Core Concepts of Marketing by John Burnett - HTML preview

CHAPTER 8

COMMUNICATING TO MASS MARKETS

Evaluating Media

As noted in Table 8.3, there are definite inherent strengths and weaknesses associated with

each medium. In addition, it would require extensive primary research either by the spon-

soring firm or their advertising agency in order to assess how a particular message and the

target audience would relate

a given medium. As a result, many

rely heavily

on the research findings provided by the medium, by their own experience.. and by sub-

jective appraisal.

Select ion and Implementation

The media planner must make media

decisions and timing directions . both of which

are

by the available budget. The media

decision involves putting media together

in the most effective manner. This is a difficult task, and necessitates quantitatively and qual-itatively evaluating each medium and combination thereof.

Unfortunately, there are very few valid rules of thumb to guiae this process, and the

supporting research is spotty at best. For example, in attempting to compare audiences of

various media, we find that A.C. Nielsen measures audiences based on TV viewer reports

of the programs watched, while outdoor audience exposure estimates are based on counts

of the number of automobile vehicles that pass particular outdoor poster locations. The tim-

ing afmedia refers to the actual placement of advertisements during the time periods that are most appropriate, given the selected media objectives. It includes not only the scheduling of advertisements, but also the size and position of the advertisement 4

Determining the Media Budget

This budget is a part of the advertising budget, and the

techniques and factors that

apply to the advertising budget apply to the media budget as well.

Banner A dvertisements

Before leaving the topic of advertising, both creative and media, it is important to intro-

duce a new form of advertising-banner advertising. Banner ads are the

form of

online advertising. Banner ads are graphic images in Web pages that are often animated

and can include small pieces of software code to allow further interaction. Most importantly,

they are "clickable," and

a viewer to another Web location when chosen.

Banner ads typically run at the top and bottom of the page, but they can be incorpo-

rated anywhere. The CASlE organization has developed a small number of standard sizes

and formats . Like the Web itself, banner ads are a mixture of approaches, with elements of

traditional print advertising and more targeted direct advertising. Banner ads include direct

marketing

Each banner carries with it a unique identifier. This allows the Web

site to track the effectiveness of the ad in generating traffic.

permits ad ban-

ner pricing based on results and behavior. Click-through pricing ignores impressions and

charges the advertiser based on the number of viewers that select the ad and follow it to

the linking Web site.

Admittedly, the performance of banner ads to date has been less than stellar. One com-

pany, San Francisco-based Organic, has approached the problem of ineffective online adver-

tising with a product called "expand-o." This new ad vehicle

an advertiser to include

some of its Web site's content in an expandable banner ad. At the click of a

the adver-

tisement expands to

much as five or six times its original size. For instance, an expand-o

UNDERSTANDING ADVERTISING

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TABLE 8.3

An Appraisal of Mass Media

Type

Strengths

Weaknesses

TELEVISION

Strong emotional impact

1. High costs

2. Mass coverage/small cost per impression

2. High clutter (too many ads)

3. Repeat message

3. Short-lived impression

4. Creative flexibility

4. Programming quality

5. Entertaining/prestigious

5. Schedule inflexibility

RADIO

1. Provides immediacy

1. Limited national coverage

2. Low cost per impression

2. High clutter

3. Highly flexible

3. Less easily perceived during

drive time

4. Fleeting message

NEWSPAPERS

Flexibility

1. Short life

2. Community prestige

2. Technical quality

3. Market coverage

3. Clutter

4. Offer merchandising services

4. Timing flexibility

5. Reader involvement

5. Two-tiered rate structure

MAGAZINES

1. Highly segmented audiences

1. Inflexible

2. High-profile audiences

2. Narrow audiences

3. Reproduction qualities

3. Waste circulation

4. Prestigious

4. High cost

5. Long life

6. Extra services

OUTDOORI

1. Inexpensive

1. Short/concise messages

TRANSIT

2. Flexible

2. Negative reputation

3. Reminder

3. Uncontrollable

4. Repetition

4. Inflexible

5. Immediacy

DIRECT MAIL

1. Flexibility

1. Negative image

2. Develop complete/precise message

2. High cost per impression

3. Supplement

3. High production costs

4. Dependent upon mailing list

SPECIALTY

1. Positive reinfo rcement

1. Wastefu l

ADVERTISING

2. Segmented markets

2. Expensive

(Directories, matchbooks,

3. Flexible

calendars , etc.)

INTERACTIVE

1. Flexible

1. Hard to measure

2. Repetition

2. Limited market coverage

3. Involvement

3. Uncontrollable

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