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.
In the process of planning, the media planner needs to answer questions such as:
Choosing which media or type of advertising to use can be challenging for small firms with limited budgets and know-how. Large-market television and newspapers are often too expensive for a company that services only a small area (although local newspapers can be used). Magazines, unless local, usually cover too much territory to be cost-efficient for a small firm, although some national publications offer regional or city editions. Since the advent of social media, small firms with limited budgets may benefit from using social media advertising as it is cost-effective, easy to manage, accurate, and offers great ROI. In some agency, media planner will work together with the media implementer.
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. [1]
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. [2]
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. [1] 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. [1]
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. [3] Each of these criteria are explained briefly below:
The final phase in the media plan is to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan and determine what follow-up is required. It is important to assess whether each individual marketing and media objective was met, as if they were successful it will be beneficial to use a similar model in future plans. [1]
Media planning's major steps include:
Reach and frequency are important aspects of an advertising plan and are used to analyze alternative advertising schedules to determine which produce the best results relative to the media plan's objectives. Generally speaking, you will use reach when you are looking to increase your consumer base by getting more people buying your product and you will privilege frequency when you need to narrow down your communication to a more specific audience but need to increase the number of times they could be exposed to your message in order to generate a change in behavior.
Calculate reach and frequency and then compare the two on the basis of how many people will be reached with each schedule and the number of times the ad will connect with the average person. Let's say the ad appeared in each of four television programs (A, B, C, D), and each program has a 20 rating, resulting in a total of 80 gross rating points. It is possible that some viewers will see more than one announcement—some viewers of program A might also see program B, C, or D, or any combination of them.
For example, in a population of 100 TV homes, a total of 40 are exposed to one or more TV programs. The reach of the four programs combined is therefore 40 percent (40 homes reached divided by the 100 TV-home population).
Researchers have charted the reach achieved with different media schedules. These tabulations are put into formulas from which the level of delivery (reach) for any given schedule can be estimated. A reach curve is the technical term describing how reach changes with increasing use of a medium.
Now assume the same schedule of one commercial in each of four TV programs (A, B, C, D) to determine reach versus frequency. In our example, 17 homes viewed only one program, 11 homes viewed two programs, seven viewed three programs, and five homes viewed all four programs. If we add the number of programs each home viewed, the 40 homes in total viewed the equivalent of 80 programs and therefore were exposed to the equivalent of 80 commercials. By dividing 80 by 40, we establish that any one home was exposed to an average of two commercials.
To increase reach, include additional media in the plan or expand the timing of the message. For example, if purchasing "drive time" on the radio, some daytime and evening spots will increase the audience. To increase frequency, add spots or insertions to the schedule. For example, if running three insertions in a local magazine, increase that to six insertions so that the audience would be exposed to the ad more often.
Gross rating points (GRPs) are used to estimate broadcast reach and frequency from tabulations and formulas. Once the scheduled delivery has been determined from reach curves, obtain the average frequency by dividing the GRPs by the reach. For example, 200 GRPs divided by an 80 percent reach equals a 2.5 average frequency.
In media planning, reach is one of the most important factors, as the whole media planning is all about reach. The Purpose of the reach is exposure of brand (Belch & Belch, 2012). The higher the reach; the higher the brand exposure (Belch & Belch, 2012). And of course, higher exposure means high chances of new customers. When it comes to media planning most of the businesses decide well in advanced what their target market would be (Belch & Belch, 2012). They Choose their target market on the assumption that they already know who their customers would be (Ossi, 2015). Even though, choosing a target market for reach in media planning could be a very successful way to get to the potential customers of the brand, but this method leaves out potential customers outside of the target market; Customers the brand thought were not important to reach to (Ossi, 2015). Smart businesses also reach outside of their targeted market in order to know other segments that could be targeted (Ossi, 2015). Therefore, starting with a broader reach and then choosing target markets would be a much-informed decision; derived from actual data rather than just assumption. A broader reach is also beneficial for general brand awareness, otherwise many people outside of the targeted market never even get to hear about the brand.
