INTRODUCTION
One of the challenges faced by marketers in markets is inadequate awareness about brands, product and its usage. It is observed that low awareness level leads to
- High inertia to adopt new products.
- Reluctance to pay additional premium to pay for national brands
- Rampant usage of counterfeit brands.
It is hence necessary to create awareness as well as preference for your brands among your audience. This calls for extensive advertising and mass marketing for attracting and retaining the target markets. An urge to increase the market share and beat the competition is the aim of every company. And all this is possible through advertising.
Effective advertising refers to informing the public about the right product at the right time through the right medium. A right message through the wrong medium at the wrong time would definitely lead to a waste of resources.
To get the most out of the advertising rupees sent, the primary concern of the advertiser is media selection. The cost of buying space or time is weighed against the number of audience secured by such advertising. Media ability covers such qualitative values as audience characteristics, editorial personality, and contribution to advertising effectiveness; above all it refers to “media image” capable of enhancing the perception and communication value of a given message.
Hence, the media plays a very important role in entire process of reaching the target audience and retaining them.
ELEMENTS OF MEDIA
Evaluation of a particular medium for inclusion in a campaign rests upon what it contributes to the cumulative effect. Any medium comprises of 4 elements.
- Character
- Atmosphere
- Reach and frequency
- Cost
In addition to this, we should also realize that the “value” contributed by the medium also depends upon the – size of the advertisement or length of the commercial and the position of the advertisement.
By the word “character”, we mean the objective characteristics of the medium; type of coverage, seasonal implications etc. By “atmosphere” we mean the effect on the mind or emotions of the mood and circumstances in which the advertisement in the medium is perceived by the audience. We shall now see these two elements in detail.
(1) CHARACTER
There are ten aspects to character.
Geography
Class
Age
Power to reach special groups
Physical characteristics of the medium
Assistance to selling
Duration of interest
Timing
Impact or repetition
Indirect effects on influential groups like retailers
Geography. The coverage of every medium is limited by area. Coverage may be limited, as with a national newspaper to a national basis. Within this lies another limitation, as in a national paper may also have a strong degree of coverage in some areas and lighter degree in others. Coverage may also be limited as with a television or radio station to a specified “region. Within this it is further influenced by fluctuating factors like signal strength, booster transmitters or pattern of relay services. This factor is important not only to small regional advertisers but also to national advertisers whose sales patterns and resistance varies from region to region.
Class. Most media have overwhelming bias towards any social economic class, being read and seen so widely that the class distinction is largely eliminated. But there are also many media in which the class bias is obvious or atleast definable eg. High priced fashion magazines are biased towards high society women.
Age groups: The age factor may be extremely important for some products. For eg. Its no use trying to sell toothpaste to people with false teeth. General observation and common sense shows that certain types of media vehicles, by the virtue of their content itself, appeal to certain age groups rather than others. In contrast, certain other media evidently have equal chance of reaching all age groups eg. Posters, billboards etc.
Power to reach special groups. Even within socio-economic groups there are certain special groups that could be important to advertisers. Different media are available for reaching a pre-selected target audience as required by the advertiser. Eg. The Motoring Times targets males interested in Motor vehicles.
Physical characteristics of the media: Another important character aspect is the physical characteristics of the medium. Whether it is oral, written or visual. Whether it admits movement or not, etc. For eg. A message that requires demonstration would use the television medium, but which require personal interactive demonstration would use exhibitions or POP demos.
Assistance to Selling: Another aspect of character is the degree to which the medium assists the process of selling. Some advertisements aim at hard core selling where as some require the creation of a prestigious atmosphere. Mediums differ in the level of assistance to selling. For eg. Mediums like POPs have a high level of assistance as compared to television. Choosing the medium according to the advertising objective is extremely important. For eg. Using only down-to-earth mediums for the brand building exercise of expensive cosmetics would not only be detrimental to the brand but also poor returns for the money spent.
Duration of interest. The time given by the audience to the advertisements in a particular medium is another very important aspect. Some advertising messages are just reminders so mediums which have only a few seconds of observer time like posters serve the purpose. But other messages may require mediums with higher duration of interest.
Timing. The moment at which the message is seen or read is also of immense importance. For eg. For products that have a casual or impulse buying pattern, its imperative that the media used for advertising used is as close to the point of purchase as possible. The day of the week, month, time of the day, season etc also affect the degree to which the message is effective.
