media planning process

Strategic Media Planning

The Process

A Few Definitions

Reach

number of different prospects exposed to specific media vehicles or schedule at least once over a given period usually expressed as a percentage of the target audience universe

Frequency/OTS

average number of times a person reached by a media schedule is exposed to the campaign

A Few Definitions

Television Rating Point (TRP)

A rating point is the equivalent of an audience of 1% of the coverage base

Gross Rating Points (GRPs)

A measure of the gross weight delivered by a vehicle. Sum of ratings for different programs.GRPs are duplicated ratings Frequency = GRPs or Gross OTS Reach

Reach v/s Frequency

Frequency Reach

New/complex message Newsy message

Increase usage Increase awareness

Maintenance Launch

Low involvement Promotions

During seasons During seasons

However…..

Frequency is an average, not an absolute number

Audience duplication implies exposure to the message at varying levels

A few high numbers may bring up the avg, while a few low ones may pull it down

The only way to guard against unbalanced frequency is to look at Effective Reach, Effective Frequency and Frequency Distribution

What is Effective Frequency/Reach?

Both a necessary part of the same concept

Effective Frequency is…

the amount of frequency necessary for ads to be effective in communicating expressed in terms of a minimum pre-determined level (3+,4+etc)

Effective Reach is..

the percent of audience reached at each effective frequency increment

What is Frequency Distribution ?

An array of reach according to the level of frequency delivered to each group

Frequency % reached % reached at least

at each level once or more often

1 19 67

2 14 48

3 10 34

4 8 28 24

5 6 16

6 4 11

Media Planning : Art or Science

MYTH : Media Planning is a Science, it is all about numbers

FACT : Media Planning is an Art, it is all about Strategy

It consists of a series of decisions made to answer

the question for advertisers :

What is the best means of delivering advertisements

to prospective purchasers of my brand or service?

Strategic Decisions need to be taken e.g.

Who should be our primary targets?

Users/ Non users?

Heavy, medium or light users?

How many prospects do we need to reach and how many times ?

What reaction should we take as a result of media used by competitors ?

Use same media mix as competitors ?Allocate same weight as competitors ?Ignore competitors ?

Strategic Decisions need to be taken e.g.

In which markets/regions should the ads appear?

What pattern of geographic weighting should we use ?

Should we weight by GRPs or money ? Where? What pattern of scheduling ?

Continuity / flighting / pulsing ?When should we weight more heavily ?

Does media have to support promotions ?

How much of budget for promotional support ?What media mix ?

The Media Planning Process

Reviewing the media brief

Competitive analysis

Who are we talking to ?

Prioritization of markets

Media objectives

Effective reach and frequency Media strategy

Choice of mediaChoice of vehiclesScheduling patterns

REVIEWINGA

CLIENT BRIEF

REVIEWINGA

CLIENT BRIEF

What should the brief contain ?

Category / brand history

Competitive universe, competitive activity, sales & share trends, , brand positioning

Marketing objectives

General - volume/ share /trial goals, changes vs last yearSpecific – launches/relaunches, extensions, etc.

Role of advertising

Awareness, image, learning, action or response


Source of business

Current brand, competitive brand, alternative products

Target audience

Demographics, psychographics, consumption patterns, purchasers, influencers, etc

Creative strategies

Creative objectives, strategies, tone, execution


Purchase / Usage data

Awareness tracking

Regional priorities

Seasonal priorities

What should the brief contain ? Other communication plans

Consumer promotions, direct mail, trade activity, co-operative activity, public relations

Distribution issues

Problem outlets/markets, influence of advertising pressure

Creative units available

For each media Budgets

EVALUATINGTHE

COMPETITION

EVALUATINGTHE

COMPETITION

Competitive Intelligence

Reported expenditures

Competitors’ spending patterns, scheduling strategies/

tactics, geographic skews, etc

Creative executions

Positioning, complexity of message, target audience,

communication objectives

Market intelligence

Likely happenings, degree of success of past competitive

strategies, etc

ESTABLISHINGOBJECTIVES

ESTABLISHINGOBJECTIVES

Why are Media Objectives so important?

Because they establish the criteria

for evaluating the media plan

Proper Media Objectives...

are consistent with brand’s marketing objectives and strategies

relate directly to the established advertising role

are expressed in actionable and measurable terms

are written plainly and simply

Impacts the brand’s business

Reaches a substantial portion of the target audience

Sustains the business with a continuous presence

Helps gain at least 5% share

Delivers effective reach levels 20% higher than last year

Provides consistent support round the year, except for 50% extra weight during launch

Develop a Media Plan that….Develop a Media Plan that….

