The
choice of advertising media depends on the following factors:
Nature of the product or service
1.
The medium chosen must fit the product or the service to be advertised. Goods,
especially new ones that require explanations and demonstrations are best
advertised at trade fairs and exhibitions. Alternatively, salesmen can visit
homes to demonstrate the use of household appliances, etc. Women's clothes are
best shown in fashion shows or women's magazines. Services such as self-service
petrol kiosks and Automated Teller machine (ATM) services are best demonstrated
over the television network as television commercials combine sight, sound and
movement which can create a more dramatic impact than the other media. Besides,
television commercials can reach a large number of viewers.
Target market
1.
Target market refers to the group of people that the advertisement is aimed at.
Groups of people may differ in terms of income, age or sex. The medium chosen
must fit the target group, i.e. the group of people who will likely buy the
product or service. For example, if you are trying to reach the female market,
then women's magazines may be appropriate. If you are trying to reach to
children, then you may select television as the medium especially during
children's programmes.
Extent of market: Local,
national, international
1. If wide coverage is needed for a
certain advertisement, the national newspaper will be a more appropriate medium
than the local newspaper. However, the local newspaper will be useful for
tapping the local market, e.g. selling used car or renting a room or a house.
Television is probably the most popular medium for disseminating any
advertising message to the mass market which includes both the literate and the
illiterate. For example, advertisers can reach the world market through live
telecast of football or boxing which has international appeal.
Cost
1. The cost of using the medium should
be considered in relation to the budget or the amount of funds available and
the circulation of the medium. For example, a small firm intends to advertise
the sale of used cars but it has allocated a small budget for this purpose. As
such, we can rule out television as a choice as the cost of advertising on
television is very high. Instead, the firm may put a small advertisement in the
newspaper.
2. The advertiser should also weigh the
relative benefits of the media with their relative costs when making a choice.
Although the cost of advertising on television may be high, the size of the
audience it will reach is great, resulting in lower cost per exposure.
3.
The standard criterion for comparing media is cost per thousand, i.e. the cost
of reaching 1000 members of the target audience. Cost per thousand enables the
advertiser to compare the cost of different media, such as television versus
radio or magazine versus newspaper.
Flexibility
1. Flexibility refers to the ease with
which the advertiser can change the advertisement so as to adapt to different
conditions and circumstances. As a medium, the magazine generally has less flexibility
than the newspaper. As the former requires the finalized layout weeks before
publication, the advertisement in the magazine cannot be changed easily,
whereas the advertisement in a newspaper can be changed days before its
publication. Radio provides greater flexibility as the advertiser can change
the advertisement more easily, even on the day the advertisement is aired.
Noise
1.
The 'noise level' refers to the level of distraction for the targeted audience.
The noise level for an advertisement in the newspaper is great, meaning that
other advertisements in the newspaper as well as news reports distract the
reader's attention from the advertising message. On the other hand, television
commercials encounter a lower level of distraction because the commercials are
aired one at a time and can capture the viewers' attention. Compared with the
newspaper and the television, the cinema encounters the lowest level of
distraction as a medium - an advertising message can capture the full attention
of the audience in a cinema.
Lifespan
The
lifespan of an advertisement refers to the length of time an advertisement will
be on display. Different media have different life spans. For example, a radio
or a television commercial has short lifespan - it will last only for a few
seconds. Listeners cannot replay the commercial unless they record the
programme. On the other hand, an advertisement in the newspaper or the magazine
has a longer lifespan as the advertisement can be read and re-read several
times. It can also be filed and passed on to other people.
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