Media Research, Buying and Negotiation

What is Media Research?

Media research is the study of the influence of various mass media on social, psychological and physical aspects. Media research segments people based on the TV shows they watch, the stations they listen to, the media they access and the magazines they read. It includes the achievements and effects of the media and a study of the development of the media.

Media research analyses different forms of media including newspapers, magazines, radio, television, film or other mass media to gather information. It helps to understand how the media can meet the needs of the public.

Media research is also known as audience research. It provides information regarding the popularity and effectiveness of each advertising medium and the comparative position of the cost of advertising in each medium. This facilitates the selection of the most suitable media mix for the benefit of the advertiser.

Media research can assist an organisation in various ways ranging from understanding and improving the overall personification of the brand online; to getting to know about the market for new products. Media research also helps in drawing a comparison with the competitors and in what ways they are better.

It also enables reaching out to new audiences through understanding the current trends.

Media research is the study of social, psychological and physical facets and effects of different mass media. For example, how much time do people spend on specific online platforms? Is there any harm in using this medium?

Sources of Media Research

Various sources of media research offer first-hand testimony or evidence regarding media used by the audience. Primary sources of media are characterised on the basis of content, irrespective of whether they are available in original form or digital format or any other way.

Media can be in form of physical items, such as newspapers, magazines and leafelets or they can be digital resources, such as streaming services, podcasts, screencasts, online videos, news apps and of course social media. In the current scenario, media are typically ‘hybrid’ or mixed in characters. It is also extremely diversified in terms of the type of product or service offered and the range of technologies used for distribution.

Audit Bureau of Circulations

The Audit Bureau of Circulations of India is a non-profit circulation-auditing organisation that certifies and audits the circulations of major publications, including newspapers and magazines in India. In short, it is also known as ABC. It is a voluntary organisation initiated in 1948 that operates in different parts of the world.

Press Audits

The term “press audit” pertains to an independent third-party assessment of the costs of acquiring a company’s media. Advertisers use press auditors to ensure that the money they spend on advertising is properly spent. The media audit verifies the distribution of the media as well as the location of each media.

Press audit gives advertisers confidence that they are getting fair value for money spent on adverts, if not, the information needed to negotiate a better term. If the organisation has previously received any media coverage, no matter how minimal, a press audit will analyse that coverage. When examining past features, it is very important to assess which aspects of the organisation resonate the most with journalists, producers, bloggers and editors.

In addition, the press audit will analyse which items have been shared the most or are trending and assess how previous relevance has conveyed an organisation’s key messages. With this information, advertisers can identify elements of the public relations strategy that need to be tweaked to maximise the quantity and quality of media visits.

Press audits can be used across different forms including print, television, radio, outdoor, digital as well as other media channels. Press audits can provide a competitive advantage to advertisers and agencies alike by allowing them to track and analyse the performance of their advertisements across multiple media channels.

Indian Readership Survey (IRS)

Quality of circulation infers the profile of those people to whom a newspaper is being distributed. Readers may vary based on age group, income, area of circulation, socio-economic factors, etc. Indian Readership Survey (IRS) report supplements the ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation) report which deals predominantly with the quantity of circulation.

The primary purpose of the IRS is to provide data that can be used as a basis for purchasing and selling print media advertising space. In addition, it also provides media users with exposure data comparable to other major mass media, such as television, movies, radio and even the World Wide Web.

The fundamental information dealt with by the IRS are estimates for various selected publications, the overlap between publications, television audiences – exposure to cable channels and satellite, listening frequency/intensity, listening to radio, movie audience, internet exposure, multimedia copying and also different lifestyle parameters.

IRS collects a complete variety of demographic facts and affords widespread insurance for clients and product categories, which include cars, family appliances, family durables, family care and private care merchandise, meals and beverages, finance and holidays.

Businessmen’s Readership Survey

Businessmen’s Readership Survey is a collusion of aspiring business leader’s guidance, the brand’s success stories and various ideology of the business. Based on this visionary crafted with professional and enticing designs make the brands in editions stand out. Businessmen’s Readership Survey is based on the best business magazines featuring industries rangign across Finance, Tax, law, Accountancy, Technology, BPO and BPM, Property, People, etc for their readership.

Businessmen’s Readership Survey is underwritten by The Daily Tele- graph Ltd., The Financial Times Ltd. and Times Newspapers Ltd., in collaboration with the New Business Research Consortium (NBRC). These three publishers together with The Observer Ltd., Guardian Newspapers Ltd. and The Economist Newspaper Ltd., are considered as the key sponsors of the survey.

