Media P&B INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA PLANNING AND SELECTION

INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA
PLANNING AND SELECTION

1. Media Planning and Buying

2. Introduction to Media Planning and Selection MODULE 1.

3. What is Media Planning 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.

4. Definitions 1. The process of selecting the appropriate media vehicles to achieve marketing objectives by buying media time and space to publicize advertising messages is called Media Planning 2. A media plan is a blue print or a plan of action for promoting your business through certain media channels to achieve a business goal, such as raising brand awareness to new or existing users of the product. Increasing your chances of success depends on careful examination and implementation, as well as expert knowledge of media buying and basic marketing strategies.

5. Function of Media planning in advertising 1. Proper media planning enables the selection of the right media: selection of the right media is crucial in the entire planning process. How best can I reach my target audience? Is the question kept in mind? 2. It helps to allocate the advertising funds to the right products in the right media: for example, ads for chocolates will be placed in a slot where there is maximum children viewer ship. And channels like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network or between 5-7 pm when most children watch cartoons. 3. It indicates the period or the season in which the advertiser need to concentrate advertising efforts: for example all the paint advertisements concentrate on the festive seasons. A few months before the festival like Diwali the ads are released.

6. 4. It helps achieve the advertising objectives. 5. It minimizes wastages of advertising funds: when money is used in the right direction there are minimum wastages. A media plan helps the ad agency to obtain approval form the client. Proper media planning will help the advertiser to reach the right target audience. It helps to finalize the frequency of advertisements: how many repetitions of the advertisement should be done and are required also specified in a media plan.

7. Who is a Media Planner? 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. A media planner’s job is to develop a coordinated plan for a particular client’s advertising budget. They decide where, when, and how often to feature a specific ad. The more the planner can optimize – meaning stretch – a client’s budget to reach the largest number of people, the better his or her odds of seeing results. The whole purpose of advertising is to make potential customers aware of a company’s products or services and to persuade them to buy them.

8. In the process of planning, the media planner attempts to answer the following questions:- How many of customers or users can be reached through the various media? In which media should the ads be placed? In which region should the ads appear? How frequent should the ads be placed? In which months the ads should appear? How many times in a month the ads should reach the custom? How much money should be spent in each medium?

9. Role of Media Planner 1. Co-ordination- Media Planner teams up with creative team, client and consumer to develop and advice about the most effective media strategies. 2. Decision making- Media planners ensure that the right balance is achieved in presenting media proposals, including time, cost and helping clirnt to reach their advertising strategy. 3. Reach and Analysis- They analysis and research the target audience's character, their purchasing behaviour and habits to make make effective marketing strategies.

10. 4. Managing Client relationship- they have to maintain satisfying client relationship. He should work efficiently to continue the relations over the long period. Since the turnover of the agency is depended on the client's co-operation and support. 5. Evaluating campaigns- Media planners need to monitor and update clients on the effectiveness of the finalized campaigns. 6. Budget allocation to right media- Using research data, they consider what is going to be most effective within the budget allocated and give the client's product or service maximum exposure by considering right media options.

11. Challenges in Media Planning 1. Nature of Product- Product to be advertised can be industrial product or consumer product. Industrial product can better be advertised in their specific trade-journals/magazines. Consumer products can better be advertised through mass media. In the same way products for export can be advertised in such magazines which have circulation on other countries. Fashionable products can be advertised in fashion magazines like- Film fare, Femina, Stardust, etc.

12. 2. Nature of Customers- An appropriate media plan must consider the class of consumers, for whom advertising is to be done. Different consumers are dissimilar in their age-group, sex, income, personality, educational level, and attitude. (a) Age- For advertising for kids-products, television is the best media for communicating message, specifically cartoon related TV Channels. If target audience is young then television, magazines are suitable. If target audience consists of old-age-group, then newspaper, television, is a good choice.

13. (b) Level of Education- If the target audiences are highly educated, then advertisement should be given in magazines, national newspaper, internet, and television. If target audience are less educated, then local newspaper printed in local languages, low-profile magazines, TV 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 considered. If number of target audience is less, then direct mail- media, Tele-advertising are suitable.

14. (3) Characteristics of Distribution channels- Distribution channels can be classified on the basis of geographical distribution of goods or services of advertiser. It may be classified as local distributor, regional distributors, national distributor, international distributors. (a) local distributor- if the product is to be distributed locally or regionally, then media with local coverage. (b) National distributor- if product is distributed on national level, then media with national coverage like national dailies, national level TV channels will be suitable.

15. (c) International distributors- 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, TV channels having International coverage like BBC should be considered. 4. Advertising Objectives- The major objectives of every advertising campaign is to get favourable response from consumer, but the specific objectives can be different. If the objective of advertising campaign is to get immediate results, then fast media of communication like newspapers will be considered. If the objective of advertising is to build corporate- goodwill, and brand-equity, then magazines , television will be considered.

