Media Planning

Prof. Sita Ramakrishnan

Topics to be covered

Meaning of Media & Media Planning

Definition of Media Planning
Need for Media Planning
Media related terminologies
Process of Media Planning
Factors to be considered by Media Planners
Problems in Media Planning

Meaning of Media & Media Planning

Advtsg message travels from producer to consumer

through vehicles known as advertising media.
Carriers of advtsg are an imp link between
transmitter and receiver.
Media are dynamic and new media are being
discovered.
Purpose of media planning is to select the right
media to reach the right audience so as to have the
desired response.
Careful media planning delivers advtsg message
effectively at the lowest cost.

Definition of Media Planning

Series of decisions involved in delivering the
promotional message to the prospective purchasers
& users of the product or brand.
- Media planning is a process, hence involves a series
of decisions to be made.

Need for Media Planning

Growth of media.
Selection of media essential.
Media promotion by media owners: Special
incentives, extra services are being offered by the
media to advertisers.
Helps in convincing client.
Suitability to product to be considered.

Media related terminologies

Reach:
- Measures number of different audience members
exposed at least once to a media vehicle in a given
period.
- Unduplicated audience.
- Campaigns success depends on its ability to reach
as many people as possible.
- Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) conducts reach
percentage studies of different media.
Eg: Out of 100 households, if 30 have been exposed
to the ad message, then reach of the ad is 30%.

Frequency:
- Number of times the audience is exposed to the
advertising message during a given period.
Avg Frequency= Total Exposure of all Households
Reach
- Both reach & frequency help in understanding
impact & influence of media on consumers.
Eg: If total no of exposures is 1000 and reach is 50,
then the avg frequency will be 1000/50=20.

Gross Rating Points (GRPs):

- Combination of Reach & Frequency.
- Shows how many potential audience members
may be exposed to a series of commercials during a
period.
- GRP=Reach X Average Frequency
- Total audience the media schedule may reach.
- Duplicated reach estimate.
Eg: If the 9pm slot reaches 75% of households an
average of 3 times within 4 weeks of the plan, then
GRP=75 x 3 = 225

Coverage:
- The potential audience that might receive the
message through a vehicle.
- Goal of a media planner is to extend coverage to
as many TG members as possible, while minimising
waste.
Eg: During Cricket, Insurance companies, stock
broking firms etc advertise.
- Some media give less coverage, while others
increase wastage.

Brand Development Index (BDI):

- Percentage of brand sales in a particular area in
relation to the percentage of the countrys
population in that area.
BDI=Percentage of brand sales in a mkt x 100
Percentage of total popn in the mkt
- Determines the sales potential for a brand in a
particular area. Hence the higher, the better.
- Indicates where significant group of a brands
customers live and helps in directing mktg efforts.

Category Development Index (CDI):

- Same as BDI but it uses info regarding product
category rather than brand.
CDI=Percentage of prdt cat sales in a mkt x 100
Percentage of total popn in the mkt
- Determines the potential for development of a
product category in a particular area.
- When combined with BDI, insightful promotional
strategy may be developed.

Relationship between BDI & CDI

Low CDI

High CDI

High BDI

Low BDI

The market represents

good sales potential for
both the product
category and brand

The product shows high

potential but brand isnt
doing well; reason
should be determined

The category isnt

selling well but the
brand is; good market
for more advertising but
should be monitored for
sales decline

Both the product

category and brand are
doing poorly; not likely
to be a good place to
advertise

Cost per Thousand (CPM):

- Used for comparing print media.
- CPM = Cost of the ad space
x 1000
Publications circulation
- Shows how much will it cost to reach a thousand of the
brands prospective customers.

Cost per Point (CPP):

- Used to compare broadcast media.
- Shows how much will it cost to buy one rating point for
your TG.
- One rating point equals 1% of your TG.
- CPP = Total cost of media schedule
Total rating points delivered by it

Cost per Rating Point (CPRP):

- Used to compare broadcast media.
- CPRP = Cost of Commercial Time
Program rating
- The lesser the better.
- Used to understand efficacy of media schedule.
CPRP for a media schedule=Total cost of schedule
Total ratings delivered

Process of Media Planning

1.

2.

3.

Deciding the target market:

- Process starts after deciding the target market.
- Based on age group, male vs female, language,
cultural & social background, etc
Deciding the media objectives:
- Stated in terms of Reach, Frequency, GRPs, etc.
Choosing the media types:
- Media habits of the target market are considered.
- Major media types include print-newspapers,
magazines, tv-satellite, DD, Radio, Outdoor,
Cinema etc.

4.

5.

Selecting specific media vehicles:

- Specific media vehicles within each media type
has to be selected.
Eg: If magazines, then whether business mags or
womens mags; if business mags, then whether
Business World, Business India, Outlook Business,
etc.
Allocating funds:
- Funds have to be allocated to each media type &
vehicle.
- Decision regarding the number of units of each
media vehicle.

6.

Media scheduling:
- Programming of media insertions.
- Media scheduling strategies depending on nature
of product, stage of PLC, advertising objectives,
etc.

Factors to be considered by Media

Planners

Stage in the PLC:

New product - create awareness - high reach
Breadth of TG:
If geographically spread, reach should be the goal,
hence media which has a high reach has to be
taken.
Re-purchase cycle:
If short frequency. Eg: Daily use items
If fairly long reach. Eg: Durables
Product differentiation:
If well differentiated, then reach to create
awareness.

Message creativity:
If creativity is high- reach-as one exposure is
enough to turn the customer around.
Competitors activity
Required consumer response:
Immediate response-Frequency

Problems in Media Planning

Insufficient information:
Data not available and even if available, is
outdated.
Inconsistent terminologies:
Different media use different formats of
measurement (Print-CPM & TV-CPRP) & some words
which mean different things are used
interchangeably (Reach & Coverage).
Time pressures
Difficulty in measuring effectiveness:
Relative effectiveness of various media is difficult to
determine.