Impact and repetition. The characteristics of the medium also affect the impact offered by the medium. For eg. An inch-high font size might be effective on a full page newspaper ad, but a foot high font size is totally ineffective for a hoarding. The cost of the medium also determines the ability to use it for repetitions. For messages where repetition is more effective then lengthy “once in a whiles”. Using TV for short advertisements is more effective then for longer duration films.
Indirect effects on influential groups like retailers. Another important value of the advertising budget is that it gives the retailer confidence to stock the goods and to display them prominently. This confidence can be formed only when the retailer respects the ad or sees the ad in the course of events. This many a times becomes an important deciding factor between two equivalent media. For eg. For a women’s product sold through grocers, if the choice is between a women’s magazine and a daily newspaper, it is more likely that the grocer will see the ad in the newspaper, thus the newspaper is a more efficient medium.
The character of a medium is essentially a very objective and largely physical aspect. The other element is the subjective and atmospheric aspect of any medium. “Atmosphere” is the mood of the audience and the relationship between the message and the atmosphere of the medium carrying it. Evaluating atmosphere begins with drawing the distinction between media whose primary function is advertising eg. Posters, and media whose objective is different eg. Entertainment for television channels, where the advertising matter is the intruder, whether acceptable or otherwise. Many media have the ability to reach customers when they are deciding their purchases. Any advertising message at this moment is not only acceptable but is also considered helpful. This increases the level of assistance to selling tremendously. For eg. A magazine that talks about beauty and fashion is highly effective in telling its readers about the latest beauty products available. The atmosphere of this particular medium is highly conducive to the advertisements of beauty products.
POPs as an example, rates very high on atmosphere as it is not only acceptable but also extremely relevant to the context. The customer is there to buy and these aid the process of selection. On the other hand, cinema, radio and television fall into the opposite category where advertising is generally intrusive.
Another aspect of atmosphere is the character of the medium, the atmosphere in which the medium is viewed
Cinemas are generally a cheerful escape for the audience into a world of glamour and fantasy. Advertising for happy, glamorous products would be more effective in this case rather than for hard core household products. The newspaper would be more effective for news oriented messages like an upcoming discount, or a sales promotion.
Another variation of atmosphere lies in the “prestige” of the medium and particularly in its capacity to instill confidence in the buyer about the goods. For eg. National daily papers are more effective as a selling media rather than local weekly papers because their credibility is much higher. This aspect is two way, it follows the “company-you-keep” concept, where not only does the advertisement derive its atmosphere from the medium but also vice-versa.
MEDIA VEHICLES
Deciding to include advertising in the communication mix process is a relatively easy decision compared to deciding which media and media vehicle (for example which magazine or which cannel on TV, etc.)
Most of the advertising budget gets spent on the media (and not the creative or production side).This is why a careful planning, negotiating and knowledge skills are very important. Expert media planners and buyers got the best out of the advertising by finding the right spaces or places for an ad campaign at the lowest cost.
There are a wide variety of media available today for the advertisers to choose from. The decision is depended on a lot of factors at the same time it is a very crucial decision since the success of the campaign is highly depended on the media selection aspect.
TYPES OF MEDIA VEHICLES
Ø Broadcast media:
- television
- radio
Ø Narrowcast media:
- video and cable TV,
- cinema
Ø Print:
- Newspapers: (a) daily
(b) Weekly
(c) Sunday
(d) Weekend supplement
- Magazines:
(a) Consumer magazines: general interest or special interest.
(b)Business publications: trade publications, institutional publications, etc.
Ø Outdoor:
(a) Billboards
(b)Transit media
Ø Rural media
Ø New media
Ø BROADCAST MEDIA
Broadcast media are quite young in comparison to the printed word. Fundamentally there are two main forms of broadcast: television and radio. Advertisers use these classes of media in order to reach mass audiences with their messages at a relatively low cost per target reached.
The media allows the advertisers to add audio and /or visuals to their messages. The media gives life and energy to the advertising message which is not really possible through other media.
However people are normally unable and unwilling to become actively involved in the broadcast advertising message. They cant consume the pace at which the meaasge is seen and understood as the time is very short due to the cost aspect. The advertisers are also unable to provide excessive details and information.
