Advertising Media Planning, Seventh Edition

Consumer Media Classes Following is a brief review of reasons for and against using major measured sumer media—newspapers, magazines, newspaper supplements, television, cable con-TV, rad

Selecting Media Classes

Intermedia Comparisons

The preceding chapters covered broad, major strategy decisions comprising

a part of the activities involved in media planning This chapter and the next deal with the selection of media, including decisions that usually fol-low marketing strategy decisions, such as the selection of media classes—whether to use television, magazines, newspapers, Internet display, Internet search,

or some other medium This chapter focuses on the selection of media classes, and the next chapter covers decisions about selecting specific vehicles within classes

Comparing Media

To make decisions about media classes, a planner must make intermedia

compar-isons—that is, comparisons among different media Comparisons among media

vehicles in the same class—such as among Magazines A, B, and C—are called

intra-media comparisons Obviously, interintra-media comparisons should precede intraintra-media

comparisons

The main question with intermedia comparisons is whether they can logically

be made on a statistical basis Although it is sometimes valid to compare media classes statistically, in most cases it is not The numbers for one media class are usually not comparable to those of another class Comparing readers, viewers, and listeners is like comparing apples, roast beef, and sushi The definition of a reader

is so different from that of a television viewer or a radio listener that comparing these numbers is misleading For example, would it be correct to compare the cost per thousand viewers of a television program with the cost per thousand readers of

a magazine? Only partially Audience numbers tell us if one vehicle delivers more audience at a better cost-efficiency than another in a different media class

But it is questionable whether a television commercial, which is measured in terms of the number of people who are watching during the average commercial minute of a program, can be compared to the total number of people who have read

or looked into a magazine during its 30-day publication period or the time it takes

to accumulate the desired number of impressions from a website Besides, there are obvious differences in creative impact between a television commercial, with its sight, sound, and motion; the static appearance of a four-color print advertisement;

or a banner displayed on a website

Yet such comparisons must be made whenever it is necessary to choose among the many different media classes Although the planner provides important input, the decision about which media to use is shared by all who work on a campaign: the agency account team, the creative group, the media planner, and most important, the advertiser who must give final approval before any work begins

Consumer Media Classes

Following is a brief review of reasons for and against using major measured sumer media—newspapers, magazines, newspaper supplements, television, cable

con-TV, radio, Internet display, Internet search, direct response (including direct mail and telemarketing), outdoor, and transit The pros and cons of each medium are summarized in Exhibit 9-1 The pros and cons of using a medium often grow out

of a planner’s perceptions and impressions rather than from objective evidence Therefore, some media experts might take exception to the reasons or limitations stated here

Pros and Cons of Consumer Media Class

Newspapers Sense of immediacy Lack of target audience selectivity

Local emphasis High cost Flexibility Limited coverage

Higher national advertising rates Small pass-along audience Variation in ROP color quality

EXHIBIT 9-1

MEDIA CLASS REASONS TO USE LIMITATIONS

Magazines Selectivity Early closing dates

Access to light TV viewers Lack of immediacy

Fine color reproduction Slow building of reach

Good color fidelity No demographic selectivity

Depth of presentation Limited readership

Broadened coverage area High cost

Less competition on

Sundays High readership

Flexibility

Television Sight, sound, and motion for

dynamic selling

High cost Low attention Flexibility DVR commercial skipping

Reach of both selective and

mass markets

Short-lived messages High commercial loads (clutter) Cost-efficiency No catalog value

Cable TV National audience Fragmented audiences

Added reach and frequency Less than full national coverage

Relatively low cost

Less susceptible to

DVR recording Precisely defined target

audiences Broader spectrum of

advertisers Reduced total and average

Lack of control by the advertiser Limited communication value

Not overtly presented

as advertising

(C ON T INUED)

MEDIA CLASS REASONS TO USE LIMITATIONS

Implied endorsement by entertainment characters using the placed product

Variable exposure time Obsolescence

Ability to select program environment consistent with product’s image

Radio Reach of narrow demographic

target audiences

Many stations in one market

No catalog value High frequency Low attentiveness for some formats Supporting medium

Excellent for mobile populations High summer exposure Flexibility

Geographic flexibility Active medium

Internet

display

Low-cost corporate legitimacy

High cost to achieve adequate reach

Great creative flexibility Constantly changing medium Precise targeting by behavior,

geography, timing, or other factors

Lack of consistent research Conflict between Internet sales and traditional sales channels

