MAKING A MEDIA BUY, newspaper, television, internet

Making media buy

1. MAKING A MEDIA BUY

2. CLASS OBJECTIVE The role of the media planner may involve none, some, or all of the media buying functions. Today’s class provides a brief overview of how print and electronic media are purchased.

3. TOPICS We’ll specifically cover the following areas:- Merchandising a magazine buy Getting into newspapers Buying time of television Implementing an internet buy Buying space outdoors

4. 1. MERCHANDIZING A MAGAZINE BUY It used to be that all magazines worked off a rate card, listing the cost of buying various page sizes, with or without color or other special features. Additional charges were also made for preferred positions, such as the inside front or back covers and the back cover itself, which are believed to be read by more people. Today, however, buyers negotiate the media buys. The starting point is the rate card, discounts can be offered in terms of volume ( purchasing multiple issues or many adverts in one magazine, buys ads in several magazines owned by the same publisher)

5. 1. MERCHANDIZING A MAGAZINE BUY However, in some cases the ad will cost more. You will pay more if you are buying space for a magazine with a wide readership or if you are buying a bigger advert. You will also pay more to reach a specialized audience. When negotiating, the buyer could request for their ad to be placed in certain areas. For instance, on the front page or in a food section. More organizations are also increasingly offering benefits to advertisers. The include special promotions, editorial features, bonus circulation, web links or trade deals offered at little or no extra charge.

6. 2 . GETTING INTO NEWSPAPERS Just like with the magazine, the buyer must analyze all possible newspapers available in the market in the market. They should consider factors such as circulation, coverage, audience composition, color possibilities and zoning. The buyer must then negotiate with all newspapers to get the perfect rate. Once an agreement has been reached, the insertion order is placed and the agency issues an authorization setting the specifications of the ad. This includes whether it is black or write or color, whether it includes a coupon or not and additional instructions. Then print details are confirmed (insertion dates, closing dates, ad size, column inches etc)

7. 3. BUYING TIME ON TELEVISION There are three ways to buy space on television: For long-term, short-term and opportunistic. For long-term, the buyer negotiates space with major networks well in advance of their actual air dates/ upfront . The time purchased is usually over three or four quarters of the year. The advertisers are likely to get a better mix of programs and to ensure they get their spots in the time periods and shows that they want. However, there might be less room for negotiating because everyone is trying to buy from a limited amount of inventory as stations choose the amount of time available upfront.

8. 3 . BUYING TIME ON TELEVISION The second type of television advertising buying is short term or scatter market, which is scattered throughout the broadcast day across months. Advertisers typically buy space one to three times in advance unless demand is soft. Prices in scatter tend to vary depending on supply and demand and what happens in scatter impacts the long-term or upfront market place as well. When the economy is doing well advertisers prefer upfront buying, but during the recession upfront buying decreases leading to more opportunities in the scatter market.

9. 4. BUYING TIME IN TELEVISION The third way of buying time in television is the opportunistic buy. Here the advertisers make the buy the media space at the last minute, picking from whatever has remained. The advantage of opportunistic buying is that the rates are favorable because the network wants to sell the space. The disadvantage is that there is less choice and flexibility when choosing the space that you want. Deciding on how to buy space on TV depends on several factors. However, the first should be the strategic considerations of the impact of the decision on marketing, advertising and media goals.

10. HOW EXACTLY IS THE TIME BOUGHT ON TELEVISION? The buyer requests a package of programs from the seller (Broadcast, syndication or cable). The package may be based on cost or ratings, but is ultimately based on the goals of the plan. The seller submit their inventories and the buyers chooses the package that best meets the client’s needs. Instead of purchasing immediately, the buyer goes to hold, which means they are certain to make the purchase buy they have not done so yet. The hold lasts for three to five days after which the buyer decides to either purchase or drop out.

11. 4. THE GREAT OUTDOORS Negotiations for outdoor billboards focus on several key elements: Size, location, and cost. The first criterion to consider is a poster or panel size – from 8 sheet to a painted bulletin. Locations really key as far as outdoor is concerned. For instance, products such as local restaurants might be on smaller posters to remind people of the address, for hotels or gas stations it would make sense to reach drivers as they are passing through your area. It is also important to know and whether there are any potential blockages that could get in line of the side of the board, such as a tall building or a tree.

12. 4. THE GREAT OUTDOORS The outdoor showing that you buy will show you the number of daily exposure are to your message as a total of the market size. Showings are calculated based on traffic patterns, however, this does not mean that everyone passes by that location will see your advert. Last but not least, is the cost of the buy. Outdoor is bought and sold on the basis of the cost of reaching 1,000 of the target audience or CPM. Unlike television or radio, there are a couple of operators to choose from in a given market, which limits the flexibility that the buyer has to negotiate.

13. 5. IMPLEMENTING AN INTERNET BUY Media specialists have the choice of networking directly with individual websites or placing buys with networks of aggregated sites, such as double click. In either case, the media buyer negotiates the ad placement ( Fixed or rotation) and cost, along with any special considerations, such as affiliate marketing or opt-in emails. Affiliate marketing involves a deal with the website whereby sales are generated from a user who reached the sales site from your website receives a percentage of the revenue.

14. 5. IMPLEMENTING AN INTERNET BUY Opt-in emails involve soliciting consumers to sign themselves up for emails from marketers that are based on the individual’s declared interests. In addition, the buyer has to determine with the seller the basis of the sale- cost per thousand impressions, cost per click, cost per transaction, for example. Research of those who come to the site is always included as a value added bonus. This may be done by sampling every nth person who comes to the site and offering them a survey that can include questions about advertising recognition and brand attitudes.

15. SUMMARY Even the most effective media plans will not achieve it’s goals if the buys are not made effectively. Therefore, time and space needs to be purchased in accordance to the plan’s specifications, in terms of criteria such as timing, ad size and placement or position within the media vehicle. For magazine and newspaper, editorial adjacencies may be key so that the ad message is seen in an appropriate context, such as an Olay anti-wrinkle cream targeting women in the beauty section of Marie Claire Magazine.