In media planning, frequency is also a very important factor to consider. Most small businesses say "We just want to see what happens", which just wastes their money leading to disappointment on media planning ("The importance of frequency," n.d.). In Advertisement, once is just not enough ("The importance of frequency," n.d.). The biggest problem in media planning is; advertisers assume that someone would see their advertisement, would walk in their store and just buy something!!That is definitely not how it happens. There are five different steps for buying cycle a consumer goes through before actually purchasing something (Euan, 2013). These are awareness, interest, need, comparison and purchase ("The importance of frequency," n.d.). Frequency is important as it pushes a consumer towards the actual step of purchasing something. The understanding of how exactly a consumer goes through the buying cycle is very essential to grasp the importance of frequency in media planning. Initially, the idea of reach is there to increase the awareness and exposure, but people forget. 80% of people forget the advertisement they see within 24 hours or even sooner ("The importance of frequency when advertising," 2016). So, frequency is also important for awareness - decreasing the chances for forgetfulness. Secondly, frequency builds familiarity, familiarity builds trust ("The importance of frequency," n.d.) and trust builds interest. In need, it is absolute that the consumer is aware of the company and have somewhat trust/ interest. And again, frequency plays essential role is remembrance, trust and interest. Higher frequency also helps to beat the competition ("The importance of frequency when advertising," 2016). And finally, the consumer is on the final step of buying cycle the purchase, with the help of frequent advertisement. Without the good amount of frequency, a consumer would be very unlikely to get to the purchasing step. Thus, frequency is important because consistence advertisement reinforces top of mind brand awareness, brand favorability and brand loyalty among the current and potential consumers. Patience and effective frequency plays a great role in a business's long-term success.
Prior to having historical and current data for new media options, many of the conventional planner's tools are stymied. FCB devised an algorithm and software to indirectly measure these new potential media by comparing their planned target demographics, comparing these to their 150 topic placements. Their "Umpire" [5] program measured using a "delta square" - the lower the better. [6]
Media Planner: also known as brand planners, brand strategist, senior media planner, work at advertising agencies and create ad campaigns for numerous clients. the media planner works with clients to help them make decisions about how a particular media campaign will perform. Bring business solutions for their clients, analyzing data, thinking creatively, and designing innovative strategies.
Guerrilla marketing is an advertisement strategy in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a product or service. It is a type of publicity. The term was popularized by Jay Conrad Levinson's 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing.
Marketing Communications refers to the use of different marketing channels and tools in combination. Marketing communication channels focus on how businesses communicate a message to its desired market, or the market in general. It is also in charge of the internal communications of the organization. Marketing communication tools include advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, sponsorship, communication, public relations, social media, customer journey and promotion.
Advertising management is a planned managerial process designed to oversee and control the various advertising activities involved in a program to communicate with a firm's target market and which is ultimately designed to influence the consumer's purchase decisions. Advertising is just one element in a company's promotional mix and as such, must be integrated with the overall marketing communications program. Advertising is, however, the most expensive of all the promotional elements and therefore must be managed with care and accountability. Advertising management process also helps in defining the outline of the media campaign and in deciding which type of advertising would be used before the launch of a product.
In marketing, promotion refers to any type of marketing communication used to inform target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or issue, most of the time persuasive in nature. It helps marketers to create a distinctive place in customers' mind, it can be either a cognitive or emotional route. The aim of promotion is to increase brand awareness, create interest, generate sales or create brand loyalty. It is one of the basic elements of the market mix, which includes the four Ps, i.e., product, price, place, and promotion.
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and concepts into one large media base. Advertising campaigns utilize diverse media channels over a particular time frame and target identified audiences.
In advertising, a gross rating point (GRP) measures impact. GRPs help answer how often "must someone see it before they can readily recall it" and "how many times" does it take before the desired outcome occurs.
A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to said intended audience. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group of consumer within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message. Businesses that have a wide target market will focus on a specific target audience for certain messages to send, such as The Body Shops Mother's Day advertisements, which were aimed at the children and spouses of women, rather than the whole market which would have included the women themselves. A target audience is formed from the same factors as a target market, but it is more specific, and is susceptible to influence from other factors. An example of this was the marketing of the USDA's food guide, which was intended to appeal to young people between the ages of 2 and 18.
Advertising media selection is the process of choosing the most efficient media for an advertising campaign. To evaluate media efficiency, planners consider a range of factors including: the required coverage and number of exposures in a target audience; the relative cost of the media advertising and the media environment. Media planning may also involve buying media space. Media planners require an intricate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the main media options. The media industry is dynamic - new advertising media options are constantly emerging. Digital and social media are changing the way that consumers use media and are also influencing how consumers acquire product information.
