Media Buying and everyday life

Advertising is something that is seen on a daily basis. Billboards, newspapers, radio ads and television commercials are all part of everyday life. Advertising’s goal is to develop a persuasive message that influences the desired consumer to purchase a product or service at a low cost. Advertising itself is the end result of strategic advertising management that includes actual media buying. A good definition for media buying would be the tactical planning, negotiation and purchasing of advertising space in media venues such as, print media, television, radio, and Internet. This article is going to explain media buying, General Market and Direct Response media buying, and factors to consider when buying media.

The above definition for buying media as a tactical plan to negotiate and purchase advertising space in a media venue such as print, television, radio and internet easily puts it in into prospective. But as with most things, it is just not that cut and dry. As there is a difference between Institutional and Direct Response Advertising, media buying is no different. There is also General Marketing media buying and Direct Response media buying.

General Marketing consists of negotiating rates and developing media schedules based on information provided by media planners. General Marketing uses what is referred to as a Cost Per Point Guide, which consist of theoretical points of reference. Direct marketing is more effective in purchasing media from the right source and negotiating practical rates because the buyer knows which media type and individual venue generates the volume of response need to make a profit.
This information is known, because just as in Direct Response advertising, Direct Marketing media buying focuses on requesting the consumer to act by attaching telephone numbers to each media venue that is used, tracking the sales and making adjustments when necessary.

Regardless of the type of media buying method, the expenditure for buying media can significantly vary. Some factors to consider include:

Current market trends
Local broadcast stations, cable network, satellite
Rating and size of the audience receiving the message
Seasonal considerations on media inventory
Time frame or term of the ad
Package or bulk buying deals

In addition to the above factors, the main purpose for buying media is to make the best use of what is bought for the amount of money available to spend. This includes consideration of the type of media; the target audience, when the message is received and how much time and space are requested. Media can be bought on a local, regional or national basis. National buying may be subject to state laws and licenses.

The bottom line on media buying is that it involves using designed strategies for the purpose of persuading the target audience through the proper media venue that’s suitable for a company’s image, marketing objective and budget, to purchase products or services. Media buying is a very valuable function in the advertising industry.

levision, print media and radio will be scrutinized by the media buying service and the media or media mix that is relevant to the strategy will be chosen.

Negotiation and Implementation- media buying experts negotiate the best possible deal and start implementing the ad campaign.

Track and Analyze-after the ad campaign starts, constant tracking and analyzing its performance is crucial to the campaign’s success. Additions, deletions, and general adjustments may be necessary to optimize performance.

In order to provide you with an executable plan that ensures a successful ad campaign, a media buying service should have access to market information and media information from Arbitron, Nielsen, SRDS and have network connections and contacts around the country, or even better, around the world. A good service will have the latest technology to efficiently perform all tasks required to plan, research, negotiate, implement and analyze your ad campaign and have access to market specific research studies that will help to create target market profiles, define the target consumer, and design media schedules to reach that consumer.

Tool and resources provide a source of accuracy and relevant updated information. They do not guarantee a top-notch media buying service. Finding a service that promptly attends to the customer’s needs, provides extraordinary customer service, and follows the rule that media buying begins and ends with customer; sounds to me like a great media buying service.