Advertising and

Public Relations
CHAPTER-7
 Selecting Advertising Media

• The major steps in advertising media selection are

• (1) Determining on reach, frequency, and impact;
• (2) Choosing among major media types;
• (3) Selecting specific media vehicles; and
• (4) Choosing media timing
 Determining on reach,
frequency, and impact
• Reach is a measure of the percentage of people in the target
market who are exposed to the ad campaign during a given
period of time. For example, the advertiser might try to
reach 70 percent of the target market during the first
three months of the campaign.
• Frequency is a measure of how many times the average
person in the target market is exposed to the message. For
example, the advertiser might want an average exposure
frequency of three.
 Determining on reach,
frequency, and impact
• But advertisers want to do more than just reach a given number
of consumers a specific number of times. The advertiser also
must determine the desired media impact—the qualitative value
of message exposure through a given medium.
• For example, the same message in one magazine may be more
believable than in another.
• For products that need to be demonstrated, messages on
television may have more impact than messages on radio
because television uses sight and sound.
 Choosing among major media
types
• Choosing Among Major Media Types.
• Media planners have to know the reach, frequency, and
impact of each major media type.
• The major media types are television, newspapers, the
Internet, direct mail, magazines, radio, and outdoor.
• Advertisers can also choose from a wide array of new
digital media, such as cell phones and other digital
devices, which reach consumers directly.
 Selecting specific media
vehicles
• These are specific media within general types e.g. TV vehicles
are news, sports etc.
• Media planner must consider cost per thousand people reached
by the vehicle.
• Media with the lowest cost per thousand for reaching target
customers is favored.
• Cost of production for various media must also be considered.
• Media planner must balance media costs against several media
effectiveness factors e.g. audience engagement, editorial quality
etc.
 Choosing media timing
• An advertiser must also decide how to schedule the advertising
over the course of a year.
• Suppose sales of a product peak in December and drop in March
(for winter apparels, for instance).
• The firm can vary its advertising to follow the seasonal
pattern, or be the same all year. Most firms do some seasonal
advertising.
 Choosing media timing

• Finally, the advertiser must choose the pattern of the

ads.
Continuity means scheduling ads evenly within a
given period.
Pulsing means scheduling ads unevenly over a given
time period.
• Thus, 52 ads could either be scheduled at one per week
during the year or pulsed in several bursts.
 Choosing media timing

• The idea behind pulsing is to advertise heavily for a

short period to build awareness that carries over to the
next advertising period.
• Those who favor pulsing feel that it can be used to
achieve the same impact as a steady schedule but at a
much lower cost.
• However, some media planners believe that although
pulsing achieves minimal awareness, it sacrifices depth
of advertising communications.
 Other Advertising
Considerations
• Organizing for Advertising
• Different companies organize in different ways to
handle advertising.
• In small companies, advertising might be handled
by someone in the sales department.
• Large companies have advertising departments
whose job it is to set the advertising budget, work
with the ad agency etc.
 Other Advertising
Considerations
• Advertising agency is a marketing services firm that assists
companies in planning, preparing, implementing, and
evaluating all or portions of their advertising programs.
• International advertisers face many complexities not
encountered by domestic advertisers.
• The most basic issue concerns the degree to which global
advertising should be adapted to the unique characteristics
of various country markets.
 Other Advertising
Considerations
• International Advertising Decisions
• Some large advertisers have attempted to support their global
brands with highly standardized worldwide advertising.
• For example, McDonald’s unifies its creative elements and
brand presentation under the familiar “i’m lovin’ it” theme in
all its 100-plus markets worldwide.
• Standardization produces many benefits—lower advertising
costs, greater global advertising coordination, and a more
consistent worldwide image.
 Other Advertising
Considerations
• But it also has drawbacks. Most importantly, it ignores the
fact that country markets differ greatly in their cultures,
demographics, and economic conditions.
• Thus, most international advertisers “think globally but act
locally.”
• They develop global advertising strategies that make their
worldwide efforts more efficient and consistent. Then they
adapt their advertising programs to make them more
responsive to consumer needs and expectations within local
markets.
 Other Advertising
Considerations
• For example, although VISA employs its
“more people go with Visa” theme globally, ads in
specific locales employ local language and
inspiring local imagery that make the theme
relevant to the local markets in which they appear.
• Global advertisers face several special problems.
For instance, advertising media costs and
availability differ vastly from country to country.
 Other Advertising
Considerations
• Countries also differ in the extent to which they
regulate advertising practices.
• Many countries have extensive systems of laws
restricting how much a company can spend on
advertising, the media used, the nature of advertising
claims, and other aspects of the advertising program.
• Such restrictions often require advertisers to adapt
their campaigns from country to country.
 Other Advertising
Considerations
• For example, alcohol products cannot be advertised
in India or in Muslim countries.
• In many countries, such as Sweden and Canada, junk food
ads are banned from children’s television programming.
• Thus, although advertisers may develop global strategies to
guide their overall advertising efforts, specific advertising
programs must usually be adapted to meet local cultures
and customs, media characteristics, and regulations.
 Public Relations

• Another major mass-promotion tool is public

relations (PR)—building good relations with
the company’s various publics by obtaining
favorable publicity, building up a good corporate
image, and handling or heading off (avoiding)
unfavorable rumors, stories, and events.
 Public Relations
• The Role and Impact of PR
• Public relations can have a strong impact on public awareness at
a much lower cost than advertising can.
• The company does not pay for the space or time in the media.
Rather, it pays for a staff to develop and circulate information
and manage events.
• If the company develops an interesting story or event, it could
be picked up by several different media, having the same effect
as advertising that would cost millions of dollars. And it would
have more credibility than advertising.
 Public Relations

• Major Public Relations Tools

Public relations uses several tools.
• One of the major tools is news. PR professionals
find or create favorable news about the company
and its products or people. Sometimes news stories
occur naturally; sometimes the PR person can
suggest events or activities that would create news.
 Public Relations

• Speeches can also create product and company publicity.

Increasingly, company executives must field questions
from the media or give talks at trade associations or sales
meetings, and these events can either build or hurt the
company’s image.
• Another common PR tool is special events, e.g. grand
openings, multimedia presentations, or educational
programs designed to reach and interest target publics.
 Public Relations

• Public relations people also prepare written

materials to reach and influence their target markets.
These materials include annual reports, brochures,
articles, and company newsletters and magazines.
• Audiovisual materials, such as slide-and-sound
programs, DVDs, and online videos are being used
increasingly as communication tools.
 Public Relations

• Corporate identity materials can also help create a

corporate identity that the public immediately
recognizes. Logos, stationery, brochures, signs, business
forms, business cards, buildings, uniforms, and company
cars and trucks—all become marketing tools when they
are attractive, distinctive, and memorable.
• Finally, companies can improve public goodwill by
contributing money and time to public service activities.
 Public Relations

• As discussed above, the Web is also an increasingly

important PR channel.
• Web sites, blogs, and social networks such as
YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are providing
interesting new ways to reach more people.
• “The core strengths of public relations—the ability to
tell a story and spark conversation—play well into the
nature of such social media,” says a PR expert.