As a result the medium becomes more suitable for low involvement products.
Advertising messages through the broadcast media use a small time period, normally 15 or 30 or 60 seconds depending on their budget and the availability.
NARROWCASTING
The word "narrowcasting" is particularly unique to the industry of media specifically that of broadcast media. It is, according to the dictionary, the ability to "aim a radio or TV program or programming at a specific, limited audience or consumer market."
The practice came to the forefront with the advent of cable television. As this specialty media has matured, narrowcasting has become a fine art.
In the earlier days of Indian television, the two major networks (doordarshans) dominated programming and sought to obtain the widest audience possible. They avoided programming content that might appeal only to a small segment of the mass population and succeeded in their goal by reaching nearly 90% (combined) of the television viewing audience on a regular basis.
The networks maintained their stronghold until competition emerged through the addition of many independent stations, the proliferation of cable channels and the popularity of videocassettes. These competitors provided television audiences with many more viewing options. Consequently, the large numbers previously achieved through mass-oriented programming dwindled and "narrowcasting" took hold.
With narrowcasting the programmer or producer assumes that only a limited number of people or a specific demographic group will be interested in the subject matter of a program. In many ways, this is the essence of cable television's programming strategy.
Following the format or characteristics of specialized magazines, a cable television program or channel may emphasize one subject or a few closely related subjects.
For example, music television is presented on MTV (Music Television), or Channel V, CMM.ETC, CNN (Cable News Network) offers 24-hour news coverage; ESPN (Entertainment Sports Network) boasts an all sports format; and Star TV, Zee etc, covers the family entertainment segment. Other cable channels feature programming such as shopping, comedy, science-fiction, or programs aimed at specific ethnic or gender groups highly prized by specific advertisers
Ø NEW MEDIA
The new media would include internet and short message service (SMS).
New media is different from traditional media on a number of fronts, bu the most important beingthe time that elspses between message receipt and response.
With new media the advertisers can target tightly clustered audiences with well defined messages.
i. INTERNET ADVERTISING
The World Wide Web is a hybrid medium, which shares characteristics with mass communication as well as interpersonal communication. The medium combines the ability of the mass media to disperse a message to a wider audience with some of interpersonal communication’s possibilities of feed-back and interaction.
From a marketing view point, one of the implications of this is that exposure and action advertising and transactions can be integrated. Since the medium is interactive, users of the World Wide Web play a much more active role in the communication process than users of traditional mass media.
Where traditional mass media are characterized by an information push, the communication processes on the Web are driven by a basic information pull, meaning that the control balance of the communication process has shifted in favor of the user. The immense body of information available to the individual user further pushes the control of the communication process towards the user, and has lead to a highly fragmented content structure that allows the individual user to pursue his specific interests.
Internet advertising has gained significant momentum across the world and has become a part of the media mix that is being considered by advertisers worldwide.
TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING V/s INTERNET ADVERTISING
| TRADITIONAL ADV. (TA) | INTERNET ADV. (IA) |
| TA is static. | It is dynamic with multimedia- supporting text and graphics video sound all together. |
| Space is not a restricting factor | Space is a problem, as regards size of the banners etc. |
| The proportion of advertising to editorial is high sometimes 50:50. | A web page would be 91% editorial and 9% advertising. |
| Does not evoke immediate action. | Invokes immediate action as you at-least need to click on the ad. |
| Response to the action is not immediate. | First response is immediate as when the user clicks, the person is directed to other web page with more details. |
| dvertisements are passively received. | The user has high attention level and concentration while using the net, and hence they notice the ad. (please refer the chapter) |
| Advertising does not always target a very focussed audience. | This can be very focussed. |
| Advertisements are ubiquitous. | Advertisements catch users when they are on the lookout for some thing. For example the search is for travel on a search engine there are ads of travel agents on the net. |
| Difficult to track the exact number of people who saw the advertisement. | This is quite possible with Internet advertisements. |
| Ads are graphic intensive and avoid copy overload. | Both copy and graphics are restricted by the banner size specifications. |
| The costs would be prohibitive to reach a global audience. | There are no such constraints. |
ii. SMS - Selling Made Smarter!
