Media Planning, Buying and Costs

Media Planning, Buying and Costs

International media planning is more complicated than local media planning as the media situation differs from country to country. To plan effectively, inter­ national advertisers require high­quality, reliable cross­country media and audi­ ence research data. In some countries, there is inadequate media research. Moreover, research techniques and measurement standards vary greatly across countries, making cross­country comparisons of media research data almost impossible. Research into international media is still relatively expensive. Unless reliable inter conn try comparisons can be made, international advertisers will find it difficult to evaluate and quantify international media effectiveness. In the EU, the European Association of Advertising Agencies is working on the harmoniza­

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tion of data to help pan­European media researchers. More recently, pan­ European research projects such as the Yanklelovieh Young Adult Europe study, the Pan­European Television Research Group (PETAR) and the European Media and Marketing Survey (EMS), a syndicated research project funded jointly by advertisers, agencies and print and TV media, are generating a range of data that will help media planners go some way towards building more effective campaigns across Europe as well as in individual territories. 26

International advertisers also face the problem of media availability. Media availability differs considerably from country to country. Some countries have too

few media to handle all of the advertising offered to them. Other countries are peppered with so many media that an advertiser cannot gain national coverage at

a reasonable cost. Moreover, media quality also differs across nations. For example, in most advanced economies, the existence of high­quality print media,

a well­developed outdoor billboard market and professional radio and TV stations offer high­quality 'environments' for advertisers. By contrast, in many developing and emerging markets, such as Russia, media quality has been one of the barriers

to rapid development of the region's advertising industry. International media buying is changing rapidly. On the one hand, global advertisers have concentrated advertising budgets. They have the power of scale because of the revenues they generate for thy media. They are in a position to require their agencies to negotiate the best prices for them. On the other hand, there are just the few ­ large and powerful ­ international media corporations, which, given their cross­ownership across different media and countries, are in a strong position to influence prices and the outcome of negotiations. These media empires can offer multimedia advertising, one­stop media shopping and even multimedia discount opportunities. So, for international advertising, prices must

be negotiated. Prices may vary greatly per country. For example, one source shows that, for television, the cost per thousand to reach housewives in 16 European countries ranged from ecu8.37 in Ireland to ecu35.5 in Sweden. 27 Another survey suggests that, in the Scandinavian countries, print media domi­ nate as an advertising medium, with two in three consumers polled voicing pos­

itive attitudes towards print advertising; only one in five held the same opinion of TV advertising. The preference for the printed word has important implications for advertising media choice. 28

Thus, firms that advertise their products in different country markets must decide on what media to use based on a consideration of their target groups, the budget available and an understanding of the media scene and relative media cost efficiencies in these countries. The media planner must research the market

adequately. Although this could be a difficult task in some countries, such as the emerging eastern European, Russian and Baltic markets, where there are few

research services, investment in gaining as much local insight and basic knowl­ edge about the media helps firms to avoid disasters. For example, one agency in Finland produced a print campaign for the Baltic states whose effect was based on

colour contrasts. Unfortunately, Latvian and Lithuanian newspapers do not print in colour and the agency had. to eome up with an entirely new campaign. 2y