Media Objectives need to be established to answer …...

Who?Who?Target Audience

Where?Where?Geography

When?When?Scheduling

How Often?How Often?Communication

Goals

WHO?THE TARGETAUDIENCE

WHO?THE TARGETAUDIENCE

Identifying The Target Audience

Demographic variables

Sex, income, age, SEC, occupation, marital status, etc

Socio-psychographic variables

Lifestyles, attitudes, etc

Product usage variables

Heavy/medium/light or non-users

What is our source of business?

Category/competitors, sole/primary/secondary/non-users

Need to address multiple segments

End consumers, decision makers, influencers, buyers

What do we want the Target Prospect to do?

Try for the first time

Repurchase

Switch brands

Learn a new use

18-24 14 13 93 15 107

25-34 23 24 104 27 117

35-33 19 21 111 21 111

45-54 13 14 108 12 92

55-64 13 13 100 12 92

65+ 18 15 83 13 72

How would the Target be defined if we wanted to steal share from the Competitor?

Our Brand

% Users

Index

Competition

% Users

Index

% Pop.

18-24 14 13 93 15 107

25-34 23 24 104 27 117

35-33 19 21 111 21 111

45-54 13 14 108 12 92

55-64 13 13 100 12 92

65+ 18 15 83 13 72

Common Problem: Targeting Own User When Strategy Calls For Stealing Share From Competition

Our Brand% Users Index

Competition% Users Index% Pop.

WHERE?GEOGRAPHY

WHERE?GEOGRAPHY

What Do We Need To Prioritise Markets?

Distribution Brand volumes Brand/category development Competitive advertising Past history of market’s performance Sales force input Local market quirks Media cost National delivery in local markets

Market Prioritisation

The Techniques

Sales AnalysisTarget Audience DispersionMarket Opportunity Index (MOI)

Market Opportunity Index (MOI)

Brand Development Index (BDI)

Ratio of brand consumption intensity to population intensity

i.e . % local market brand sales

% local market population

Category Development Index (CDI)

Ratio of category consumption intensity to population intensity

i.e. % local market category sales

% local market population

Market Opportunity Index (MOI)

Ratio of CDI to BDI

Using BDI, CDI & MOI

StrategyKey Priority Areas

High BDI and highCDI

Strong markets; invest in and build on them,minimising risk and maximising potential

High BDI and lowCDI

Maintain current ad spend levels and react inline with competition

High Potential AreasMOI > 1 Opportunity areas, where category is strong,

but brand is weak. Invest after looking atdistribution, growth, media strengths

BDIs And CDIs Are Often Used To Help Evaluate Market Potential

BDILow

BDIHigh

CDILow

CDIHigh

0 10050

150

200

200

50

0

Maintenance Markets(little growth)

Key Markets(protect from competitors)

No Potential for Growth Opportunity Markets

(high growth potential)

150

How Would You Classify Priority Markets For Different Marketing Objectives?

Source Business From

Heavy users

Competitive manufacturer’s brand

New users

Marketing Objective Priority Markets



Heavy users


New users

High BDI & High CDILow BDI & High CDI




Heavy users


New users



Low BDI & High CDI



Heavy users


New users



Low BDI & High CDI

Low BDI & High CDI

HOW OFTEN?COMMUNICATION

GOALS

HOW OFTEN?COMMUNICATION

GOALS

Reach, Frequency, Geography And Continuity Are InterrelatedWith a fixed budget , need to must decide which is most important...

FrequencyFrequency

ReachReach

Continuity

Geography

Models For Setting Communication Goals

Effective frequency Model

Erwin Ephron’s Model

Every multinational agency has developed its own model

Effective Frequency Model

Likelihood of full communication (or response) increases as number of exposures increase

Expressed as a minimum frequency level (e.g. 3+ or 4+ etc.)

