Where
does print fit into the media buying landscape of advertising agencies?
Today’s media buyers are faced with a vast number of options
for delivering the advertising message, including print, broadcast
media, e-mail, PDAs, electronic billboards, blimps, cell phones
and even gas station pumps. More than ever, the use of multimedia
and cross-media strategies is critical to effective business
communications.
Synergy for media is critical. Advertising executives have
realized that reaching target markets by way of multiple media
options creates
a force multiplier effect. Direct mail and catalogs must be
linked with the web. If web-based customer interaction centers
follow
up with a blend of e-mails and direct mail, the customer is
more likely to build a unique relationship with the supplier.
Media
needs to be adjusted based on the preferences of, and level
of relationship with, the target market.
"
In today’s market, it’s about integrated communications,” says
Guy Gangi and Gordon Hochhalter, partners at the Mobium Creative
Group. “True integrated communications is a strategic
process that permeates the entire organization, rather than
a campaign
from the marketing or advertising department. Every point of
contact with customers, prospects, and other stakeholders must
be identified,
analyzed, and integrated through communications to build profitable
relationships.”
Research conducted by the Printing Industry Center at RIT*
indicates that agencies use a wide range of media options to
achieve the
marketing goals of their clients. When the advertising agencies
in RIT’s study were asked to rank media allocations across
their client base, broadcast media came out on top, followed
closely by magazines, newspapers, and sales collateral. This
pattern varied
by the nature of the agency and the clients it serves. The B2C
client is focused on building brand awareness, and so the communications
emphasis is on mass media like newspapers, TV and radio. B2B
companies typically have limited budgets and narrower target
markets, and
so are more likely to use trade magazines, direct mail, and sales
collateral.
A recent roundtable conversation with media planners
reported that their function is coming under more scrutiny to
make the most from advertising dollars. Getting the most value
out of
advertising is their most pressing concern. Direct mail has the
benefit of a built-in measure of response. Does the need for
measurement, accountability or achieving a targeted return on
investment serve
as an important factor in the media choices of agencies? In answering
this question, advertising agency executives were asked to indicate
the top five factors that drive media decisions for campaigns.
The results from the RIT study are found in Table 1. Target market
selection was the most important factor (72%), cost and budget
was second (63%) and marketing strategy was third (56%).
Meeting a return-on-investment target
was ranked 6th among the factors with 31% reporting it as important.
Personalization or customization of messages was not a major
consideration in media selection (13%).
Direct mail can be effectively used to reach selected target markets.
This may be the reason behind the growth of direct marketing even
during the economic downturn after 9/11. In the 2002 media expenditure
data compiled by Universal McCann, direct mail was the second largest
category of media expenditures in 2002 at $46 billion. Expenditures
on direct mail rose by $6.4 billion from 1998 to 2002. Using the
total media expenditure increase over all categories of 17.5%,
the growth of direct mail was 16.3%, roughly equal to the overall
media expenditure growth rate.
We inevitably come back to the fact that 83% of the agencies we
interviewed buy print on behalf of their clients. Agencies thus
clearly play a pivotal role in print demand. The print service
provider needs to link the solutions they offer with the most important
agency media selection criteria. The agency makes media decisions
based on reaching target markets, cost and budget considerations,
and marketing strategy implementation. The print service provider
needs to demonstrate to the agency that print is one of the most
cost effective alternatives for successfully reaching target markets.
The value proposition needs to be succinct and backed with examples
of how the technology has yielded a return on the marketing investment.
Realistically, it must be a part of a broader, integrated marketing
communications plan that encompasses a variety of media vehicles.
2003
Research Monographs
* Access this
research monograph, "The Advertising Agency's
Role in Marketing Communications Demand Creation"
and additional published Center reports:
http://print.rit.edu/research/index_byyr.html
Next Month:
We will
look at the changing demographics of the printing industry.
Printing Industry Center at RIT
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