Just do it. Got Milk? Don’t Leave Home Without it.
All simple taglines. All went on to that sell millions of products. But without good media planning, its likely no one would have ever seen any of them.
A marketer ultimately has one job: figure out the optimal way to deliver your product’s message so that the right people hear it and are influenced to take your desired action. For many marketers, advertising is a way to start a conversation, inform them of a new offering, or simply remind them of a familiar one.
Unfortunately, media budgets are not unlimited and advertising can be very expensive. For those who opt for advertising as part of their brand awareness strategy it is particularly important that their budgets get allocated to the right channels so that they can have the most impact.
Traditional vs. Digital: Which Advertising is Most Influential?
It’s been a rough few years, but ad spend for media is finally recovering. Last year spend for advertising reached a 10-year growth high of $180.12 billion. With more marketers willing to spend again the next question is where these marketing budgets should go to have the most impact for marketers. Are traditional advertising channels like television, radio and print still worth an investment or should the focus (and the dollars) shift strictly to digital?
Well that depends on who you’re trying to reach. A 2014 study by Adroit Digital found that despite decreased TV viewership, particularly among millennials, television advertising remains the most influential way to introduce Millenials to a brand and craft how they perceive it. But don’t count digital out. Social media is a close second, followed by online display, video, and mobile. This is where media planning can be a benefit to you.
Magazines, radio, and billboards scored the lowest in their study in reaching millennials, but still effective in other areas. Magazines for example are still a preferred source for marketers of luxury products. Print and direct mail are still being used successfully when reaching older demographics and for political advertising. Radio continues to provide the largest ROI for marketers and outdoor advertising among the best brand recall. So which is most influential? It depends on who you are trying to influence and what you want them to do.
What’s the Secret to Influential Advertising?
As we mentioned above, increasing brand influence through advertising typically requires investing in more than one channel. But how do you decide which ones? We suggest these three ways and plan your media accordingly:
- Research and testing
- Compare historical and competitive data
- Seek a professional opinion
Begin by assessing your brand with research and testing. Focus group and marketing research via an outside firm is the best way to get unbiased opinions. Ask what they think about your brand. Ask them to name your competitors and rank how they view your product or service against them. Also find out how they typically shop for and find products and services like yours. Use this data as the foundation for creating personas for crafting your media plan.
Next compare historical data. Track your progress over the past few years. If you have previously utilized advertising compare which channels were the most successful at getting your desired goal and which ones were least profitable for the money. Allocate your budget accordingly. If you are considering venturing into a new area, start conservatively with a smaller campaign. Gauge the results and increase, decrease, or stop accordingly.
If you are new to advertising and unsure where to advertise take a look at your biggest competitor. Where are they advertising? Who are they trying to reach and how? Now take this information and compare it with the personas you created and your historical data to create portrait of your target customers and how they like to consume media.
Media Planning for Influential Advertising
An alternative option is to enlist the assistance of a media strategy firm. Media strategy firms utilize resources to gather this information for you and develop a media strategy that will reach and influence your ideal consumer. At Capitol Media Solutions, we start with audience data resources that measure traditional and digital media consumption like Nielsen, SRDS, comScore, and more.
We use that data to formulate your plan for buying the right media. We offer advice on where and how most of your audience is getting their media and we suggest placements in those places. We also have relationships with vendors that will allow us to negotiate additional added value that will get you more exposure for less money.
Contact Capitol Media Solutions and talk with one of our media planners to learn more about how we support your traditional or digital ad campaigns with media strategies and buys that reinforce your message, boost your awareness, and drive sales.