Selecting advertising media

The major steps in media selection are following:

1.   Deciding on frequency, reach and impact;
2.   selecting among major media types;
3.   choosing specific media vehicles;
4.   Deciding on media timing.

I.   Deciding on Reach, Frequency, and Impact

To select media, the advertiser has to decide what reach and frequency are required to achieve advertising objectives. Reach is a measure of the percentage of people in the target market who are showing to the ad campaign during a given period time. For instance, the advertiser may try to reach 70 % of the target market at the time of first three months of the campaign. Frequency is a measure of how several times the average person in the focused market is exposed to the message. For instance, the advertiser may want an average exposure frequency of three. The advertiser also has to decide on the wanted media impact-the qualitative value of a message exposure via a given medium. For instance, for products that require to be demonstrated, messages on television can have more impact than messages on radio because television utilizes sight and sound. The similar message in one magazine can be more believable than in another. Generally, the more, frequency, reach and impact the advertiser seeks the superior the advertising budget will have to be.

II.   Choosing Among Major Media Types

The media planner must know the frequency, reach and impact of each of the major media types. The major media types are television, newspapers, direct mail, magazines, radio outdoor, and the Internet. Each medium has limitations and advantages.

Media planners consider various factors when making their media choice. The media habits of target consumers  will  influence  media  choice-advertisers  look  for  media  that effectively reach  target  consumers. So will the nature of the product-for instance, fashions are excellent advertised in colour magazines, and automobile performance is best demonstrated on television. Different messages may need different media. Tomorrow a message announcing a chief sale will need radio or newspapers; a message with many technical data may require direct mailings, magazines, or an online ad and Web site. Price is another major factor in media choice. For instance, network television is very costly; while newspaper or radio advertising costs much less but also reaches fewer consumers. The media planner looks at the overall cost of using a medium and at the cost per thousand exposures both -the cost of reaching 1,000 people by using the medium. Media impact and cost has to be regularly re examined. For a long time, magazines and television have dominated in the media mixes of national advertisers, with other media frequently neglected. However, recently, the clutter and costs of these media have gone up, audiences have declined, and marketers are adopting schema beamed at narrower segments.  As a result, advertisers are gradually turning to alternative media-ranging from cable TV and outdoor advertising to parking shopping carts and meters -that cost less and target more effectively.

III.   Selecting Specific Media Vehicles

Now the media planner must choose the best media vehicles-particular media within each general media type. Media planners have to compute the expense per thousand persons reached by a vehicle. The media planner ranks each magazine by cost per thousand and favours those magazines along the lower cost per thousand for getting target consumers.

The media planner has to also consider the costs of producing ads for different media. While newspaper ads can cost very little to manufacture, flashy television ads can cost millions. In choosing media vehicles, the media planner has to balance media cost measures against several media impact factors. Primary, the planner should balance expense against the media vehicle's audience quality.

IV.   Deciding on Media Timing

The advertiser has to also decide how to schedule the advertising over the course of a year. Imagine sales of a product peak in December and fall in March. The firm may vary its advertising to follow the seasonal pattern, to oppose the seasonal pattern, or to be the similar all year. Most of the firms do some seasonal advertising. Some do just seasonal advertising. At last, the advertiser has to select the pattern of the ads. Continuity means scheduling ads evenly within a specified given period. Pulsing means scheduling ads unevenly within a specified time period. The idea is to advertise heavily for a small period to build alertness that carries over to the next advertising period. Those who favour pulsing feel that it may be used to achieve the similar impact as a steady schedule but at a much lower cost. On the other hand, some media planners believe that although pulsing achieves minimal alertness, it sacrifice depth of advertising communications.

Recent advancement in technology have had a substantial effect on the media planning and buying functions.