However all exposures have some value since different individuals will require different levels of frequency to understand the message

The concept

Effective Frequency Model

No standard frequency level appropriate for all situations

Little industry research that can be applied to specific situations

Effective frequency requirements are determined by applying judgment and common sense in a disciplined manner using the following factors

Marketing Advertising Competitive

The foundations

Factors In Establishing Effective Frequency Levels

MarketingLife StageShareLoyalty

AdvertisingAdvertising goalMessage communicationMessage distinctivenessCampaign style

CompetitiveMedia “noise” levelEditorial environmentTotal

EstablishedHighHigh

AwarenessSimpleUniqueContinuing

UnclutteredComplementary

NewLowLow

Attitude shiftComplexCommonNew

Heavy clutterNeutral

Factor

Low Effective Frequency

High1 3 64 52

XX

X

X X

X

X

X

X

Total is 35, divided by 9, equals 3.9 Therefore, the effective frequency is 4

1 2 6 4 10 12

Some Other Agencies Frequency Model

Based on international experience Ready reckoner developed to take into account

brand/advtg history, outlook of the target audience, competi-

tive activity, support in other media, impact of advtg Advertising activity stage- major/minor innovation,

maintenance

Major Innovation Minor Innovation

New brand Established brand

High investment Low investment

Large profit potential Limited profit potential

New product form Traditional product form

New real benefit No new benefit

Effective Frequency Estimator

Advertising level : Major Innovation

Factor 1 2 3 Factor Wt Sc

Etablished proposition 1 New proposition 2 6Established commercial 1 New Commercial 2 6Simple message 1 Complex message 3 6High impact advertising 1 Average impact advertising 5 10Reinforcing habits/attitudes 1 Changing habits/attitudes 3 9Competitive activity : Lo 1 Competitive activity : Hi 2 4Recent support : Hi 1 Recent support : Lo 4 12Support in other media : Hi 1 Support in other media : Lo 2 4

57

Setting Frequency Targets- Frequency Estimator

Tot Wtd Score Strike rate

23-28 Low29-40 Low / med41-51 Med52-63 Med/ High64-69 High

Strike Rate…Low Med High

Maintenance 1+ 2+ 4+MinorInnovation

2+ 4+ 6+

MajorInnovation

4+ 6+ 8+

Effective Frequency Estimator

Advertising level : Major Innovation

Factor 1 2 3 Factor Wt Sc

Etablished proposition 1 New proposition 2 6Established commercial 1 New Commercial 2 6Simple message 1 Complex message 3 6High impact advertising 1 Average impact advertising 5 10Reinforcing habits/attitudes 1 Changing habits/attitudes 3 9Competitive activity : Lo 1 Competitive activity : Hi 2 4Recent support : Hi 1 Recent support : Lo 4 12Support in other media : Hi 1 Support in other media : Lo 2 4

57

Strike rate for the campaign for week 1 - 4 is ..............................................8

How Much Effective Reach?

As with frequency, effective reach goals are also determined by applying judgment and common sense in a disciplined manner

They are established by assessing either

Effective reach affordable within budget

Levels needed to achieve marketing goals

This can be estimated either on

An absolute basisVersus competitionVersus last year

Relationship of Reach & Frequency

Reach and Frequency occur at the same time, but at different rates and in an inverse relationship

As number of insertions/spots rises, reach also rises, but at a decreasing rate

Beyond a point, reach starts to plateauAs reach rises quickly, frequency tends to be low and vice versa

EF : Problems

Reckoner generalised across all categories

A lot of subjectivity involved in arriving at the number

Pins frequency and trades on reach

No link to any output of effectiveness, e.g. ad recall, brand awareness, etc

Erwin Ephron’s Shelf Space Model

Disputes relevance of effective frequency today

Brand selection influenced by advtg-hence reach

consumers when they are ready to buy

As purchases occur throughout the year,advertise

continuously : ‘rent-the-shelf’, so brand message

will be waiting

THEREFORE, PLAN FOR WEEKLY REACH

The concept


An advertising exposure is most effective close to the purchase

- consumers are in a receptive frame of mind with an ability

to act immediately Close to the purchase, one exposure is most

effective

Therefore….

Improve the cost effectiveness of advertising by shifting weight to weeks i.e use the frequency money to buy more weeks of advtg and reach more prospects ready to buy in those weeks


Run 60-85 TRPs/week

Achieve weekly reach of 35-40%

Achieve monthly reach of 65-70%

Achieve quarterly reach of 80-85%

The guidelines

An ideal media plan runs for 52 weeks at max imum affordable reach

levelsThe GRP and reach figures differ across marketsThe GRP and reach figures differ across markets


Model operates in marketing vacuum

No consideration given to market share, distribution, or marketing objectives and strategies

Maintaining awareness is not primary communication goal of most advertising campaigns

Therefore frequency does play an important role in advertising efforts

Frequency is important for creating long-term benefits of brand equity

Problems

What role does competition play ?

