets record data about the channel or programme watched by the family members or selected people. Through this meter the information of TV channel or programme for one minute is carried out by the INTAM a monitoring team i.e. Indian Television Audience measurement. After analysing the information, the team decides what is the TRP of the channel or programme. Or we can say that this data is later analysed by the agency to create a national TRP data of various TV channels and TV programmes.
• Second method is known as picture matching where the people meter records a small portion of the picture that is being watched on the TV. This data is collected from a set of homes in the form of pictures and later on is analysed to calculate the TRPs.