A great many ways to evaluate alternative sites

Low response (click-thru) rate Limited penetration

Supplemental information Easy documentation of effectiveness Low-cost marketing research tool

Two-line sales message

Requires target interest Requires active management of buy due to auction-based pricing Requires previous knowledge of the advertiser

Complete response metrics Plain text only—no graphics, logo,

or picture

No exclusivity—side-by-side appearance with competition

(C ON T INUED)

EXHIBIT 9-1

MEDIA CLASS REASONS TO USE LIMITATIONS

Measurable for return on

investment (ROI) purposes

Lack of standards across carriers and platforms

Ability to deliver coupons

with a UPC code

Direct mail Easy verification of response High cost

Personal quality Inaccurate and incomplete lists

Flexibility Variance in delivery dates

Long life for certain mailings Clutter and consumer resistance

Limited to simple messages

No guarantee of high recall High frequency High out-of-pocket cost

Low CPM

Largest print ad available

Limited availability in upscale neighborhoods

metropolitan area

Transit media Mass coverage of a

metropolitan area High frequency

Limited message space High competition from other media and personal activities

Relative efficiency Frequent inspection

MEDIA CLASS REASONS TO USE LIMITATIONS

to the Internet and mobile phone displays to get the latest news This is having the greatest effect on the big city dailies and less of an impact on community news-papers that report on local high school sports, town council meetings, the police blotter, and so forth

Despite these negative trends, as of the summer of 2009, the following reasons for using newspapers and their limitations are still relevant At the same time, newspaper owners and managers are in the process of reevaluating their product

to maintain their appeal in the new communications environment In short, they are making whatever changes are necessary to continue their long-term viability

as a business

Newspapers—Reasons for Using

Sense of Immediacy Readers tend to perceive newspapers as being the most diate local medium in the market Every day a newspaper contains something new, and with the news come new advertisements Newspapers are considered to have a

imme-“now” quality at all times This quality is important when advertisers want to municate something immediately to a mass local audience When manufacturers

com-(C ON T INUED)

EXHIBIT 9-1

introduce new products to the market, they usually include newspapers as part of

the media mix

Local Emphasis Almost all daily newspapers have a local quality that is important

to advertisers Even if advertisers use a national medium such as network or cable

television, they might also want to use a medium with local impact All selling is

local, and the newspaper helps emphasize that fact by advertising local merchants’

names and addresses

Flexibility Newspapers are geographically flexible—they can be used nationally,

regionally, and locally in a media plan Even when a manufacturer’s markets are

widely scattered, it is possible to reach them by using local newspapers

Production f lexibility allows copy to be changed easily and quickly For

example, some national advertisers want to have different prices for the same

products in different markets Special production techniques are also

avail-able Perhaps an advertiser wants to include preprinted inserts in newspapers

in certain geographic markets Newspapers offer these and other production

alternatives

Preprinted Color Inserts Through the use of preprinted inserts, newspapers can

compete favorably with magazines in given markets Color printing gives the

advertiser brilliant, lifelike colors similar to those that enhance the brand’s

adver-tisements in magazines Furthermore, any printing technique can be used on any

quality paper to provide high-fidelity color

Sampling Ability Many advertisers use home-delivered copies of newspapers to

deliver a sample of a new product These can include small packages of breakfast

cereal, laundry detergent, skin cream, or virtually any other product that can be

easily packaged and safely delivered to a mass audience The sample is frequently

contained in the brightly colored wrap that keeps the newspaper dry and is the first

thing readers see when they go to pick up the newspaper from the driveway The

sample is invariably accompanied by a cents-off coupon to encourage purchase

once the product has been tried

Broad Appeal Because newspapers are read by so many individuals in each

mar-ket, total reach per market can include many individuals in each family When a

product’s target audience includes adults and children alike, then newspapers are

an ideal medium

Catalog Value A newspaper often serves as a catalog for consumers who are doing comparison shopping Many consumers search their daily newspapers before they

go shopping The effect of such a search is that consumers are presold before they walk into a store to buy the product Some readers even cut out ads and bring them along as a reminder

Ethnic Appeal Although newspapers are considered a mass medium, they have the power to reach selective ethnic classes as well If the local newspaper does not reach these markets, however, then an ethnic newspaper might do the job