Introduction
A significant addition to the increasing list of communication carriers, is that of SMS, Short Messaging Service. SMS has become the fastest, easiest and the most convenient way to communicate today. For reasons personal or professional, SMS works across purposes. The most recent application of SMS has been to reach out to the consumer offering him products and services just as any of the other mass media would. Be it in the form of promotions or advertising or even sales, the functionality of SMS usage is crossing all barriers.
The Media Clutter
Amongst the sea of communication channels hitting the consumer constantly, the actual message usually gets lost. Many a times, the possibility of the right message reaching the right target is also dwindled, not ruling out the fact that this has a direct impact on the costs shelled out for such activities. Unlike the mass media, SMS enables micro targeting, which ensures that there is no spillover of the communication. The use of this medium also allows the consumer to react to the communication on the spot, which helps measure the effectiveness of the campaign. Then there is always the option to explore the possibility of this medium being used to propagate word-of-mouth. Every single target that the communication is being sent to carries the potential to be the originator of a new chain of targets. It just depends on how interesting and action-provoking the message designed is for the chain to remain continual.
SMS has graduated from a mere add-on service into a communication channel alongside voice calls in
BBC World, in its marketing of the ongoing quiz show `University Challenge', used SMS along with radio and the Internet (yahoo.com) as a medium for entries, and received more than 15,000 entries on SMS alone.
Radio Mirchi broke new grounds in FM Radio interactive programming by auctioning a date with Kareena Kapoor. Listeners had to SMS their bid to 8888. The auction could be played by anyone with an access to a mobile phone. The bidding for the lunch date began with Rs 5,000 and on the first day of the two-day auction, there were already more than 1,800 responses and the bid has crossed Rs 85,600 in Mumbai alone. The proceeds of the auction were donated to Nav Nirman Foundation, a home for the poor, addicts and the mentally challenged.
Why use SMS advertising?
When compared to other media, SMS was found to be the most efficient as SMS messages have to be read before they are deleted.
| Medium | Reach | Cost | Strike Rate |
| Television | One of the Highest | Very High | Good |
| Radio | Medium | Medium | Poor |
| Internet (Banner) | High | Medium | Dropping |
| Email | High | Extremely Low | Extremely Low |
| Print Media (Flyers) | Low | High | High |
| Billboards | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Moving Media | Medium | High | Medium |
| Telephone | Medium | High | Medium |
| Fax | Low | Medium | Low |
| Standard Mailers | High | High | Medium |
| Personal Interaction | Low | High | High |
| SMS | EXTREMELY HIGH | EXTREMELY LOW | EXTREMELY HIGH |
The only disadvantage of SMS advertising is – it is restricted to just 160 characters. So the advertising message has to be SHORT and FOCUSED yet POWERFUL!
Future of SMS
Marketing via SMS is the just the beginning of developing relations with the consumer. A lot of innovation has been observed in this aspect which has given more than the desired results. Selling via SMS has also started picking up momentum and will soon be at par with the figures of trading on Internet.
There is an element of personalization in marketing via SMS, which increases the possibility of participation/ response by the consumer. This single aspect can drive the scope of SMS usage to great heights.
Conclusion
The fast growing trend of SMS usage for multi-purpose activities has generated the need to find out more about the profile of people who welcome SMS as a regular feature of their life. SMS developed in the quest for getting into the depths of not only the demographics of such users but also their psychographics and media habits.
Innovative media focuses on alternative platforms of advertising which open up new avenues for advertisers. As technological breakthroughs facilitate better modes of communication, the emergence of new media has enhanced reach on several levels. The result is new advertising vehicles which are wider in reach, specific in targeting and most of all, lower in cost.
- Voice Reach:
Voice Reach advertising is an exciting new medium for advertisers which enables them to broadcast audio messages to a precisely defined target audience. The idea behind this service is simple and powerful. It allows people to communicate with each other within and across cities, at the cost of a local telephone call. How it works is as follows. A person in Mumbai can call up a local number and leave a message for his friend, relative or business associate in Mumbai and
ii. Advertising & Promotions
Voice Reach is undoubtedly an advertising platform with massive potential. As expected, this enormously valuable service is drawing users across all ages, occupations, socio economic classes and geographical areas of
Voice Reach advertising promises:
- Better one-to-one marketing capabilities than the Internet
- Guaranteed ad consumption : The advertisement comes before a user hears or sends messages
- Target-based advertising
- Interactive Advertising
Commercial announcements are just the beginning of a strong line-up of services which Voice Reach offers.
