Chapter 12: Media Basics
Chapter 12
MEDIA BASICS
CHAPTER CONTENT
KEY OBJECTIVES
1. Explain how various media work in marketing communication and how the industry
is organized.
2. Describe the key strategic media concepts.
3. Discuss why and how the media landscape is changing.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
This chapter discusses the fact that the media environment is going through a lot of shifts,
and is considered to be the most creative age in the history of commercial media. We will
talk about new, converging, and emerging media, with older media converging with new
media and new forms being created faster than we can learn how to use them. This
chapter opens with a survey of the media landscape and an explanation of various media
types and terms. Next, the evolution of media forms and functions is traced and the
CHAPTER OUTLINE
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 company or brand and its customers.
Historically, the basis for most media was a way to present the news to the public,
and advertising made presenting the news possible because it supported the costs of
producing and distributing print or broadcast media. Of course, some revenue is
derived from subscriptions, but in the United States the bulk of media revenue comes
Chapter 12: Media Basics
from advertising. As a result, over the years the word media has been associated with
advertising, leading many to think that media are used only or primarily for
advertising. Nothing could be further from the truth!
Media delivers messages. In traditional mass media, this is a one-way process from
the source to the receiver. In another sense, media are interactive because they offer
opportunities for dialogue and two-way conversation. The media of marketing
communication deliver messages to and from customers and move messages back
“Sometimes the new way to present a message demonstrates creativity in the use of
media as much as it does in the design of the message. The nature of creative ideas
has changed with the development of new, more engaging media,” according to
industry professional Ingvi Logason.
Media also offer opportunities for engagement, a media buzzword that refers to the
captivating quality of media that the audience finds engrossing. Engagement can
apply to television commercials and cinema advertising, but it can also be applied to
print and internet ads—anything on which readers concentrate for some length of
IMC and Media
In IMC programs, media are also contact points in that they connect a brand with the
audience and ultimately touch their emotions as well as engage their minds. The
difference between delivery and connection is significant. To deliver means “to take
something to a person or place”; to connect means “to join together.” Delivery is the
first step in connecting: it opens the door to touching a customer in a meaningful way
All marketing communication areas, such as advertising, promotions, public relations,
direct marketing, and events and sponsorships, use a variety of media to deliver
messages to customers.
Chapter 12: Media Basics
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
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Principle: IMC plans are multiplatform (use a variety of marcom areas),
multichannel (use a variety of media), and multitargeted (engage a variety of
stakeholders).
Effectiveness depends on coordinating all of these efforts around some central
concept, such as the brand position, or in the case of a campaign, the Big Idea. To get
a picture of the scope of media, see the list in the textbook. Beyond conventional
mass media, IMC connection media also include direct personal experiences with
Changes in the Media Industry
Media spending in 2015 finally passed its prerecession peak, with spending on mass
media and integrated marketing tools surpassing $400 billion. In addition, media
spending has continued its move away from traditional outlets to vehicles that provide
more feedback and accountability for the money spent, with internet advertising
growing at 8 percent, the fastest growth rate of all media. TV advertising spending is
projected to grow at about 3 percent through the early 2020s and will cede its status
Consumer excitement surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT) and virtual reality
(VR) devices has captured many advertisers’ attention. In fact, the most searched
marketing terms on Bing in 2016 were related to personal assistants and intelligent
agents. Virtual and augmented reality came in second, and the term artificial
intelligence was fourth on the list.
New products called “wearables”—which include smartwatches, fitness trackers, and
virtual reality headsets—are becoming increasingly important to consumers because
they interact seamlessly with their other devices and screens, giving their users a
more personalized experience. The market for wearables is expected to triple in size
to 245 million units by 2019, reflecting a shift to the “experience of things.”
Chapter 12: Media Basics
Gains in the accuracy of voice-activated digital assistants (e.g., Amazon’s Alexa) are
causing voice to replace screens as one of consumers’ primary interfaces with the
internet. This change has led to a wave of mergers and acquisitions, which is how
large firms can rapidly add AI expertise to their strategies and operations.
Television continues to play a major role in media budgets simply because television
reaches a huge audience. Nevertheless, spending on internet advertising surpassed TV
in 2017. New forms of unmeasured media are an exciting growth area but are difficult
to track.
Media Types and Terms
The plural noun media is an umbrella term for all types of print, broadcast, out-of-
home, and internet communication. The singular noun medium refers to each specific
type. A media vehicle is a specific TV program, newspaper, magazine, or radio
station or program. When a company buys media, it is really buying access to the
audiences of specific media vehicles. The forms that those “buys” take are “space”
(print, outdoor boards, or the internet) and “time” (radio and television).
Size and Profile of Audience
Media, particularly those used in advertising, are referred to as mass media, the
communication channels through which messages are sent to large, diverse audiences.