The primary aim of Businessmen’s Readership Survey is to evalu- ate how extensively a consumer has gone through the copy in a print advertisement. The consumer is exhibited a range of products, brand names, or company names. If the consumer commits to have wit- nessed an advertisement for any of them in a specific magazine or newspaper, he or she is then requested to recall data about what all was the content of the advertising copy.

Television

Televisions have been a staple in the mean domestic for many years now. People utilise television for various means including leisure, staying abreast with latest news and educational purpose. But a very common use of TV for advertiser is marketing. Advertisers have long used TV classified advertisements to promote their services or products to consumers.

Television marketing refers to the technique of making and airing classified advertisements on TV with the purpose to advertise a product or service. TV marketing is one of the most common and powerful methods to grab consumers’ attention. While OTTs and virtual content material are competing for interest with TV channels, TV channels are still a dominant medium for marketing products and services.

Television mode of media has proved to be very potent as TV medium is likely to influence people residing in both urban and remote areas of our nation. The reach of TV has even encompassed to various far flung villages, tribal pockets and is brim with information explosion. The surge in television in terms of technology as well as reach over the previous few decades has proved to be phenomenal and TV TRP is an important platform for media adverts.

The measurement of TV TRP is essential as TV is deemed as a mass medium and a mass educator owing to its viewership that is scattered in culturally diverse geographical areas. Television provides the adverts with agility and mobility in its coverage due to the audio-visual presentation. TRP for TV pertains to the viewership of a particular program/advert on TV, so the simple formula is that higher the TPP for a serial/advertisement the more will the price per second.

Audience Measurement

Audience measurement involves frequent evaluation of the size and composition of the media audience. Audience measurement quantifies the public in an audience and their characteristics, relative to the media and devices they use to consume media content and advertising. It includes television audiences, radio listeners, newspaper and magazine readers and online content consumption. It is mainly used by media owners, publishers and advertisers to evaluate media content performance and set advertisement rates.

Audience measurement estimates several people in an audience. It usually correlates with radio and television audiences; however, it further correlates with newspaper and magazine readers. The term can also include audience demographic size and time spent in media.

Audience measurement has been around for a while. As audience measurement techniques become more sophisticated, so does the audience itself. Audiences today are more educated and more sophisticated than ever, which means they need to be treated the same when it comes to marketing messages. Audience measurement is currently going through a transition but is likely to stabilise soon.

TRP

A Target Rating Point (TRP) (or TV score factor for televisions) is a metric utilised in advertising and marketing to examine audience impressions of a marketing campaign or commercial through a conversation medium relative to the audience populace size. Advertiser can take it into account when adjudging the efficacy of one advertisement buy or media channel over another, it is a useful tool to capitalise on advertisement spending.

TRP stands for Television Rating Point. TRP of any channel or program relies on the program that is telecasted. TRP is a metric that enables viewers adjudge which TV show is being watched more on which particular channel and during which time. So TRP essentially is a tool that enables media agency to gauge the prominence of a program on any channel and ultimately rank which channel hogged more viewership for the maximum time duration. The TRP rate can be stated one on which the TRP of a TV channel is computed. These numbers are deemed as a sample from the overall TV viewers spread over different geographical and demographic sectors.

TRP enables advertisers and investors to decipher the mood and preference of the TV viewers. As per the TRP of a TV channel or program, advertisers can choose where to beam their advertisements and investors can form opinion about the extent of financial resource to invest.

TRP is computed by Indian agency, the Broadcast Audience Research Council using “BAR-O-meters.” The BARC publishes weekly TRP results every Thursday ranking all TV channels and TV programs.

These are other methods by which TRPs are calculated using electronic devices and these are explained as follows:

• People’s Meters: Some media agencies make use a ‘People’s Meter’, which infers to an electronic device inked to the television in the homes of the sample viewer that is being surveyed. This gadget accumulates the time and the program that the viewer see during a particular day. Once an average is calculated on weekly basis to gauge the viewership status. The garnered information is then scrutinised by the media agency which then furnishes the data in TRP terms.
  
  
• Picture Matching: A relatively new and bankable metric for calculating TRPs in India is Picture Matching, in which the People’s Meter perennially records a specific aspect of the picture that is being viewed on a certain television set. This data is collated from the sample households and used to compute the TRPs on a nationwide scale.
  
  
• Audio Watermark: Audio watermarking implants sound watermarks in video clip before being uploaded and telecasted later. The audio frequency of watermarks cannot be heard by humans but can be fathomed and decoded when it is broadcast to extract viewership data.

TRP is the percentage of a company’s target audience that views its advertisement. The target audience is the group of customers most likely to buy the company’s products and services. Most small businesses measure TRP for all types of advertising, including TV, print, internet, radio and outdoor advertising. TRP is calculated by different media companies using a specific formula.