Newspapers—Limitations

Lack of Target Audience Selectivity Although individuals can be targeted through the use of various sections of the paper (investors in the business section, male tire buyers in the sports section), the advertiser must pay for the copies that are deliv-ered to people who do not read these sections This makes newspapers a relatively inefficient media buy for targeted campaigns Newspapers are high-coverage but low-composition media vehicles

High Cost Although newspapers are indeed a flexible medium, the cost of buying national coverage is very high and is prohibitive for national advertisers with lim-

ited budgets National coverage can be achieved with the Wall Street Journal, USA

Today, and the New York Times; however, these are upscale, targeted publications

whose combined coverage is only about 3 percent

Limited Coverage Achieving adequate coverage in major markets through papers can be challenging and expensive The large-circulation daily newspapers seldom cover more than a third of major-market designated market area (DMA) households Placing an ad in all the papers in a market may fail to cover even 50

news-percent For example, the Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer combination covers 19

percent of the Seattle DMA (circulation  DMA HH) An ad in all 14 newspapers serving Seattle covers only 38.4 percent of the market.1

Higher National Advertising Rates Most daily newspapers charge more for national advertising than they do for merchants with a local address Of course, an adver-tiser that must advertise in a particular local market will pay the premium rate without question

1 SRDS Circulation 2008

Small Pass-Along Audience Newspapers are rarely passed along to other readers as

are magazines Therefore, advertisements in yesterday’s editions have a limited time

value Relatively few other people will see the newspaper after family members have

finished reading it

Variation in ROP Color Quality An advertiser buying advertisements printed in

run-of-press or run-of-paper (ROP) color will find great variations in color fidelity from

market to market This variance means the message may be more effective in one

market than in another, even though all markets have the same value

Magazines—Reasons for Using

Selectivity Magazines are very successful in reaching certain kinds of selected

audiences Every year, special-interest magazines are started to meet the needs of

niche groups such as tennis or chess players, cooking enthusiasts, hobby fans, those

wanting to know more about investing in the stock market, and so forth The list

is endless and can be appreciated by a visit to the magazine section of local

book-stores, where they sell hundreds of these special-interest publications In addition,

some magazines have demographic editions, such as a physicians’ edition, a college

students’ edition, or one limited to chief executive officers Finally, magazines often

have geographic editions that enable the planner to reach broad or narrow markets

This versatility and flexibility enable the planner to use magazines in many

differ-ent ways

Access to Light Television Viewers Advertisers often use magazines to provide

addi-tional media weight to people in upper-income, upper-education demographics who

tend to be light television viewers

Fine Color Reproduction Many magazines are able to reproduce advertisements

with excellent color fidelity The necessity for fine color reproduction is obvious

for certain kinds of product advertising such as ads for food, clothes, and

cosmet-ics Magazines also outdo newspapers in controlling color variations from copy to

copy

Long Life Magazines usually have a long life—at least a week and sometimes a

month or even years The effect of long life is that the advertiser can continue to

build reach long after the present campaign has formally ended Even if the product

featured in the ads has been discontinued, the effect on a person who reads an ad

years after it originally ran is to build brand awareness for long periods However,

long-term exposure to the advertising will not help the planner attain short-range goals, so in some situations this advantage can be a disadvantage.

Pass-Along Audience Magazines usually have pass-along audiences, which increase the reach to people in barbershops, waiting rooms, in-flight, and so on The size of the pass-along audience varies from magazine to magazine

Controlled Circulation Because magazines are able to locate and meet the needs

of special-interest groups, many of them can offer controlled circulation In this

arrangement, the publisher is able to identify a special group of targets, typically

by profession or occupation, and then send each of these individuals the magazine free of charge The publisher then informs advertisers that its audience consists of people in a given industry as reported by BPA (www.bpaww.com) The audit report shows circulation by job classification, function, or title However, since each maga-zine has its own definition of the various job functions, comparing magazines, even

in the same field, can be a challenge Most controlled-circulation magazines are in the business field

Magazines—Limitations

Early Closing Dates Some magazines require advertisers to have their artwork and type for four-color ads in the printing plant as much as two months before the cover date Consequently, the marketing, creative, and production work on the campaign must be completed so far ahead of publication date that the advertiser loses the advantage of timeliness It is even possible for a marketing situation to have changed by the time an ad appears in print

