TRACE North America Case
Multicultural Media
Read the TRACE case in the Appendix before coming to class.
11-15. What medium do you believe would be most impactful in the “Hard to
Explain, Easy to Experience” campaign? Why?
11-16. What target market insights led to the development of the “Hard to Explain,
Easy to Experience” media plan?
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
WEB REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What do we mean by media?
Media refers to the way messages are delivered to target audiences and, increasingly, back to
companies, as well as among audience members themselves. Media make up the channel step in the
communication model, conveying the message and connecting source and receiver, that is, the
Media delivers messages. In traditional mass media, this is a one-way process from the source to the
receiver. However, media can also be interactive if it offers opportunities for dialogue and two-way
Media also offer opportunities for engagement, which refers to the captivating quality of media that the
2. Discuss some of the various ways media are classified.
Media can be classified in a variety of ways. A distinction is made between mass
media and personal media. A mass medium reaches many people simultaneously and
Classification can also be based upon audience size. The size of the audience is the
reason radio and television is referred to as broadcasting media, i.e., they cast their
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general newspaper and magazine category. The distinction between mass and niche is
not necessarily based on size of the publication.
Television, magazines, radio, and newspapers, along with their free standing inserts
are considered measured media because media planners are able to analyze the cost of
Another form of categorization is based upon way the media transmits messages. The
Internet, mail, and the telephone are called addressable media because they are used
A distinction is also made between paid, owned, and earned media categories. are the
traditional measured media, such as print and broadcast, where ad placements are bought
3. How do media planners go about segmenting consumer audiences, and which
type of media is each segment most comfortable with?
Media planners are responsible for matching the brand’s target audience with the
audience of a particular medium. Their challenge is to know which media best
reach which audiences, whatever their ages. The most frequently used approach
toward segmenting consumer audiences is as follows:
Baby Boomers, who are in their 50s and 60s, always had those three types of
GenXers, who are now in their 30s and 40s, grew up not only with the media
of the preceding generations, but also with tape recorders, portable radios,
GenYers, who are 20-somethings, had all of the above media. In addition,
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Millennials, the most recent generation, have grown up with DVDs, TiVo,
4. What is meant by “intrusiveness” and why is it important?
Intrusiveness, the ability of a medium to grab attention by being disruptive or
unexpected, is the primary strategy for countering clutter. Most media use
intrusiveness to some degree as a way to grab the attention of inattentive media
consumers. Media, as well as messages, vary in their degree of intrusiveness. The
There are ways to minimize intrusiveness. One is to choose media whose target
audience is intrinsically interested in the product category. To have visibility
5. What is meant by the term ‘convergence’?
A major change is the blurring of media as traditional media forms morph into digital
formats and new functions. Larry Kelley, one of the textbook’s advisory board
members, defines this occurrence as convergence. According to him, “Media
Although we discuss convergence primarily as shape-shifting where traditional media
take on characteristics of new electronic media, there is actually more to it than that,
according to Kelley. He observes that promotional areas such as advertising and
Although new media tend to launch themselves by adapting the forms of media that
preceded them, the older media also adapt by adopting some of the advances of the
6. What is the relationship between word of mouth and viral communication,
and why is buzz so important?
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Since we recognize the power of personal communication in decision making, creative folks are
challenged to come up with exciting new ways to generate buzz and convey brand messages through
word of mouth. Buzz is important because it means people are talking about a brand, and when it gets
7. What are the advantages and limitations of product placement?
Product placement is when a brand appears in a television program, movie, or even in print as a
prop. With product placement, a company pays to have verbal or visual brand exposure in a
movie or television program. This has become important because it isn’t as intrusive as
The greatest advantage of product placement is that it demonstrates product use in a natural setting
(“natural” depending on the movie) by people who are celebrities. It’s unexpected and, if it’s an
The biggest problem is that the placement may not be noticed. There is so much going on in most
movies that unless you can overtly call attention to the product, its appearance may not register. A
more serious problem occurs when there is not a match between the product and the movie or its
audience. Another concern is that advertisers have no idea whether the movie will be a success or
failure as they negotiate a contract for the placement. If the movie is a dud, what does that do to
the brand’s image? Another problem is an ethical one—when is a product placement
8. What is search marketing and what is mobile marketing?
Because approximately 97% of consumers use computers to search for product and store information,
marketing strategies are designed to assist in this process. Mobile search using cell phones is one of
Mobile marketing is an exciting new platform for location-based messages that, among other uses, can
ASSIGNMENTS
Individual Assignments
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1. Make arrangements to interview a professional who is employed in the media
planning division of an advertising agency. Use this opportunity to seek information
about this person’s day-to-day activities and responsibilities, the clients for whom he
or she has worked, the relationships they have developed in the media industry, major
challenges they have faced on their job, and how they prepared for this profession.
Write a 500-word report summarizing your findings.
2. Conduct secondary research on one of your favorite consumer brands by exploring
the following questions: What type of media does this brand use to communicate its
message to and develop relationships with consumers? What is the media plan that
seems to be in place? Specifically, does the brand rely primarily on traditional media,
or are digital and/or non-traditional media also used? Synthesize your findings and
share them in a brief report to your class.
Think-Pair-Share
1. Pair off with a classmate and construct a five-item survey to find out which media
students on your college campus are using most frequently. Also, develop and
include at least one question that assesses the impact of word of mouth on their
OUTSIDE EXAMPLES
1. Explore the website for CBS RIOT (www.cbsriot.com) which was mentioned in this
chapter and then respond to the following questions: 1) What markets are being
served, and why do you think that this company is taking a “local” approach? 2) In
your opinion, does this business have growth potential? Justify your response. Next,
watch at least three of the case studies featured on the website. For each, answer the
following questions: 3) Who was the client and what were their objectives? 4) What
combination of media did CBS use in its multiplatform approach? 5) What criteria
should be used to determine if this campaign was successful?
2. Go to www.adage.com and locate their list of the most popular viral videos. Next, go
to www.youtube.com and view at least three of them. Then answer the following
questions for each video that you watched: 1) What is it about this video that sparked
people’s interest and made them want to pass it along to others? 2) How does this
video support or enhance the brand’s image? 3) Does this video in any way help to
“sell” the product to consumers? If yes, how? If no, then what purpose does the
video serve?
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