Admar Satellite Cable Network Study

In advertising and media analysis, reach pertains to the total number of diverse people or households that have been exposed, at least once, to a medium during a given period. However, reach should not be confused with how many people will be exposed to and use your ad. It is just the number of people who are exposed to the medium and thus have a chance to see or hear the advertisement or promotional message. The range can be expressed as an absolute number or as a part of a given population (for instance ‘TV households’, ‘men’ or ‘those aged 25–35’).

Media coverage is defined as the expected number of customers or prospects of a product or brand that will reach an ad. This amount of media coverage will largely be determined by the choice of media, i.e., television, print advertising, online media and frequency of advertising in other media selected. The media coverage rate varies according to the different media chosen and the target rate depends on the scope of the company, the company’s objectives, the implementation project and the details of the marketing intent.

There are several ways to determine advert relevance. Sometimes it is the marketer who determines this level for the company. Or, it can also be determined by setting a point of diminishing returns. This is the point where advertising costs outrun the expected return for the public. This is where some changes and amendments have to be made. The change can be the advert itself, the channel used, the frequency of the advert broadcast, the graphics and content used for the ad, etc.

Reach and Coverage Study

Reach is the total number of households or the number of individual consumers exposed to a particular medium or platform over a standard period. Reach is the number or percentage of people in the target audience that were reached through an impression: like a radio

placement, banner or advertisement during a specific time. Most media companies will provide their reach metrics.

Reach does not increase with subsequent impressions for the same viewer, called frequency instead. Reach does not take into consider- ation an ad’s effect on consumers. It is a simple formula to measure and gives a number or percentage of audience exposure. This helps to quantify the reach of an advertising campaign.

Reach in advertising parlance usually refers to effective reach intentionally targeting the viewers most likely to convert into customers who want to interact or take action. In this sense, advertisers try to infer the quality of an advertising campaign but reach measurement refers to the pure amount of reach.

The coverage survey pertains to the percentage of advertisement requests that returned at least one ad. Usually, a coverage survey can enable an advertiser to determine sites where it is unable to telecast targeted ads. A coverage survey is an important part of deciding how and where advertisements are shown and many different factors affect advert coverage.

In some cases, advertisers just want as many people to view their advertisements as possible, so the overall potential viewership is one of the most important concerns. In other cases, advertisers market product and services to specific people, so they need to place advertisements where their target audience is likely to see them.

Cib Listenership Survey

The CIB listenership survey is conducted among a group of the general population to identify project influence and bolster understanding of listening habits to inform further programming. CIB listenership survey is conducted to seek and assess the understanding and acceptance of the key themes discussed, gauge their relevance/resonance within the survey populations and evaluate what, if any, change could be accredited to the project aligned with the theory of change.

CIB listenership survey adopted the 3-R framework: reach, relevance/ resonance and response to emphasise on subsequent key dimensions:

• Reach entails the geographical coverage, demographics of listeners
• Relevance/Resonance find out to what extent issues about the program and the entire format of the program are congenial to the indigenous socio-political dynamics of the community in context
• Response finds out what alteration or modification happens in the society owing to the project and how the expected audience is acclimatising their behaviour or taking certain actions to address the conflict issues as a result of the program.

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Media Buying and Planning

Media buying is a technique utilised in paid advertising efforts. The purpose is to discover and buy advert space on channels apply to the audience at the optimum time, for the least quantity of money. Media buying is a technique applicable to each conventional advertising channels (television, radio, print) and virtual channels (websites, social media, streaming).

A large part of the media buying function is spent on negotiating with the sites, networks and different channels on which the advertisement will be telecasted on. They have to make sure they’re buying the right placements at the right times, for the right duration, all inside strict budgets.

The technique of media planning is centred on organising the audience, accomplishing marketplace research, organising a budget and constructing.

• Media planners work with their customers to apprehend:
• Who the audience is for his or her offering?
• Which channels the target market make use of and at what times?
• What form of messaging that audience is maximum in all likelihood to have interaction with?

With these records the making plans group will pick out which channel they need to buy advert area on and for what price.

Media buying and planning is an important step in the advertising process. This involves securing the ideal platform and time to serve advertisements to optimise effectiveness with specific audiences. The goal is to buy slots on the channels that are most relevant to a company’s audience at a time when most of the audience can watch the ad, to receive a lower cost-per-action. Media buying and planning includes the purchase of traditional media, such as television, radio, print and outdoor media, as well as digital channels, including websites, social media, streaming services and apps.

Media buying is a process used in paid marketing efforts. The goal is to identify and buy advertisement space on the right channels for the target audience at the optimal time, for the least amount of money. Buying media is a process that works for both traditional (TV, radio, print) and digital (website, social media, streaming) marketing channels. When done effectively, media buyers get maximum exposure in their target market at the lowest cost.

