Chapter Thirteen

Planning for and

Analyzing Advertising
Media
 2007 Thomson South-Western
 Chapter Thirteen Objectives
• Describe the major factors used in
segmenting target audiences for media
planning purposes.
• Explain the meaning of reach, frequency,
gross rating points, target rating points,
effective reach, and other media concepts.
• Discuss the logic of the three-exposure
hypothesis and its role in media and
vehicle selection.
 Chapter Thirteen Objectives
• Describe the use of the efficiency-index
procedure for media selection.
• Distinguish the differences among three
forms of advertising allocation: continuous,
pulsed, and flighted schedules.
• Explain the principle of recency, or shelf-
space model, and implications for allocating
advertising expenditures over time.
 Chapter Thirteen Objectives

• Perform cost-per-thousand calculations.

• Interpret the output from computerized
media models.
• Review actual media plans.
 Media Versus Vehicles
• Media are the general communication methods that
carry advertising messages—television,
magazines, newspapers, and so on.

• Vehicles are the specific broadcast programs or

print choices in which advertisements are placed.

• For example, television is the media, and American

Idol is the vehicle.

• Each medium and vehicle has a unique set of

characteristics and virtues.
 Messages and Media: A Hand-In-
Glove Reaction

• Advertisers are placing more emphasis

than ever on media planning.
• The choice of media and vehicles can be
the most complicated of marcom
decisions.
The Media-Planning Process

Media planning

The design of a strategy that shows how

investments in advertising time and space
will contribute to the achievement of
marketing objectives.
 Model of the Media Planning Process

Advertising Strategy

Marketing Advertising Advertising Message Media

Strategy Objectives Budget Strategy Strategy

Media Strategy
• Target Audience
Selection
• Objective Specification
• Media and Vehicle
• Media Buying
Selecting the Target Audience
Four major factors

(1) Buyographics

(2) Geographic

(3) Demographic

(4) Lifestyle/psychographics
 Specifying Media Objectives

1. What proportion of the population should be

reached with advertising message during
specified period (reach)

2. How frequently should audience be exposed to

message during this period (frequency)

3. How much total advertising is needed to

accomplish reach and frequency objectives
(weight)
 Specifying Media Objectives
4. How should the advertising budget be allocated
over time (continuity)

5. How close to the time of purchase should the

target audience be exposed to the advertising
message (recency)

6. What is the most economically justifiable way to

accomplish objectives (cost)
 Reach

Percentage of target audience that is

exposed to an advertisement, at least
once, during a certain time frame
(usually four weeks)
 Frequency

Average number of times, on

average, during the media-
planning period that members of
the target audience are exposed
to the media vehicles that carry a
brand’s advertising message.
 Weight
How much advertising volume is required to
accomplish advertising objectives

Three weight metrics:

• Gross ratings

• Target ratings

• Effective ratings
 What Are Ratings?
Ratings, in an advertising sense, simply
mean the percentage of an audience
that has an opportunity to see an
advertisement placed in a particular
vehicle.
Weight: Gross Rating Points

Gross rating points, or GRPs, are

an indicator of the amount of gross
weight that a particular advertising
schedule is capable of delivering

GRPs=Reach(R) X Frequency(F)
 Determining GRPs in Practice

• GRPs are the sum of all vehicle ratings in

a media schedule
• Rating: proportion of the target audience
presumed to be exposed to a single
occurrence of an advertising vehicle in
which the advertiser’s brand is advertised
 Weight: Target Rating Points
(TRPs)

Adjust a vehicle’s rating to reflect

just those individuals who match
the advertiser’s target audience
The Concept of Effective Reach
• How often does the target audience have
an opportunity to be exposed?
• Effective reach is based on the idea that
an advertising schedule is effective only if
it does not reach members of target
audience too few or too many times
Effective Reach in Advertising Practice

• 3-10 exposures during a media-

planning period (typically 4 weeks)
• Using multiple media
• Subjective factors must be considered
 An Alternative: Frequency Value
Planning
• The objective is to select the media
schedule that generates the most
exposure value per GRP.
 Continuity
How advertising is allocated during the course of
an advertising campaign: how should the
media budget be distributed?
Continuous advertising schedule: an equal
number of ad dollars are invested throughout
the campaign
Pulsing: some advertising is used during every
period of the campaign, but the amount of
advertising varies from period to period.
Flighting: the advertiser varies expenditures
throughout the campaign and allocates zero
expenditures in some months.
 Recency Planning (a.k.a. The
Shelf-Space Model)

(1)Consumers’ first exposure to an

advertisement is the most powerful

(2)Advertising’s primary role is to influence

brand choice

(2) Achieving a high level of weekly reach for

a brand should be emphasized over
acquiring heavy frequency
 Optimizing Weekly Reach
• Advertising teaches consumers
• Influence brand selection
• Messages are most effective when close to
purchase time
• Cost-effectiveness of first exposure is greater
than subsequent
• Allocate budget to reach consumers often
• Reach target audience continuously rather
than sporadically
 Cost considerations

Cost per Thousand (CPM)

Target Market (TM)

CPM= Cost of ad
# of contacts (expressed in thousands)
CPM-TM= Cost of ad
# of TM contacts
(expressed in thousands)
 Tradeoffs

• Tradeoff must be made because media

planners operate under the constraint of a
fixed advertising budget
 Media Planning Software

1. User develops a media database

2. User selects criterion for schedule
optimization
3. User specifies constraints
4. User seeks out the optimum media
schedule