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Traditional Media Planning and Development

The primary components that are the basis of any media plan and all of the different segments of the media plan must relate and work with these components. Here are some questions to consider:

1) Is the media plan related to a brand awareness campaign or a promotional event driven campaign? This becomes the difference between people hearing your name and knowing who you are versus if you are trying to get people to a specific location for an event.

2) Is there a geographic target? Your answer to this will make it easier to evaluate which vendors will be most effective in your campaign.

3) Is there a demographic target? For example, demographics are about men, women, married, single, retired, students, full time, part time, families, income and much more. Your demographic target will help you determine where to advertise.

4) Do you have a timeline? For example are you interested in increasing sales or traffic for a given weekend, month, or season? Or you may wish to consider periodic events to advertise. Is your business seasonal?

5) Are there any media outlets that simply do not make sense for your advertising campaign? For example, is television advertising prohibitively expensive for your budget? Do you have a message for which outdoor advertising would not give you the space to present?

6) Of course, there is one primary question to consider: What is your advertising budget?

Once you have answered all of these questions, you are ready to begin the research process. This will require looking at each medium’s strengths and weaknesses and the different ways that you can reach your target audience with each. The various traditional advertising mediums are negotiated and purchased differently. The traditional media include Television, Cable, Newspaper, Magazine, Radio and Billboards. Looking at each medium in the context of how you answered the six earlier questions makes a daunting task much more manageable and you will likely find it necessary to research only a few of the mediums further.

Once you have weeded out the media that doesn’t make sense for your campaign, it is time to look at how to create a strong campaign within each medium and create a supportive media mix. In order for you to have an effective campaign, you need to reach your target audience with your message with enough critical mass of repetition for them to remember who you are and move them to action.

Here is a review of Television, Radio and Print as an example to consider for a media plan.

Television
The average consumer spends more time in front of the television than listening to the radio or reading the newspaper. Television is considered one of the main forms of advertisement for business. This would theoretically be a natural however, television advertising has a bigger budget requirement.

Radio
Consumers are using the radio while driving or working when they are at work. While the cost of radio is not inexpensive, it is less than television advertising. To keep your radio advertising budget lower, you can choose to advertise on public radio stations, where costs are reduced and target marketing is a bit easier.

Print
Consumers use print media, not only to read about news or their particular interest, but also to review the advertising. As far as most advertisers are concerned, print advertising is the most effective. For example when reading the newspaper, the person’s entire attention is on the paper.

Before you decide on the media for your advertising and your media plan, the questions you answered in this article will help decide which method would best suit your business. Get the most out of your advertising buy.

Article Source: http://www.ezinearticles.mk

Bill Hagen is the President of Out The Window Advertising in Flagstaff, AZ. Out the Window Advertising was recently ranked the 5th largest ad agency in Arizona by the Phoenix Business Journal. The team at Out The Window excels in the planning, development, placement, and creative execution of Television, Radio, Print, Direct Mail, e-commerce, social media and customer retention campaigns for over 90 clients nationwide. For a true “one-stop shop,” Out The Window Advertising offers the use of their “In-House” production facility for all client projects.

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