A mass medium reaches many people simultaneously and it uses some technological
The size of the audience is the reason we refer to radio and television as broadcast
media – they cast their audio and visual signals broadly to reach mass audiences. In
contrast, niche media are communication channels through which messages are sent
to niche segments – identifiable groups of people with a distinct common interest,
Measured media refers to the ability of media planners to analyze the cost of a
media buy relative to the size of the medium’s audience. The following categories
identify the primary types of measured media:
Television: network, cable, syndication, spot (local), Spanish language
Magazines: consumer, business to business, Sunday, local, Spanish language
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Radio: network, national spot, local
Metrics are available for traditional media, either from the medium itself or from
external auditing agencies. However, such figures are much harder to find for the new
and nontraditional media because the auditing procedures for them have not yet been
developed.
Targeted and Interactive Conduits
Another category of media refers to the way they transmit messages. Most mass
media are defined by their audiences, and when they are used in brand
communication, it is because they allow messages to be conveyed to people who fit
The internet, mail, and telephone are called addressable media because they are used
to send brand messages to specific addresses, both geographic and electronic. They
are particularly helpful in keeping in touch with current customers or with brand
communities. Online social media and mobile media are examples of interactive
Corporate versus Consumer Use of Media
So far, we have been discussing media primarily from the viewpoint of companies
and their brands. However, companies as well as consumers use media for specific
purposes. Mass media may be good for delivering brand messages, but interactive
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Paid, Owned, and Earned Media Categories
Paid media are the traditional measured media, such as print and broadcast, where ad
placements are bought by the company or organization. These established media
channels are distinctive in that the advertising spending on them, as well as the size of
their audiences, is tracked by media research services.
The various categories of paid media are print (newspapers, magazines, inserts,
directories), broadcast (radio, television, movie trailers), place based (billboards,
transit, kiosks, painted buildings and cars, movie trailers, event and sponsorship ads,
stadium and aerial ads), and online (banner and display ads and search advertising).
Owned media are channels that are controlled by the organization and that carry
branded content, such as websites, direct mail email lists, Facebook sites, blogs,
public relations publications, and catalogs, along with other forms. We also include
communication platforms that rely on one-on-one communication, such as personal
sales or customer service in this category. See the textbook for a detailed listing.
The Evolution of Media Forms and Functions
People in our contemporary society live in a world of media-delivered news and
information, which traditionally has been supported by advertising. Over several
hundred years, media have evolved from print to radio, then television, and now the
internet. Newspapers, magazines, and posters provided the visual dimension of
communication, and radio added an audio dimension. Television enabled messages to
be heard and seen with moving images.
Today we have the internet, which has basically combined television and the personal
computer, thus providing the added dimension of interactivity. We can summarize
these changes in technology as eras:
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The Broadcast Era: Visual and audio information in the form of radio and
television programs originally transmitted through air waves but now also
distributed by cable and satellite
The point is that media have been and continue to be changing in form and function.
This changing is occurring rapidly, which makes it difficult to keep up. The media
scene will probably never be settled, and it’s certainly very dynamic.
Adaptation
Every technological advance has threatened the older media whose managers feared
their medium was on the edge of extinction. Instead, the media adjusted to their new
circumstances by emphasizing what they do best. The new media take on some of the
characteristics and roles of the old at the same time that they add to the richness of the
communication experience.
Internet sites can quasi-create content by compiling customer megadata from which
information can be computed and patterns recognized, such as creating a selection of
customer preferences (Amazon’s suggested books) or providing predetermined
answers to frequently asked questions.
Print stories and ads can now carry quick response (QR) codes and Snapcodes that let
readers scan them to access additional information and websites via their
smartphones.
Convergence
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
new media. For example, nearly every media vehicle has one or more websites, and
that creates convergence. This makes it very hard to categorize media.
Chapter 12: Media Basics
Convergence makes it very difficult to categorize media and what do you call them?
Online newspapers and online videos are new forms that carry news. Media scholar
Old traditional form continues: there are still newspapers, magazines, and television
programs that their audiences enjoy, and they continue to receive a large share of ad
spending. At the same time, there are new digital forms that may do some of what a
traditional medium does but also may open the door to new and expanded uses.
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 Larry Kelley, one of the textbook’s advisory board members. He
observes that promotional areas such as advertising and public relations are morphing
The Contemporary Media Landscape
There have always been evolution and change in the shape and forms of media.
However, the speed of change has increased, as has the number of media available for
use in brand communication. This has created pressure for more coordination and
integration. There has also been a change in delivery systems, from hardware—
The modern media landscape includes up to 200 television channels in some markets,
a huge number of special interest publications, millions of websites, and new and
novel media forms that were not even imagined 20 years ago.
There has been a rise of new kinds of media. The internet has led the way with a wide
variety of media such as search-engine marketing, rich media, and streaming audio
and video. Other media channels have come into play, including the iPod, cell
phones, videogames, and satellite radio.
Existing media have extended and adapted themselves to the lives of new media
consumers. Point-of-sale media have been transformed, malls now have digital signs
that show television commercials. In some major markets, buses contain television
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Key Media Players
In terms of jobs and career opportunities in media, there are professionals who both sell
and buy media. It is important that you understand the difference. First let’s look at the
professionals who sell space or time in media.