16. (5) Nature of Message- if the advertising message is informative in nature, then the newspaper medium will be suitable. If ad- message is to persuade consumers, then they need to be given emotional appeal, rational appeal, demonstration of product, then television media will be considered for advertising. (6) Size of Ad-budget- If the amount of advertisement budget is more, then costly media like television, National dailies and popular magazines can be selected. If Ad-budget- is less, then media like posters, banners, cable network, local newspaper, pamphlets will be suitable

17. Media Brief A media brief is a document which summarises a client’s communications strategy and/or campaign objectives and requests solutions to meet its objectives. It may be circulated by the client or its media agency to media owners, who respond with proposals outlining how they intend to achieve the clients’ objectives. Depending on the circumstances, a proposal may include a combination of advertising formats and platforms.

18. A media brief can be straightforward and precise, with a firm idea of which media are to be used and stating a specific budget or optional levels of spend. Alternatively the brief might have fewer constraints, seeking innovative approaches from media owners to fulfil its marketing objectives.

19. A Media brief should include:- 1.Marketing information checklist: This should reflect the marketing objectives and proposed strategies, product characteristics, distribution channels, brand category, expenditure level and ad. expenditure of close competitors, ad. expenditure for the current, previous years and proposed appropriation.

20. 2. The objectives: The media brief must indicate the objective or objectives; the proposed advertising is trying to accomplish. This must clearly indicate whether the objective is to introduce a new product, increase awareness about the existing brand, reinforce the current position, reposition the current brand, relaunch a declining brand, elicit direct response, improve or enhance the company’s reputation or change the people’s attitude towards the company, brand or product category. It would also indicate the source of business, i.e., the target audience, profile of the current users, proposed users, etc.

21. 3. Product category information: It is pertinent for the media planner to have a thorough knowledge about the product category and the positioning of the brand being handled. This helps in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the brand and also helps in setting achievable targets. The information details with the following broad areas: category definition, competitive brands, market share of the various brands, sales volume of each brand, life cycle stage for brand/category (new, mature, stagnating or near extinct), market expansion opportunity, interest level (high/low), responsiveness to advertising, purchase cycle of the product-to help determine the scheduling pattern.

22. 4. Geography/location: The media brief helps the planner in knowing his media markets. In other words, for example, if the product is only available in the metros, then the planner will restrict his media options to only those vehicles, which reach the target audience in the metros. In case, however, the product is being launched on all-country basis, the media planner although keeping in view the holistic approach will also keep in mind the consumption pattern in various geographical locations for giving relative weightage to areas, where the product usage is more. Besides this, he will also keep in view the brand development index, sales volume and local market problems and opportunities.

23. 5.Seasonality /timing: Information regarding seasonality of the product is an important consideration for the media planner. In the Indian context, where there are extreme climates in different parts of the country at the same time, some products are season-specific. The sale of woollens is always there in the hilly areas especially, Srinagar, Himachal Pradesh and higher reaches of Uttar Pradesh, while in southern India, except probably in some parts of Karnataka, woollens are generally not available. The North experience severe cold for some months, hence one sees a spurt in advertising. Besides, the planner should keep track of the sales pattern, influence factors such as festivals, holidays and the weather, spending considerations, specific sales promotion drive, and client mandated spending constraint, etc.

24. 6.Target audience: A profile of those who buy the existing category as also those who buy competitive brands is a very important consideration for the media planner. Buying habits must also include information about buying cycles, purchase points, frequency of purchase, etc. This helps the planner to know the consumer characteristics by category, brand and competitor; demographics-age, income,

25. Media Audit Media Auditing entails a third-party review of a company’s media buying costs. Advertisers employ media auditors to ensure that the money they have set aside for advertising is being spent wisely. The main focus of a media audit is to verify media delivery and placement. This is carried out on a media by media basis. The media auditing process gives the advertiser comfort that they are getting fair value from their advertising spend and if not, provides the necessary information to negotiate better terms.

26. Components of Media Audit The first is a financial audit by Media audit firm of the records of the Media buying agency. Since the media buying agency is an external agency, they have a contractual relationship to act on client behalf to buy space and time. Media essentially examines whether client got what it ordered and if they are paying for what the intended. The second type of audit is called ‘return of rebates and discounts’, which some media owners give the Media buying agency directly for space or airtime booking in excess of a certain volume. Media buying agencies p ush advertisers to spend on a given medium to gain volumes, and thus rebates.

27. The third component of media audit is a critique on the way media planning has been done by the agency. The media auditor audits the media plan to examine if the plan was fair and optimum. The best media audit’s are the audit of entire media process and involves all of the appropriates disciplines within financial and marketing organizations at the advertiser company.

