SWOT OF 5 TYPES OF MEDIA

SWOT OF 5 TYPES OF MEDIA

Selecting Advertising Media

In addition to decideding upon the content, style and tone of the advertising message, the media through which the message will be communicated to the target audience must also be selected, be it television, newspaper, magazine, radio or other. In order to select the most appropriate media, consideration should be given to the advantages and disadvantages of each of the available types of media. In the table below we have identified commonly accepted advantages and disadvantages of each of the major media. This is followed by more detailed consideration of each of these media in latter sections of the article. Media Strengths and Weaknesses Media Strengths Weaknesses Television Dynamic attention getting media, combining visual, sound and animated stimulus Strong potential Impact & High market coverage Good at demonstrating products Enabling targeting through selection of viewing channels and slots between specific programme Role model advantage: here the advertisers have celebrities as endorsers. Celebes are role models of the youth and the youth always ape to be like them Creation of AIDA: advertising in TV attracts Attention that creates an Interest and Desire that can lead to Action in the form of final purchase. High level of initial expenditure required ‘Now you see it, Now you don’t’ media, in that commercials are on the screen and gone within seconds Poor at communicating lengthy technical information Time consuming to produce an ad TV ads alone do not suffice: in order to make the campaign successful TV ads have to be supported with other media like print or radio. Ads are very short to provide any detail information. Statutory controls: the TV ads have to adhere to the I&B rules. Surrogate advertisements have been banned Newspaper Targeting is possible through profiling readership Good level of market coverage Local advertising possible · Inexpensive medium when used selectively. Reinforcement medium Static media, not suitable for product demonstration Potential for poor reproduction, sometimes limited to black and white print Quality of paper used is not very effective and reduces the attractiveness of ads Possibility of an individual advert being lost on a page of adverts Short-life span, i.e. yesterdays newspapers become today’s rubbish Informal reading: people may skip ads Radio Mass use of radio by audience, particularly in cars on the way to work and home. 90% of India has access to Radio which is unmatched by any other media Very effective for reaching the large rural audience. High geographic and demographic reach Targeting is possible through selection of channel and programme · Low literacy rates mean that the people hardly read newspapers and radio is the only medium that they can understand. They can’t afford a TV set. Therefore radio is the most popular. Audio communication only Misunderstanding: sometimes there might be a misconception regarding the radio ad as it is only heard. Now you hear it, Now you don’t Lower attention levels than television from the audience · RJ needs training: it is very important that the Radio Jockey is trained enough to deliver the ad. Sometimes the voice really matters. If the voice is irritating then there is a chance that the campaign may flop. Magazines High quality reproduction, of color images Targeting is possible through specialist publications Coffee table effect – advert can be referred back to Good pass on readership Longer life span & reference value Good supplement to TV: magazines reach special target groups which is not possible only through TV ads. Static media, not suitable for product demonstration Control of the positioning of adverts is often under the control of magazine editor, rather than the sponsor Lengthy lead-time between advert being placed and magazine being published Outdoor High repeat exposure to advert hence long life Relatively low cost Low levels of competition, in terms of advertising clutter It offers geographic selectivity. The marketer can vary the ad message according to the particular segment of the market. Little audience selectivity / targeting possible Static media, not suitable for product demonstrations Difficult to monitor effectiveness Potential for damage, via weather and graffiti Outdoor advertising when employed on a national basis proves to be expensive. Note All of the above media share one common characteristic, and as a result one common weakness, in that they are one-way communication, not requiring the audience to respond and thus not motivating the audience to pay attention in the same way required of two-way communication.