The Importance of Media Research In The Media Buying Process
Media planning is crucial to the media buying process. Without it, media buying would be equivalent to playing darts with a blindfold on. The media planning process defines a strategy, which is used to help implement a successful media advertising campaign. But before that happens, vital media research must be conducted.
Advertising research is a sub form or function of market research. It may be concentrated in one direction or cover a wider more general area of interest. Media research can be done for any media medium such as print, which includes newspaper, magazine and direct mail, radio, television, outdoor advertising, or Internet.
There are two types of research, syndicated and customized. Syndicated research is a study done by a professional research company, who then sells the results to other companies. Customized research is performed for a specific client. Media buying professionals typically integrate both types of research to produce a media plan that produces a winning ad campaign.
This article identifies the importance of media research in the media buying and planning process, and discusses the media research tools and resources used to identify the target audience. Whether the media buying process will be conducted for a traditional or Internet ad campaign, media research will have to be completed to formulate a plan. Before deciding media mediums, the primary task is clarifying the target audience.
The target audience is the consumer base that an advertising campaign is trying to reach. It can consist of single or multiple combinations, such as race, gender, age group, homeowner or renter, or white men who rent homes and black women over age forty.
Establishing the correct target audience will determine if an ad campaign succeeds or fails. It is the most important element in the media buying, planning, market research mix.
Media buying professionals have access to resources that contain market and media information from media research firms like Nielsen, Arbitron, and Mobile Trak, in addition to nationwide network affiliations. Their access also extends to state-of-the-art technology, which ensures efficient turn around times for media research and analyzing results. Media buying and planning experts also use syndicated research studies and often-special industry research to create a target audience consumer profile.
Without properly identifying the target audience the planning effort isn’t complete, the media buying process will be costly and ineffective, and the ad campaign is destined to fail. It doesn’t matter if it’s a traditional or online ad campaign, not properly identifying the target audience will produce the same dismal result.
Finding the target audience is accomplished by a process called segmentation, meaning dissecting the market as a whole, and separating it into bite-sized or manageable pieces based on demographics. First, characteristics of segments in the target audience are defined. Second, validations of the market segments are done to see if they are large enough for the product. When both of these issues are resolved, the media buying professional can work with the client to develop a media strategy that leads to conducting the all important media research and a plan that produces a profitable advertising campaign.