Media salespeople work for a specific vehicle with the objective of building the best
possible argument to convince media planners to use the medium they represent.
Currently, media conglomerates dominate media sales. CBS, for example, created a
coordinated ad-selling division, called CBS RIOT, which stands for radio, internet,
Media brokers are people (or companies) that sell space (in print) and time
(in broadcast) for a variety of media. If an agency wants to buy space in all of
the major newspapers in the West, for example, the agency’s buyer could contract
with a media rep firm whose sales rep and brokers handle national sales for all of
those newspapers. This allows the media buyer to place the buy with one order.
On the buying side, media planners, buyers, and researchers work primarily for
agencies, although they can also be found working for marketers who handle their
own media work in-house. Their challenge is to determine the best way to deliver a
message, which is called media planning. The job functions are as follows:
Media researchers compile audience measurement data, media costs, and
availability data for the various media options being considered by the planners.
Media planners develop the strategic decisions outlined in the media plan, such
as where to advertise geographically, when to advertise, and which type of media
to use to reach specific types of audiences.
Media buyers implement the media plan by contracting for specific amounts of
time or space. They spend the media budget according to the plan developed by
the media planner. Media buyers are expected to maintain good media supplier
Media buying companies are independent companies that specialize in doing
media research, planning, and buying. They consolidate media buying in order to
get maximum discounts from the media for the volume of their buys. They then
pass on some of this saving to their clients.
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WHAT ARE THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MEDIA STRATEGY?
Media is often the largest single cost item in a marketing communication budget,
especially for consumer goods and services.
The Media Plan
The challenge that marketing communicators face is how to manage all the media
opportunities and yet maximize the efficiency of budgets that are inevitably too small
to do everything the firm would like to do to reach every current and potential
customer. All this decision making comes together in a media plan, which identifies
The goal is to balance message impact and cost—maximizing impact while
minimizing cost—while at the same time building an enduring brand relationship.
Principle: The goal of media planning is to maximize impact while minimizing cost.
The media plan is a subsection within a marcom plan and has its own objectives,
strategies, and tactics. It is also developed in tandem with message planning, the topic
of Chapter 9. Figure 12.3 shows these relationships but this time with an emphasis on
media planning.
Key Strategic Media Concepts
This section is about the language of media. Basic concepts in media strategy and
planning include:
Media Mix
In most cases a media plan will outline a set of media, and therefore is a media mix.
This media mix is the way various types of media are strategically combined to
create a certain kind of impact. Because of the breadth of IMC plans, the term
multiplatform has become popular to describe multichannel and multi-marketing
communication areas.
In IMC plans you will find, in addition to traditional measured media advertising, a
Chapter 12: Media Basics
Targets and Audiences
One of the biggest challenges in developing a media plan is matching the advertiser’s
target audience with the audience of a particular medium.
Principle: Media planners match the target audience with the audience of a
particular medium.
Media audiences are grouped into four useful categories by generation: traditionalists
(born before 1946), baby boomers (born 1946–1964), Gen X (born 1965–1976), and
Gen Y (born 1977– 1994). Millennials (born in the late 1990s into the first decade of
the 21st century) have been commonly added to the list of media audiences
categorized by generation. Dramatic differences are seen in the media experiences of
these groups:
Traditionalists grew up with newspapers, magazines, and radio, with little or no
television, no cell phones, computers, or internet.
Baby Boomers, who are in their 50s and 60s, always had those three types of
media. They also grew up with television, but still no cell phones, computers,
or internet.
The marketing and ad industries are still learning about the next category of
consumers: Generation Z.
The media planners’ challenge is to know which media best reach which audiences,
whatever their ages.
The Basis for the Buy
Decisions about which media to use are based on the profile of the audience that
reads, views, listens, or visits a medium. Media planners use a variety of terms to
identify and measure audiences, some of which are explained below.
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Exposure
Media effects all begin with exposure. We know from the discussion in Chapter 5
that the first step in making an impact is perception. You have to be exposed to a
message before any other effect is possible. Exposure is similar to circulation for
television in that it’s a rough estimate of the number of households watching a
program. However, just because the television is on doesn’t mean you are paying any
attention to the program, let alone the advertising that surrounds it.
Media exposure is related to the idea of corporate and consumer control of media.
Companies may control the media buy, but they do not control what their target sees.
In this cluttered media environment, consumers control what they read and watch,
and media analysts recognize that with the hundreds, maybe thousands, of media
choices, control of media exposure now lies with the consumer.
Impressions
An impression is one person’s opportunity to be exposed one time to an ad in a
specific vehicle. Impressions can be added up as a measure of the size of the audience
either for one medium or for a combination of vehicles in a media mix.
Circulation
Impressions are different from circulation, because impressions (at least in print)
estimate the readership or rather the opportunity to be exposed (delivery to the
household or a newsstand purchase), rather than just the circulation, which refers to
copies sold.
Gross Impressions