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Kleppner's Advertising Procedure Ch. 7
Copyright © 2006 by Zack Smith,
All rights reserved.

This is my personal summary of Kleppner's Advertising Procedure.

Chapters
Chapters 1 & 2: Basics of Advertising
Chapter 3: History and Brands
Chapter 4: Target Marketing
Chapter 5: Agencies and Services
Chapter 7: Media Strategy
Chapter 13: Internet Marketing
Chapter 24: Economic, Social and Legal Aspects of Advertising
Addendum: Corporate terrorism

Chapter 7: Media Strategy

The media function of advertising is all the more important today because there are so many options, many of them new, and this requires creativity and a focus on efficiency and effectiveness.

The media function may be performed by

  • independent media buyer/planner
  • advertiser's in-house media group
  • ad agency

The media function consists of

  • Planning: organize exploitation of media.
  • Research: support planner with hard data, anticipate trends, measure audience participation.
  • Buying: execute plan to acquire media time & space.

Total advertising expenditures for 2002 were $236 billion.

Important Factors in Changing Media

Convergence

Media companies are merging and offering new services. Convergence is both horizontal e.g. two companies merge and vertical e.g. Sony movies down to Sony hardware.

Interactivity

Unless evil organizations like RIAA & MPAA succeed in shutting down the Internet, which is apparently a stated goal of theirs and possibly a Neo-conservative goal as well, consumers will continue to expect interactivity with manufacturers and marketing departments. A website that is engaging can build interest and loyalty and can promote the experience of a company's brand and products. Virtual worlds, forums, and the like make consumers feel "at home" in the world created by a company's marketing and products.

Creativity

New media means myriad new ways to reach customers, and therefore guerilla marketing is the future. It may be Web-based, or grafitti based (Sony), or as crazy as hiring people to put product logos on their foreheads in the form of temporary tattoos, as Reebok has done. Creativity is king.

Optimizers

More media means more opportunities to spend, and that in turn requires renewed efforts to keep ad spending down. There are even computer programs for aiding this effort.

Independent media buyers

By specializing on media buying, independent media buying companies have obtained better media rates than full-service ad agencies.

Disadvantages of indy media buying are:

  1. Media planning may be better done alongside the creative team, so the buying company may do only that and no planning.
  2. If media planning is outsources, coordination with creative teams is lost.

Yet for a global market, media planning may have to be shifted to local companies anyway.

Media strategy

The building block strategy is traditionally used. This simply means the focus starts on the group of prospects that is largest and moves downward from there to the smallest group (or stops, when the money runs out).

In the old days, media were just a conduit. Today a more savvy view of them is arising:

  • Core values: it is now recognized that media have "qualitative core values", for example:
    • TV is emotional
    • Magazines are informative but superficial
    • Internet is interactive & visual
    • Direct mail is personal
    • Each TV/Cable channel is a brand that has its own values and personality.
    • Each magazine is a brand, too.
  • Fading distinctions: Old definitions of "print" media or "broadcast" media make less sense when the Internet can be used to view or watch them.
  • Accountability: advertisers want to measure the impact of ads in actual sales.

Media planning

A "typical media plan" is presented in the book in outline form, with the note that no two plans are alike.

The most important task is identifying the target audience of a brand.

Researchers are keen to learn how consumers interact with particular advertisement messages and media.

A key factor is CPM:
CPM = cost per thousand (coute par mille?) = (ad cost * 1000) / circulation

Obviously planners are interested in more than just circulation numbers. A million bad prospects are worth nothing. CPM is "adjusted" to take additional factors into account.

Some considerations:

  • The audience's "creative dispositions", e.g. kids like the Web more than newspapers.
  • A medium's "qualitative environment", e.g. PC Magazine readers are eager to buy computer stuff.
  • Synergy between types of media, because two media working together work better than two media working independently.
  • Etc.

Examples of ways in which CPM is adjusted.

  • Probability of exposure to the medium, e.g. more people use a given website than watch a given TV show.
  • Weights are applied to adjust for different exposure.
  • Weights are applied to adjust for the chance of a message communicating.
  • Weights are applied to adjust for frequency of exposure to a message based on the type of medium.
Thus the focus is on differential values between media.

The result is (of course) the Weighted CPM.
Many different variables are often required to accurately weight the CPM.

One company, Claritas, provides weighting by zip code. This system is called PRIZM. It includes a number of colorful categories such as "Middle-burbs" and "Landed Gentry".

Communications requirements

Creative and media teams need to communicate.

Note, value-added opportunities now exist in various media. These are extra bonuses that any given medium provides. Effective use of these requires better communication between creative & media teams.

Geography

Media block units may now be as small as a zipcode or district or an individual. Planning must allocate money to the most profitable areas.

BDI = brand development index = simply allocating by most profitable geographic areas.

Media tactics

Media planners proceed from general to specific.

Planners have to consider 4 factors that characterize a medium.

  1. Reach / coverage = sheer number of people reached.
  2. Frequency = number of times people are exposed to the message.
  3. Continuity = duration of exposure.
  4. Budget = $$$ available to spend on media.

Each medium is judged by:

  1. Cost
  2. Number of target consumers, often weighted
  3. Effectiveness of medium

FVP = frequency value planning

Actual tactics:
To maximize reach, go for network TV, radio, or magazines.
To maximize frequency, go for basic cable TV, specialty magazines, and radio.

Media schedule

Planners will draw up a schedule of when ads will appear.

Flighting = intensive advertising ("flights") followed by sporadic advertising and then alternating.

Flighting can save money and yet achieve the same or better resultant product awareness in consumers.

Pulsing = continuous but spaced ads, with more ads at certain times.

Some considerations:

  • Flighting leaves you open to competition between flights.
  • Timing can be key.
  • Between flights, awareness decays.
  • Other media should still be considered.

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