Account planning brings the focus on the consumer into the process of developing advertising. Planning is a job function relating to the application of strategy and planning. The discipline and its tools and techniques help to build unique directions, propositions and communications concepts across advertising and marketing channels. The Account Planner, or simply Planner, has a role to identify and empathize with the target market and utilize multiple types of data to unlock insight that creates value between the consumer, the brand and the category of Product (business) or service. The thoughts and observations are construed into a value proposition and make up a document, often called a Creative Brief, that is used to create and inspire advertising campaigns and other marketing communications.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to marketing:
Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online-based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development during the 1990s and 2000s changed the way brands and businesses use technology for marketing. As digital platforms became increasingly incorporated into marketing plans and everyday life, and as people increasingly used digital devices instead of visiting physical shops, digital marketing campaigns have become prevalent, employing combinations of search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e-books, and optical disks and games have become commonplace. Digital marketing extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones, callbacks, and on-hold mobile ring tones. The extension to non-Internet channels differentiates digital marketing from online marketing.
Marketing mix modeling (MMM) is statistical analysis such as multivariate regressions on sales and marketing time series data to estimate the impact of various marketing tactics on sales and then forecast the impact of future sets of tactics. It is often used to optimize advertising mix and promotional tactics with respect to sales revenue or profit.
Brand awareness is the extent to which customers are able to recall or recognize a brand under different conditions. Brand awareness is one of two dimensions from brand knowledge, an associative network memory model. Brand awareness is a key consideration in consumer behavior, advertising management, and brand management. The consumer's ability to recognize or recall a brand is central to purchasing decision-making. Purchasing cannot proceed unless a consumer is first aware of a product category and a brand within that category. Awareness does not necessarily mean that the consumer must be able to recall a specific brand name, but they must be able to recall enough distinguishing features for purchasing to proceed. Creating brand awareness is the main step in advertising a new product or bringing back the older brand in light.
A target market, also known as serviceable obtainable market (SOM), is a group of customers within a business's serviceable available market at which a business aims its marketing efforts and resources. A target market is a subset of the total market for a product or service.
Media buying refers to the procurement of advertising on mediums such as a television, newspapers, commercial radio, magazines, websites, mobile apps, over-the-top media services, out-of-home advertising etc. It also includes price negotiation and the appropriate placement of ads based on research to reach the right audiences considering the product, service and message being advertised. A media buyer is tasked to perform such activities.
Targeted advertising is a form of advertising, including online advertising, that is directed towards an audience with certain traits, based on the product or person the advertiser is promoting. These traits can either be demographic with a focus on race, economic status, sex, age, generation, level of education, income level, and employment, or psychographic focused on the consumer values, personality, attitude, opinion, lifestyle and interest. This focus can also entail behavioral variables, such as browser history, purchase history, and other recent online activities. The process of algorithm targeting eliminates waste.
Social network advertising, also known as "social media targeting," is a group of terms that are used to describe forms of online advertising and digital marketing that focus on social networking services. One of the significant benefits of this type of advertising is that advertisers can take advantage of the users' demographic information and target their ads appropriately.
Sometimes referred as Advertising Exposure, Marketing Exposure is the degree to which a company’s target market is exposed to the company’s communications about its product/ services, initiatives, etc. Exposure is the product of a marketing strategy, and once the strategy is implemented it is only a matter of time before exposure is put into action. Consumers recognize "marketing exposure" when the company creates and promotes a campaign. There are three types of marketing exposure: intensive, selective, and exclusive.
Online presence management is the process of creating and promoting traffic to a personal or professional brand online. This process combines web design, and development, blogging, search engine optimization, pay-per-click marketing, reputation management, directory listings, social media, link sharing, and other avenues to create a long-term positive presence for a person, organization, or product in search engines and on the web in general.
Multicultural marketing is the practice of marketing to one or more audiences of specific ethnicities—typically an ethnicity outside of a country's majority culture, which is sometimes called the "general market." Typically, multicultural marketing takes advantage of the ethnic group's different cultural referents—such as language, traditions, celebrations, religion and any other concepts—to communicate to and persuade that audience. Cultural as well as ethnic variations in multicultural societies such as the United States provide marketers with the opportunity to connect with consumers by developing consumer segments for targeted marketing initiatives. For example, insight into the culture and ethnicity of consumers is applied directly to consumer targeting through a variety of marketing initiatives in the U.S.
((Reach and Frequency))
Belch, G. E., & Belch, M. A. (2012). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
The importance of frequency. (n.d.) Zip code magazines. Retrieved from http://www.zipcodemagazines.com/enough-importance-frequency-advertising/ The importance of frequency when advertisement. (April, 2016) Inspired Senior Living. Retrieved from http://www.seniorlivingmag.com/articles/the-importance-of-frequency-when-advertising Ossi, A. (2015) why is reach important. Retrieved form https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-dk/article/why-is-reach-important/