Lack of Immediacy With the exception of weekly newsmagazines, most magazines lack a sense of urgency and immediacy In other words, readers might not even look

at the latest issue of a given magazine until some time after it has reached their homes Not even newsmagazines have the sense of immediacy associated with newspapers, broadcast media, and the Internet

Slow Building of Reach Because some readers do not open their magazines quickly, reach tends to build slowly in this medium Some readers read a small portion of

a magazine immediately and then continue at later dates and times, whenever it is convenient Active, busy people sometimes will scan through a number of issues at one time, to catch up with their reading At other times, they just ignore a number

of issues and read only the most current one

Newspaper Supplements—Reasons for Using

Local Market Impact with a Magazine Format Newspaper supplements such as

Parade, USA Weekend, and American Profile in the small C and D counties offer

an advertiser the advantage of being able to reach local markets with a format that

closely resembles magazines Therefore, many of the qualities of magazines are also

qualities of supplements Most important, however, is the ability of the planner to

reach many local markets with a magazine format, although there are limitations

on a planner’s ability to buy supplements on a market-by-market basis

Good Color Fidelity Newspaper supplements are usually printed on gravure presses

This gives them high color fidelity The Wall Street Journal Magazine is printed in large

format 11.5” by 10” slick-coated stock, comparable to the finest consumer magazines—

quality that is appropriate for its fashion, jewelry, and other upscale advertisers

Depth of Penetration Whereas magazines usually have limited penetration in any

given market because of their specialized natures, supplements have high

penetra-tion because they are distributed with Sunday newspapers Thus, supplements

reach large numbers of individuals for whom the editorial features are of general

interest

Broadened Coverage Area One bonus of using supplements is the ability to reach

some markets normally covered by daily newspapers that do not carry the

supple-ment This is possible because newspapers serving large metro areas often have

extensive area coverage far beyond the metropolitan area Consumers in these

bonus markets carrying the supplement usually read their local newspapers on

weekdays but a large metro paper on Sunday

Less Competition on Sundays Supplements usually have less competition for the

reader’s attention from other media on Sunday mornings when they are relaxed and

spend more time reading than on other days

High Readership Because supplements have large penetration in individual markets,

it is not surprising that they are widely read, especially by women Working women

tend to have the time to read this format—because it is available on Sunday, it is

part of a newspaper, and many features tend to cover women’s interests

Flexibility Supplements allow the planner to place advertising locally, regionally, or

even nationally But supplements also allow production flexibility such as the option

of running a full-page ad in some markets while running smaller ads ously in other markets This flexibility is limited to larger markets.

simultane-Newspaper Supplements—Limitations

Little Pass-Along or Secondary Readership Because supplements come with end newspapers, they inherit some of the weaknesses of newspapers One of these is that supplements are rarely passed along to others; instead, they usually are thrown away after the family has read them In addition, one rarely finds supplements left

week-in hair salons or doctors’ or dentists’ offices for secondary (pass-along) readers, as one finds magazines

No Demographic Selectivity Newspaper supplements, like the newspapers that carry them, have virtually no demographic selectivity The new demographically

targeted supplements such as Relish and Spry target women; however the

adver-tiser must still pay for copies delivered to those households and readers who are not interested

Limited Readership Not everyone in a home that receives a Sunday newspaper reads the inserted supplement A 2004 study by Mediamark Research & Intelligence, LLC (MRI) found that 75 percent of the people in homes receiving the carrier newspaper

read the Parade supplement, and 55 percent of the homes receiving USA Weekend

read the supplement.2 DRAFTFCB media research recommends a 65 percent

fac-tor for USA Weekend.

High Cost Because of the supplement’s high circulation and coverage, the cost of an

ad is two to four times more than in mass-circulation women’s magazines such as

Better Homes & Gardens or Good Housekeeping Advertisers can buy half the

cir-culation for a little more than half the price, but that is still a sizable investment for

a publication that is primarily a one-day read

Television—Reasons for Using

Today video is displayed on three platforms: conventional television, the personal computer, and the mobile smart phone While the content may be the same, the way viewers approach and access the video differs substantially For most planners,

the word television refers to the traditional medium—a set in the family room or

2 Mediamark Research & Intelligence, LLC, “Measuring Sunday Magazine Readership,” 2004.

other place where viewers relax and are entertained with news, sports, and other

produced programs

Sight, Sound, and Motion for Dynamic Selling Audiovisual demonstrations are one

of the best teaching methods known The combination of sight, sound, and motion

gives the advertiser the benefit of a technique that comes closest to personal selling