Media buying is essentially buying media space and time to run ads. It also involves monitoring advertisement performance and negotiating strategies needed to optimise organisation’s advertisement campaign performance. It involves a healthy dose of strategy and negotiation to maximise advertising budget.

The goal of media buying is to create advertisements and present them to the target audience in the right context, at the right time and in the best format for the result to be a successful campaign. Astute media buying and planning help in improving brand awareness and increase conversion rates. Either way, a media buying strategy can help advertisers achieve this. The media planning process focuses on establishing an audience, doing market research, setting budgets and establishing goals.

Media planners work with their clients to understand who the target audience for their product is, what channels the audience is using and at what time and what kind of messages the audience has. With this information, the planning team selects the channel for which they want to purchase advertisement space and at what price.

Once a media plan is established, media buyers connect with their partners on agreed media sites. These are usually salespeople/account managers, responsible for finding relevant advertisers. These two sides negotiate on location, time and cost.

Media buyers work alongside media planners, who create a media plan that outlines the campaign’s goals and objectives. Media buyers can also manage negotiations with media or advertising channels to secure placement at the desired time and frequency, within campaign budget parameters.

Considerations in Planning and Buying

Media planners negotiate placement, time and cost. Following successfully incorporating content for the buyer’s journey’s awareness stage, the target public is now acquainted with the source of their needs and aspirations. This target consumer has also been offered some plausible resolutions to their need. This now shifts these probable customers to the next stage of the business’ buyer’s journey, the consideration stage.

These probable customers are now in a position where they are contemplating varied alternatives to their need, which can be fulfilled by the respective organisation’s products or services. When looking at this stage, the target consumer is still in an educational frame of mind and is going to be scouting for information to ultimately provide them with the ability to make a calculated, astute and value-for-money purchase.

Creating a befitting marketing content that targets the building blocks of the consideration, stage will provide these potential consumers with insights into their settlement options. Giving the target audience as much information as possible will help them progress in the buyer’s journey and ultimately convert leads into customers.

Digital media planning and buying is a process that enables and organisations connect with prospects and customers as they move through the various stages of media planning and buying.

The steps of the media buying and planning process are as follows:

• Evaluate target audiences through a comprehensive market research.
• Identify the audiences’ interests.
• Recognise the key audiences when they are most receptive to themessages.
• Deliver innovation that goads them to initiate action.
• Test and retest the advertisement placements to discover what’s working and what is futile.
• Subsequently, refine and improve the process.

Media planning provides answers to questions, such as:

• Which channels would the target audiences be?
• Which medium or channel should we utilised?
• How much frequency or funds ought to be allocated to each channel?

This will enable the advertiser to develop and create advertising campaigns while curtailing the costs incurred.

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Media Negotiations and Strategies

Why we are attracted to a well-written, televised model of a compelling argument? We love seeing human beings creating a case for what they agree with it and desire we ought to do it as properly as possible. Some of the negotiation techniques every media marketer should know are explained as follows:

Focus on interests, not positions

In the context of negotiation, there may be a huge distinction between focusing on pastimes and focusing on positions. While pastimes relate to an outcome on the way to gain, positions infer with the stance on a specific issue.

Co-marketing, as we mentioned above, is an area wherein this idea performs well. Let’s say a small enterprise is attempting to compete with an organisation which has a larger reach.

Contemplate flexible advertising options

In media buying and planning, both parties are interested in building a robust, long-lasting relationship. At times this infers keeping aside aggressive negotiation tactics and scouting for more innovative solutions. One of the best ways to optimise the financial resource is “floating dates’’ and “floating advertisement space” options.

If one is flexible for the dates but set on the advertisement position, ask for a floating date offer. The floating date offer infers, that the advertisement will be visible in the pre-chosen position but on a date that’s suited for the media. Making way for flexibility offers advertiser an array of options and enables both parties to fulfil their objectives.

Opt for Off-peak advertising

The advertising industry is highly seasonal. Selecting less hectic months could help advertisers gain an edge in negotiating better rates and getting more media visibility owing to fewer advertisements all around.

Budget optimisation in media buying ought to strike balance with smart planning with prudent negotiations as at times it pays off to take un-trodden paths.

Speak volume

It is a fundamental negotiation strategy in sales, but it still works well. If an advertiser is planning to place a slew of advertisements with a dedicated media outlet, be certain to negotiate a bulk price and probably lower total advertisement spend.

From the media’s angle, freezing on a long-term deal is a sagacious way to establish anticipated revenue and reach or even surpass their annual estimated targets. Having prior knowledge about the budget expenditure would let advertiser leverage to seek something in return in form of lower prices.