Digital Advertizing

Digital Advertising

Lesson 13: Planning of advertisements for different media- Print media

Deciding media

After choosing the message the advertisers tasks is to choose advertising media to carry it. The following factors are to be considered in planning advertising for different media.

1. Deciding on reach, frequency and impact
   Reach
   Reach is the number of different persons or households expose to a particular media schedule at least one during a specified time period.
   Frequency
   The number of times within the specified time period that an average person or household is exposing to the message.
   Impact
   The qualitative value of an exposure through a given media.
   Audience awareness will be greater if the reach, frequency and impact are higher. Hence, the advertiser should look for a media which has highest reach, frequency and impact.
2. Choosing among major media types
   The media planner should know the capacity of the major media types to deliver reach, frequency and impact.
   The factors to be considered here are as follows:
   
   1. Target audience media habits: A study of usage of media for making a purchase decision of any product by different audience will reveal this information.
      Ex: Radio and Television are the most effective media for reaching the teenagers.
      
   2. Product: Products differ in their functions which are to be advertised. Also media types have different potentials for demonstration, visualization, explanation, believability and colour.
      Women’s dresses are best shown in colour magazines. Polaroid cameras are best demonstrated on Television.
3. Message: If the message is for a sale tomorrow, radio or newspaper is advisable. A message containing lot of technical data requires magazines, mails etc. so, choice for media differs based on the length, urgency, nature etc., of message.
4. Cost: This is an important factor for any manufacturer. TV is very expensive while newspaper is inexpensive. What has to be considered here is the cost per thousand exposures rather than the total costs.
5. Media timing: In deciding which type of media to use, depending on the seasonality of the product utility, the advertiser either has macro or micro scheduling.
   
   1. Macro scheduling is scheduling the advertising in relation to seasonal and business cycle trends i.e., either to follow seasonal pattern, oppose seasonal pattern or constant throughout the year.
      Ex: Soft drink advertising may have macro scheduling to increase off-seasonal sales also.
      
   2. Micro scheduling is advertising within a short period to obtain the maximum impact irrespective of the seasonal utility of the product.
6. Advertising effectiveness: The advertiser should find out the communication effectiveness of the advertisement which is also called as copy testing, should be done before an advertisement put into media and after it is printed or broadcasted or telecasted in the media.