Television selling is very dynamic It is also one of the best methods of

demonstrat-ing the uses or advantages of a given product

Flexibility Network, cable, and syndicated television offer broad national coverage,

while spot television allows the planner to use markets in any number of

combina-tions Spot cable allows geographic targeting down to the neighborhood level

Reach of Both Selective and Mass Markets Television can be used to attract both

selective and mass markets through program and cable channel selection When

professional football games are broadcast, the audience is largely male Children’s

programming on Sunday morning or cable channels and daytime television tend

to reach selected audiences On the other hand, some programming such as

mov-ies, comedmov-ies, or special events will attract audiences consisting of many different

kinds and ages of people

Cost-Efficiency Television can be cost-efficient at times Daytime television and

cable, for example, usually have low costs per thousand, as does fringe time

Although the overall costs are high, the audiences are large

Television—Limitations

High Cost The cost of commercial time is beyond the means of some advertisers

The widespread use of 15-second and even 10-second commercials reflects

adver-tisers’ need for lower total cost TV commercial production is also expensive

com-pared to other media

Low Attention Only about 60 percent of the people who watch prime-time

pro-grams report paying full attention to the TV set Attentiveness is even lower in

other dayparts, especially early morning, when only about 25 percent of viewers

pay full attention.3

3 Mediamark Research & Intelligence, LLC, Spring 2009

DVR Commercial Skipping Typically, more than two-thirds of the time, viewers forward through the commercials on programs they have recorded on their DVR The effect of this is minimized by the use of the C3 ratings, which only count peo-ple viewing the commercial minutes at normal speed up to three days after telecast

fast-It can be further minimized by concentrating weight in news, sports, and cable that viewers are more likely to watch live DVR recording is most concentrated in the high-rated prime-time programs, late fringe, and daytime soap operas

Short-Lived Messages Although audiovisual messages have the potential for high recall, the nature of television commercials is such that viewers either pay attention

or miss the message entirely The commercial’s life tends to be fleeting

High Commercial Loads (Clutter) There are 15.5 to 16 minutes of nonprogram rial per hour in prime time on the broadcast and cable networks Daytime television has substantially more.4 Although there is limited research into the specific effects

mate-of clutter on commercial effectiveness, advertisers are becoming more and more concerned as commercialization increases

No Catalog Value It is evident that viewers do not search for commercials when they are in the market for a product Although they pay greater attention to a commer-cial if they are in the market for the product advertised, they usually have little idea

of the exact time such commercials will be broadcast

Cable TV—Reasons for Using

Cable television has shown dramatic growth in the past 15 years, caused in part by the 2009 conversion to all-digital television Cable is now a national medium with

a stature that complements network television 90.3 percent of U.S homes can now receive the national broadcast and cable networks About 62 percent are wired for cable, and an additional 28 percent have a satellite dish or other service that allows them to receive the national cable networks.5 Because of this high penetration, the number of advertisers who have added cable to their media plans has grown enor-mously Over the past 10 years, spending in cable has more than doubled: from

$12.6 billion in 1999 to $27.5 billion in 2008 Over the same period, spending on the general-market broadcast networks increased 23 percent, from $14.0 billion to

$17.2 billion in 2008.6

4 Mindshare analysis of TNS data, 2008

5 The Nielsen Company, National Media Related Universe Estimates, July 2009

6 Universal McCann, Robert J Coen estimates, 2009.

Cable is now a readily accepted and even expected part of any national

televi-sion plan In prime time, advertiser-supported cable accounts for 47 percent of all

household television viewing.7 Advertisers with a broad target audience, such as

women ages 25–54, will typically employ more than 25 cable networks

National Audience With over 90 percent penetration by wire or satellite, cable

net-works represent a truly national medium, whether used alone or in combination

with more traditional media

Added Reach and Frequency Although advertisers can use cable in lieu of network

TV, it can also be added to network TV and any other media chosen for a media

plan The effect of this strategy is to add more reach and frequency When cable

is used this way, some of the weight goes to increasing reach, while impressions in

cable homes already reached by other media add frequency to the plan

Relatively Low Cost Although cable’s rates are rising, it still costs less than

advertis-ing on the major television networks National cable cost per ratadvertis-ing point is roughly