28. NCCS Grid New Consumer Classification System (NCCS) is the new tool for classifying consumers in India. The methodology will be used by the Broadcast Audience Research Council in its soon-to-be-launched TV audience measurement system. A look at few basic questions that will help understand the NCCS socio-economic classification (SEC) was introduced in the country to classify consumers into different groups. Over time, flaws were noticed in the system. That's when the industry decided to revise the consumer classification system and introduce the New Consumer Classification System (NCCS )

29. Why is it used? NCCS is used to discriminate between households and define the entire consumer behaviour of a household- what will his family aspire for, gender ratio or life expectancy of a family member. It is used by IRS and will even be used in the soon-to-be launched TV ratings methodology from BARC. It is similar to SEC but here, the attempt is to understand the behavioural variables of a consumer as well.

30. NCCS v/s sec – a comparison NCCS Single system for urban and rural India. Linked to the household Discriminates on Education of CWE and durables in Household; i.e. household parameters used for household classification. Dynamic, ability to change over time. Captures affordability quotient of household SEC SYSTEM Different classification for urban and rural India Linked to only one individual Uses only CWE discriminators (education and occupation) Static, neither variable changes significantly over time. Does not capture affordability adequately

31. In the older version, the SEC Classification consists of two grids- The Urban SEC Grid, which uses Education levels and Occupational criteria of the Chief Wage Earner (CWE) of a household as measures to determine socio-economic classification, and segments urban India into 7 groups (A1 to E2) and The Rural SEC Grid, which uses Education and Type of House ( pucca , semi- pucca , and katcha ) as measures of socio-economic class, and segments rural India into 4 groups (R1,R2,R3,R4)

32. The new SEC system is based on two variables: 1. Education of the Chief Earner. The options are Illiterate, Literate but no formal schooling or Schooling unto 4 years, Schooling between 5–9 years, High School pass, Some college (including a diploma but not a graduate), Graduate / Post Graduate (General), Graduate / Post Graduate (Professional) 2. The number of Consumer durables(pre-decided from a list of 11 items) owned by the family. The list of 11 items are: Electricity Connection, Ceiling Fan, LPG Stove, Two Wheeler, Color TV, Refrigerator, Washing Machine, Personal Computer/Laptop, Car/Jeep/Van, Air Conditioner, Agricultural Land There are 12 grades in the new system starting from A1 to E3.

33. NCCS GRID

34. Who is media buyer A media buyer is responsible for the placements and the negotiation of price for all advertisements on radio, television, print and digital. Digitally, they are responsible for the ad placements for your favorite sites. Media buyers also have to ensure all media inventory (times, days, lengths and sizes of placements) is purchased within budget, which is why negotiation is so important in this field. The primary goal is to ensure the advertisements are seen by the most people possible for that target audience within budget. 

35. Role of media buyer 1. Maintaining relationship- A successful media buying unit has two key attributes; a strong relationship with the media owners which ensures that they know about new opportunities in different types of media and client relationship and servicing which will give the agency long lasting value and goodwill in the market. They attend meetings with their clients, give presentations and report back to them on the results of their various campaigns thus ensuring the client has met his desired requirement.

36. 2. Selecting Media Vehicles- Choose the best vehicles that fit the target audience aperture. The media planner lays out the direction; the buyer is responsible for choosing specific vehicles. 3. Monitoring the Buy- The media buyer tracks the performance of the media plan as it is implemented, as well as afterward. Poorly performing vehicles must be replaced or costs must be modified. 4. Make Goods- A policy of compensating for missed positions or errors in handling the message presentation. Ensure that the advertiser is compensated appropriately when they occur. 5. Power of Negotiation- Media planners work out where an ad should appear, and media buyers speak to the companies that own the space to ensure firstly that it is possible for the message to reach across the desired target in those environments and secondly that our clients pay the best possible price to appear there. This is the negotiation power to deliver a competitive price.

37. 6. Optimization- The media buyer is the key element in the ensuring that advertising, marketing and promotional campaigns are exposed to the right target audience in the most effective place, thereby gaining recognition and new customers for the product or service in question. 7. Research and strategy- Media buyers conduct extensive research in identifying the desired target and consumer insights, in recommending media channels; strategic development and innovation, benchmarking historical performance tracking, implementation of planning and competitive analysis are the key attributes in research and strategy.

38. 8. Budget management- Media buyers also need to have a practical knowledge while handling allocated money for the campaign, as they will be entrusted with a fix budget, which must be spent wisely and appropriately. 9. Evaluation- Media buyers need to keep their eye on the key performance indicators of ad campaigns. For instance, they might assess and evaluate data that relates to the circulation and distribution of certain media channels and relationships with media sales agencies and potential clients. They would then by reviewing the success of certain campaigns in order to make vital adjustments and changes.