Media strategy
Media strategy is a plan of action by an advertiser for bringing advertising messages to the attention of consumers through the use of appropriate media (Danesi M. (2009), p. 194).
According to the definition presented in ‘Marketing’ media planning is the series of decisions advertisers make with regard about concerning to the selection and use of media which will allow the marketer to remunerative and optimally communicate the message to the target audience. Especially, advertisers must determine when and for how long the advertisement will run and which types of media will best communicate the advantages of their product or service to the target audience (Lamb C. W., Hair J. F. Jr., McDaniel C. (2010), p. 513).
The channel used to convey a message to a target market is called a medium.
The choice of media
Promotional objectives and the appeal and executional style of the advertising strongly affect the selection of media. It is essential to understand that both media and creative decisions are made at the same time. Advertisers must know which medium will be used to convey the message to the target market, creative work cannot be completed without knowing that. For example, creative planning will likely differ for an ad to be displayed on a television channel versus one placed in a print medium, such as a book, newspaper or magazine. In many cases, the advertising objectives dictate the medium and the creative approach to be used. For instance, a TV commercial will be the best choice to show the objective of demonstrating how fast a product operates (Lamb C. W., Hair J. F. Jr., McDaniel C., 2010, p. 513).
According to the information contained in "Total U.S. Advertising Spending by Medium," Special Report, June 23, 2008 advertisers in the United States spend about $300 billion on media advertising every year. Almost 50% is spent on media such as newspapers, the Internet, television, magazines (media monitored by national reporting services). The other part of it is spent on unmonitored media, such as trade exhibits, coupons, catalogs, direct mail, brochures, and special events (Lamb C. W., Hair J. F. Jr., McDaniel C., 2010, p. 513).
Media in marketing context
A checklist made by Helen Katz presents questions which should advertisers consider during media selection (Katz H., 2017, p. 33):
- Have you considered price, place, product, and promotions - all elements of the marketing mix?
- The knowledge of your brand. How much do consumers already know about it?
- The history of your brand. Have you analyzed how it has been positioned in the past, how long has it been available, how successful has it been before?
- Do you need to verify on your consumer through surveys, focus groups, or analysis of syndicated data?
- What time of the year, month, day of the week or even time of day do consumers buy your product?
- Have you considered any timing issues for the brand?
- Is there any difference between product size or flavor? How much do consumers buy?
- What are the trends in your category product?
- Are there any regional differences for your brand's sales and market share?
- Do your consumers have any special relationships with particular media that might affect their responses to brand messages?
- Are there any relevant media in a specific context that might be appropriate to link your target consumers with the media they consume and your brand?
- How does each major competitor positions its brand and promote it?
- Have you calculated the category and brand development indices for your brand?
- How does your brand manage with competitors in terms of market share and share of requirements?
- What are your brand's chief competitors doing?
References
- Danesi M. (2009), Dictionary of Media and Communications, M.E. Sharpe
- Katz H. (2017), The Media Handbook: A Complete Guide to Advertising Media Selection, Planning, Research, and Buying, Taylor & Francis
- Kelley L., Sheehan K., Jugenheimer D. W., (2015), Advertising Media Planning: A Brand Management Approach, Routledge
- Lamb C. W., Hair J. F. Jr., McDaniel C. (2010), Marketing South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason
- Rossiter J. R., Danaher P. J., (2011), Advanced Media Planning, Springer Science & Business Media
Author: Natalia Supernak
| Media strategy — recommended articles |
| Measuring of advertising effectiveness — Market metrics — Heavy users — Advertising plan — Public relations in marketing — Below the line advertising — Media mix — Target population — Media house |
