Developing the media plan







Market Analysis

The key questions to be addressed in this stage are:

• To whom shall we advertise (who is the target market)? 
• What internal and external factors may influence the media plan? 
• Where and when should we focus our efforts?

To whom shall we advertise?

There are many indicators developed by different agencies but generally the sources of data used in calculating these indicators are questioned by experts. Also, sometimes the data used to obtain these indicators might not be sufficient or accurate and thus might yield to misleading results. Therefore, tmost of the agencies use the index number.

The index number is the best indicator of the potential of a market. This number is derived from the formula

An index number over 100 means use of the product is proportionately greater in that segment than in one that is average (100) or less than 100.


What internal and external factors may influence the media plan?

Internal factors:

• The size of the media budget 
• Managerial and administrative capabilities
• The organization of the agency 

External factors

• The economy (the rising costs of media)
• Changes in technology (the availability of new media) 
• Competitive factors

Where to promote?

Several indices that are used to determine where to promote (geographically) are as follows:

1. Survey of buying power index - is based on a number of factors including population, effective buying income, and total retail sales in the area. Each of these factors is individually weighted to drive a buying power index that charts the potential of a particular metro area, county, or city. The resulting index gives media planners an insight into the relative value of that market.

2. Brand development index (BDI) - helps marketers factor the rate of product usage by geographic area into the decision process. It compares the percentage of the brand’s total country sales in a given market
area with the percentage of the total population in the market to determine the sales
potential for that brand in that market area.

3. Category development index (CDI) - provides information on the potential for development of the total product category rather than specific brands.




Media objectives

Example:
Create awareness in the target market through the following:

• Use broadcast media to provide coverage of 80 percent of the target market over a six-month period
• Reach 60 percent of the target audience at least three times over the same six month period
• Concentrate heaviest advertising in winter and spring, with lighter emphasis in summer and fall

Developing and implementing media strategies


Having determined what is to be accomplished, in the following stage of developing and implementing media strategies media planners consider how to achieve these objectives. several criteria are considered while developing media plans:

• The media mix
• Target market coverage 
• Geographic coverage
• Scheduling
• Reach vs frequency
• Creative aspect and mood
• Flexibility
• Budget considerations