Brands compete for purchases, not teaching messages

The learning theory emphasises repetition, advocates flighting to enhance short term learning ie brand awareness

However ‘out of sight, out of mind’

Therefore, competitive brands advertising continuously will eat into share of brands using flighting

Recency vs Eff Frequency

Recency

Large and familiar brands

Categories with low purchase cycles - impulse led categories

Effective Frequency

When the consumer is being “taught”

Highly competitive market situations

Need to drive a marketing objective/ consumer promotion

Cannot be generalised across brands, markets or creatives

Too many variables

Separate research needed for

print and TV advertising

high and low involvement products

new and familiar brands

different levels of freq and exposure

repetition, and for different creatives

different effectiveness parameters

Establishing Communication Goals

Separate for every individual task e.g.

introductory versus sustaining periods

heavy-up activity in local markets vs. national activity

promotional vs. non-promotional periods

separate target audiences

WHEN?TIMING

WHEN?TIMING

Timing Objectives

Determine best times to advertise

Weeks of yearDays of weekTimes of day

Establish a scheduling pattern that

Achieves communication goalsMinimizes non-advertising periods Recognizes competitive activity

Scheduling Patterns

Continuity

Flighting

Media weight scheduled for many weeks throughout year

Intermittent, with gaps in advertising

Pulsing Continuous advtg with heavier weight in some months - flighting and continuity combined

Scheduling Patterns

Continuity

Pulsing

Flighting

Covers entire purchase cycleConstant reminder Improves media discounts

Similar to aboveAllows for timing deviations

Used due to budget limitationsSharp seasonal fluctuationsCompetitive advantage

Affordability

Affordability

Consumers are always buying the product

Consumers forget during non-advtg periods

Pattern Pros Cons

MEDIA STRATEGIESMEDIA STRATEGIES

Media Strategies

Evolve from media objectives and describe how they will be accomplished

Reflect specific course of action to be taken

A matter of evaluating different media types and mixes to determine best way to achieve objectives within given budget

Which Media Do We Use, Why Or Why Not ?

Sight, sound, motion

Immediate, intrusive, impactful

Broad reach\high frequency

Cost efficiency Ambience and mood

Pros Cons

High total cost Limited target

audience selectivity Long lead time Short lived

messages

Television


Target selectivity Good colour

reproduction Pass along readers Long shelf life Broad coverage Detailed copy/depth

of copy Skewed toward

educated, upscale targets

Pros Cons

Limited impact Lacks immediacy Long lead time No warmth of

human voice

Magazines


Immediate high reach

National/local flexibility

Short lead time Ethnic appeal Timely/newsworthy

environment Shopping/retail

environment Facility of second

reading Detailing of

message

Pros Cons

High cost of national coverage

Short issue life Non targeted

readership Inferior reproduction

quality No warmth of human

voice

Newspapers

Specific Use Of Each Medium Including Rationale, e.g.

Daytime High composition of women with children Most efficient daypart Extends plan continuity

Prime High coverage Showcase environment

Television

Specific Use Of Each Medium Including Rationale e.g.

Broad reach titles Supplement and extend TV reach Efficient

Women’s service titles Targets heavy users Provides frequency of exposure Food editorial provides synergistic

environment

Magazines

Media Vehicle Selection : Criteria Quantitative factors

Target audience size Cost efficiency of delivered targets Based on cost per thousand readers\viewers or cost per rating point Circulation trends

However, the cost efficiency criterion is most relevant for mass products; for high unit cost\specialised products, with narrow audiences, cost efficiency is more difficult to achieve

The most appropriate vehicle for the message is not necessarily the most cost efficient

Media Vehicle Selection : Criteria Qualitative factors

Compatibility of environment with the message Graphic/layout/production standards Advertising/edit ratio Extent of involvement levels

Operational considerations Media/environmental constraints e.g. acceptability of ad Media opportunities e.g. packages, spl demographic editions

Other factors Dealers’ opinions/stipulations on specific vehicles Sales promotions with obvious media implications

Scheduling Strategy

Example

Print and television scheduled to run simultaneously to leverage coverage and frequency of both media

Run only during heavy use seasons

Run a minimum of 80 TRPs/week. This allows us to achieve effective reach of 40 at the 3+ level

Media Strategies Should Include Four Elements

Element One Broad selection of media to be used and rationale for their choice

Element Two Specific use of media to be used (e.g. TV dayparts, magazine categories) and selection rationale

Element Three Rationale for each vehicle’s use including quantitative and qualitative analysis

Element Four Description of scheduling including when, where and at what levels

Monitoring & Feedback

Evaluation of a Media Plan

At the time of development During the campaign ( for course correction,

if necessary) Post campaign

To Sum Up….

A Media Plan must evolve from and be fully integrated with Marketing, Advertising and Creative objectives