30 percent that of broadcast TV

Less Susceptible to DVR Recording Analysis of DVR viewing records shows that

people are far less likely to record programs on the cable networks than they are

the high-rated prime-time programs on the networks Since there is less recording,

there is also less commercial skipping during playback

Precisely Defined Target Audiences Cable programmers have been better able than

broadcast networks to define the kinds of audiences who watch their programs—

whether for sports, music, or education This enables advertisers to focus more

accurately on targets they want to reach; however, planners face the familiar

trade-off between high composition and low coverage from these highly selective cable

channels

Broader Spectrum of Advertisers When competitors are advertising on certain cable

networks, it is sometimes strategically important for other competitors to be in the

same medium As more advertisers use cable, it will draw other product category

advertisers, and audiences can expect to find certain kinds of products there

7 The Nielsen Company, Total Viewing Sources, May 2009

Reduced Total and Average Spending Costs National cable television, costing less than network television, can help reduce total and average spending costs for adver-tisers who need effective media at a lower cost Shifting even as little as 20 percent

of an advertising budget to cable can reduce costs

Cable TV—Limitations

Fragmented Audiences As noted earlier, cable today accounts for 47 percent of all television viewing,8 but with almost 90 advertiser-supported channels reported by Nielsen, the audience is so fragmented that the average channel receives less than

a 1.0 rating, and many receive less than 0.5 So although each cable network goes

to great lengths to promote its unique personality, the average cable channel is watched in only 14 percent of U.S households over the course of a week The most popular cable channel is watched in 39 percent of homes even though it is available

on cable and satellite systems covering 86 percent of households.9

Less than Full National Coverage Although 90 percent of homes can receive cable channels, penetration varies by cable network Some, such as ESPN, CNN, and USA, do reach just about all cable households Newer channels may cover less than

5 percent of the United States This must be taken into account when placing ads

on networks that appear to be selective to the marketing target, but may offer only limited reach potential

Product Placement—Reasons for Using

Less Expensive than Paid Commercial Advertising Advertisers get the brand tion, the package, and possibly continuing reference to the product over the entire program Total on-screen time could be even more than a paid commercial

men-Not Overtly Presented as Advertising This kind of advertising appears to be part of the entertainment content, as contrasted with conventional advertising that might

be ignored

8 The Nielsen Company, Total Viewing Sources, May 2009.

9 The Nielsen Company, Television Activity Report, 2nd Quarter 2009, Monday–Sunday

24-hour total

Implied Endorsement by Entertainment Characters Using the Placed Product

Positive feelings toward the actors or characters can carry over to the named

products they use

Ability to Select Program Environment Consistent with Product’s Image A product

can be placed on comedy programs, drama, reality, and so on, as desired Use of the

product is a natural element of the program’s content (Sears Craftsman tools used

on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”)

Product Placement—Limitations

Lack of Control by the Advertiser Control by the advertiser varies depending on the

particular contract, but ultimately the program’s producer and director determine

how the product will be shown, for how many seconds, and in what context

Limited Communication Value There are no opportunities for copy points, image,

multiple messages, and so on

Variable Exposure Time On-screen time can vary from just a few seconds to

mul-tiple exposures over the length of the program Delivery is out of the advertiser’s

control

Obsolescence Packaging and graphics may change over time, but once a program

is syndicated, the placement is forever

Radio—Reasons for Using

Reach of Special Kinds of Target Audiences Radio is able to reach narrow target

audiences very well (ethnic, youth, upscale financial, etc.) Through

program-ming specialization, a radio station becomes known for its “sound” and attracts

special kinds of audiences, such as men, women, teens, farmers, ethnic

popula-tions, or the elderly Many ethnic groups have programs dedicated to their

inter-ests Religious groups, too, have found radio to be an excellent communication

medium

High Frequency Where a great deal of repetition is necessary, radio is the ideal

medium The total cost is relatively low, and usually many stations have time

avail-able to permit building a media plan with high frequency

Supporting Medium Because of the low cost and good reach of special target kets, radio is often used as a supporting medium Often, when a plan uses print predominantly, radio can be added at low cost to bring sound into the plan.

mar-Excellent for Mobile Populations Because most Americans own and drive mobiles, radio becomes a means of reaching them while they are traveling Many people drive long distances to and from work, and the distances are getting lon-ger as suburbs develop farther from cities Listening to the radio in what is known

auto-as “drive time” helps pauto-ass the long commuting time and is an excellent means of reaching commuters