Everybody runs contests. But are these contests really effective? How many people do they reach? How many people respond? How many people actually remember to fill up a postcard, or send a fax (if they can), or remember to send an e-mail. The fact is - very few do. Geography is no longer a limiting factor, your audience can now be an active part of your contests just by dialing a local number. Make your television programs more interactive, let your viewers talk to you. Your viewers, anywhere in
Voice Reach, thus, is the perfect medium to carry messages from the viewer to the broadcaster, enabling your audience to enter your contests with a simple phone call.
Highlights
- Customised contests - National Participation through a local calls.
- Making TV shows more interactive
- Messages transferred over a local telephone could be -
- Requests
- Feedback
- Queries
- Opinion polls
- The Vidiwall:
The Vidiwall is an intensely captivating advertising medium which truly represents the best of today's technology. The Vidiwall is essentially a mega screen capable of broadcasting high quality audio-visuals, banners, logos & slides of stunning size, resolution and picture quality. Placed at Mumbai's premier shopping plaza, Crossroads, the Vidiwall is fast being recognized as a medium that grabs attention like nothing else. Vidiwalls, a trademarked Philips solution, have been adapted for dedicated Point-Of-Sale and Point-Of-Information usage. Known to have a tremendous impact on people, the Vidwall is a highly effective tool to maximize brand recall.
The Vidiwall is an exceptional means for advertisers who wish to target Mumbaiites. Crossroads boasts of shopper strength of 10,000-20,000 footfalls per weekday and 32,000-60,000 footfalls per weekend. The minimum cummulative of which is 4,76,000 footfalls per month. The consumer profile of Crossroads' visitors ranges from SEC A/B/C+ lying in a Catchment area of Colaba to Bandra. Another interesting facet that speaks of the involving effect that the Vidiwall has on Mumbaiites is its arresting nature...the mean for one-time viewers of the Vidiwall is 2.9 mins, whereas, the mean for 2 or more time viewers is 4.3 mins. A clear indicator of its addictive nature.
In addition to the conventional media vehicles, a lot of innovative mediums are used in rural advertising and marketing. Some of the most striking ones are:
- Puppetry
Puppetry is the indigenous theatre of India. From time immortal it has been the most popular form and well-appreciated form of entertainment available to the village people. It is an inexpensive activity. The manipulator uses the puppets as a medium to express and communicate ideas, values and social messages.
Life Insurance Corporation of
- Folk Theater
Folk theaters are mainly short and rhythmic in form. The simple tunes help in informing and educating the people in informal and interesting manner. It has been used as an effective medium for social protest against injustice, exploitation and oppression.
Government has used this media for popularizing improved variety of seeds, agricultural implements, fertilizer etc.
A) Balliye Kanak Biye - Wheat Cultivation.
B) Khiran Kepah Narme - Cotton Cultivation.
Both were well received by farmers.
BBLIL used Magician quite effectively for launch of Kadak Chhap Tea in Etawah.
- Demonstration:
"Direct Contact" is a face-to-face relationship with people individually and with groups such as the Panchayats and other village groups. Such contact helps in arousing the villager's interest in their own problem and motivating them towards self-development.
Demonstration may be
A. i. Method demonstration
ii. Result demonstration
B. i. Simple Demonstration
ii. Composite Demonstration
In result demonstration, help of audio -visual media can add value. Asian Paints launched Utsav range by painting Mukhiya's house or Post office to demonstrate that paint does not peel off.
- Wall Paintings
Wall Paintings are an effective and economical medium for advertising in rural areas. They are silent unlike traditional theatre .A speech or film comes to an end, but wall painting stays as long as the weather allows it to.
Retailer normally welcomes paintings of their shops, walls, and name boards. Since it makes the shop look cleaner and better. Their shops look alluring and stand out among other outlets. Besides rural households shopkeepers and panchayats do not except any payment, for their wall to be painted with product messages. To get one's wall painted with the product messages is seemed as a status symbol. The greatest advantage of the medium is the power of the picture completed with its local touch. The images used have a strong emotional association with the surrounding, a feet impossible for even a moving visual medium like television, which must use general image to cater to greatest number of viewers.
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