MEDIA STRATEGY

 Mass media (such as newspapers, radio,

television, and the Internet) are the primary
means through which messages can be
communicated to large, diverse groups of
people.
 Media provide freedom of expression
organizations with an essential vehicle for
conveying information to an audience that can
include everyone from the general public to
decision-makers in the government.
 As a result, to increase your chances of
getting media coverage, you need to
frame your message in a way that meshes
with how media tell stories.
 The most effective way to do this is to develop a media strategy.
A media strategy is a plan that guides how your organization
interacts with the media.

 It helps you ensure that your messaging is consistent, organized

and targeted.

 Having a media strategy in place means that your organization will

not simply be reactive - that is, visible in the media only when an
event or circumstance necessitates your comments.

 With a media strategy, you can instead purposefully build and

manage your public image and relationships with the media, so that
when you want to launch a campaign or respond to a situation, you
have social capital to build upon.
The Development of the Media Strategy

The media Strategy Contains five basic elements:

 Target Audience WHO

 Geographic Spending WHERE

 Scheduling WHEN

 Creative Considerations WHAT

 Media Weight / Delivery HOW MUCH

The Development of the Media Strategy (cont.)

 Always involves a series of trade-offs

 The decision made for each element has a “price tag”

 Trade-offs or compromises will be necessary

 The skill of media planning is to achieve the best balance

of these dimensions relative to the campaign objectives
The Development of the Media Strategy (cont.)

 Every Media Strategy document must include the following:

 Marketing Environment
 Target Market
 Budget
 Regionality
 Timing / Seasonality
 Objectives including exposure objectives
 Strategy
 Conclusion
Steps to creating a media strategy:

1. Identify the broad goal or mission of

your organization or your campaign.

It's important to start by establishing a clear

idea of what your organization or campaign is
trying to accomplish overall in the short, medium
and long terms, so that the tactics and tone
employed in your media strategy can reflect and
compliment these goals. 
2. Identify the key stakeholders to
develop your media strategy

 Make a list of the key people - both internal and

external to your organization - who should have
a voice in the process of determining how the
organization, campaign or issue will be
represented to the general public (e.g. including
those affected by the situation about which you
are campaigning.)
3. Outline the goals of your media
strategy.

 the next step is to bring those key stakeholders

together to think about why and how engaging
the media will help you reach your goals.
 For instance, is there a specific decision maker
or segment of the general public you want to
influence?
 These goals should be specific, measurable,
achievable, realistic and time-bound or timely.
4.Identify your target audience:
 the person or people whose behavior you
need to influence in order to make your
goals a reality.
5.With your target audience in mind
To create an overall theme for your media strategy.

What is the big picture you want to convey?

What key message will resonate with your audience?

A good way to approach this is to base your messages on

their core concerns and look to overcome, not reinforce, the
barriers that may be in the way to reaching them.
 6. Identify the best way to reach the target audience.

 to determine whether focusing your media

strategy on mainstream media such as
newspapers, radio, TV, Internet, social media,
paid advertising or a combination of these
options is the most appropriate method.
 For example, if your target audience is not highly
literate, audiovisual media such as radio or
television would likely be most appropriate.
However, if you are also aware that access to
television is limited, radio would become the
predominant choice.
7. How will you measure your progress?

 Measuring your progress is important to

evaluate success and build more effective
long-term strategic planning.
 However, it's important to focus on both
process and results, as they each have
important lessons that can be drawn upon
8. Build a media contact list

If your organization is creating a media strategy

for the first time, one thing you absolutely must
do is begin to build a media contact list.
 The media is all about contacts. Sending
releases and information into the general news
pool can work, but it is not as effective as
targeting people who know, like and who support
you and your organization.
You can get started by:
 Making sure you get the right people at the
media organization
 Contacting media personnel to introduce
yourself
 Asking about the daily rhythms of their news
organization
 Always, always following up
 Keeping track of the media personnel to
whom you have spoken.
 Engaging media personnel in the work of
your organization.
THANK “U”