MEDIA PLANNING

Media planning is very essential for success of an advertisement.  Media planning is the series of decisions involved in delivering the promotional message to the prospective consumers. It is the process of directing the advertising message to the target audience by using the appropriate channel at the proper time and place. Media plan specifies media strategies.

Generally, the goal of the media plan is to find that combination of media that allows the marketer to communicate the message in the most effective manner to the largest number of potential customers at the lowest cost.

A focused advertisements come up with the Account planners, creative writers and researchers. Planning requires selecting the most cost-effective mix of media combination so that the marketing campaign objectives can be achieved.

A Media Plan explains the justification for using different types of media to be used. It defines the target audience and the priorities of weighing them, the specific reach, frequency and continuity goals. Therefore, a media plan is required for executing an advertising campaign.

Media planning assists in controlling wasteful advertising. It ensures die optimum-utilisation of resources spent on advertising. In media plan, media objectives are decided keeping in view the advertising objectives of the organisation. Media plan specifies media strategies. Media strategy means plans of action designed to attain media objectives.

The planning should concentrate on:

i. Whom to reach,

ii. When and where to reach,

iii. The total target group,

iv. The frequency of exposure,

v. The affordable cost involvement.

 

The basic goal of media planning is to find out that combination of media which enables the advertiser to communicate the ad-message in the most effective manner at lowest cost.

Media planning assists in controlling wasteful advertising. It ensures die optimum-utilisation of resources spent on advertising. In media plan, media objectives are decided keeping in view the advertising objectives of the organisation. Media plan specifies media strategies. Media strategy means plans of action designed to attain media objectives.

 FUNCTIONS OF MEDIA PLANNING

·        to enable the planners in determining the target audience.

·        to analyse and make selection of the right channels.

·        To make reach the advertising messages to the right people at the right time.

·        Media Planning ensures that communication messages are in sync with overall objectives

·        to make the client understand Media Planning how marketing objectives can be achieved through these investments.

·        It indicates the period or the season in which the advertiser needs to concentrate.

      IMPORTANCE OF A MEDIA PLAN

Media planning is a complex function, and it becomes all the more complicated because of the following reasons:

● Increasing Media Options: Today, we have a range of media products to choose from. For example, we have different digital platforms and TV is also getting more fragmented into network.

● Increasing Fragmentation of the Audience: The consumers have become very selective and they read, watch, and listen to programmes according to their own choice.

● Increasing Cost: Advertising is a costly affair so we need media planning to invest money at the right place.

 ● Increasing Competition: It has been observed that independent media buying services have grown in the past few years.

● Increasing Complexity in the Media Buying Process: Media companies offer value added packages and different schemes to choose from as these packages are designed towards integrating marketing communication efforts.