But commuters are not the only ones who travel every day Homemakers often take their cars to shopping centers that are located far from their homes They, too, will often turn on the radio to help pass the traveling time In fact, radio is the last medium that homemakers are exposed to before they enter retail stores Local retailers might very well carry on a campaign to communicate with these custom-ers before they arrive at the stores

High Summer Exposure Because we are a mobile population and so many people travel during the summer months, radio is an excellent medium to reach them en route Some experts dispute this, however, claiming that radio tune-in is no higher

in the summer than it is at any other time The time when listeners tune in, ever, does change during the summer, especially among teenagers, who are not in school during the day

how-Flexibility Radio, like television, can be used locally, regionally, or nationally Radio also offers a number of production advantages, because copy can be changed quickly and added to or eliminated from a program quickly Despite these advan-tages, radio is not highly regarded for its great production flexibility

Local Coverage Availability Advertisers usually purchase local radio, because it reaches a given market well But AM radio signals can be carried far from the origi-nating market into other geographic areas, especially at night For a national adver-tiser trying to build brand awareness in many different markets, this added feature

is perceived as a bonus when a planner buys local radio

Radio—Limitations

Many Stations in One Market In many large metropolitan markets, so many radio stations are vying for attention that only a relative few are listened to by even 20 percent of a market’s adult population For example, the New York metropolitan

radio will have to buy more than one station—usually at least five stations.

Another consequence of the large number of stations available is the

fragmenta-tion of audiences caused by specialized programming On the one hand, specialized

programs waste few exposures because the program structure is not attractive to

everyone On the other hand, they fragment the audience too much for an

adver-tiser who wants a mass—not class—audience

No Catalog Value Like television but even more so, radio messages are fleeting

Listeners miss many advertisements, and they forget others that they only partially

hear

Low Attentiveness for Some Formats Listeners treat some radio formats as

“back-ground” music They may give the messages on these stations less attention than

messages on stations that feature all news or talk Listening to the radio is rarely a

person’s primary activity

Internet

As seen in Exhibit 9-2, in the first six months of 2009, Nielsen Online reported over

1.4 trillion advertising impressions These are divided into two broad categories:

sponsored search accounts for almost one-third of impressions; the balance are

display ads, divided into flash, standard GIF and JPEG images, compound images/

text and rich media

Digital Advertising Impressions by Technology

Source: The Nielsen Company, Nielsen Online, AdRelevance, Jan.–June 2009 Used with permission.

10 SRDS Radio Advertising Source, August 2009.

EXHIBIT 9-2

Internet Display—Reasons for Using

Active Medium Unlike television or radio, which are relatively passive media used primarily for entertainment, the Internet requires active participation The user enters the address of the website he or she wants to visit, and the Internet delivers the page to the user’s computer Nothing happens until the user again takes action

by clicking on a link or entering a response But once a request has been made to

a website, it can search through virtually unlimited files to return data, pictures, audio, and video This ability makes the Internet ideally suited to the transactional communications that are part of most businesses

Great Creative Flexibility As of summer 2009, 81.7 percent11 of active Internet users go online via high-speed Internet, opening the medium to a broad range of rich media creative options in addition to the conventional banners While these creative units account only for 3 percent of the digital advertising impressions, they allow for a broad range of creative options, including full motion video in the banner, peel-back ads that open to reveal a video message, a video player that runs when the user’s mouse rolls over the ad, and even the opportunity to have a lead generation form that is revealed by the mouse To see the latest examples of creative digital advertising, go to www.pointroll.com/showcase.html

Low-Cost Corporate Legitimacy Today, virtually every company has a website that introduces its product or service to potential customers, suppliers, employees, and anyone else wishing to do business with them A website is the first place to go for information Lack of an Internet presence sends a strong message that a company either doesn’t exist or is so far behind the times that any dealings with it would be suspect

Supplemental Information The Internet is heavily used as a medium for publishing information Virtually all major consumer magazines, newspapers, television sta-tions, and cable networks have a website that supplements their traditional media product In addition to reinforcing the medium’s brand image, these sites bring in revenue from advertising placed by companies that want to deliver a message to the site’s visitors Although some sites have attempted to charge a subscription fee in exchange for a password that grants access, the great majority offer their editorial content for free

11 Mediamark Research & Intelligence, LLC, Spring 2009