When it comes to deciding the best form of advertising for your company or business the first aspects you have to consider are; what message are you trying to put across, who are you trying to get your message too, and what is your media budget?

Once you have decided the answer to these questions you can start contemplating which form of media you should use as your advertising base. Choosing a form of media also depends on how long you want your campaign to run for. What do you want to say and how long do you want to say it for? If you have a lot of information don’t try and fit it into a 30-second radio advert. Likewise, don’t invest in a week long magazine campaign if you are advertising a two-day Sale.

Now, imagine that you are a new company that wants to make an impact and get its identity known in a local area. You need to get your identity out to as many people as possible in one particular area and though your message is simple you need to get it out quickly! In this case advertising outdoors in the form of a billboard, digital posters, or even maybe advertising being placed on vehicles such as buses or taxis.

The advantages of an outside advertising campaign is that your ad gets given a large impact in a short period of time. Though it can be difficult to measure its effectiveness, your message will be seen repeatedly by people in the same area, creating instant brand awareness. Though it is difficult to target a specific target group, this form of advertising is perfect for a company wanting to just market towards a specific location, making it a popular choice for a small/medium local business.

If you have a budget allocated for your advertising but are unsure how to put it to effective use, then you’ll need a media planning agency that understands your market. If your budget doesn’t cover the cost of your advertising plans, then you can extend your your budget with media bartering services. This would usually require additional services from a media buying company, but using media bartering to extend your budget can help make your plans a reality. Going to an existing media company will also give you the benefit of opening up avenues to media agencies that you would not be able to approach personally.

It is always worth doing research beforehand before you carry out a full media campaign.