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demonstrations, or telephone selling. At 10 000, the value of personal selIing lessens and press advertising and other non-personal media take over. Public exhibitions have a particular merit here, combining unit economy with the benefits of face-to-face contact. At this point, direct mail sometimes becomes difficult to handle, but editorial back-up is welI worth full exploitation. At 100000 it is possible to move into the mass media, with television, radio, national newspapers, and posters replacing, or heavily supplementing, the media already listed.
2. Impact The extent to which a promotional message is transmitted, received, stored, and can then be recalIed with accuracy is vital. Each medium has its own intrinsic impact potential. Clearly, a medium that facilitates two-way communication is top of the list, so personal selling, exhibitions, demonstrations, and telephone selling are alI worthy of a high rating. Direct mail, properly conceived, can expect to perform well here, as can editorial publicity, sponsored films, and literature. AlI the research evidence we have on page traffic and Starch (USA) measurements would indicated that press advertising performs least well in achieving impact. Television, on the other hand, has a high, if transitory, impact potential.
3. Message What is the nature of the selling message? Is it simple, or a reminder? Is it complex, technical, or innovative? In the former case television, press advertising, point of purchase, posters, and radio wilI do well. For a complicated message, however, the need is for demonstrations, seminars, feature articles, literature, sponsored films, and for the efforts of
the sales force.
4. Coverage and penetration This is the breadth and depth of a medium's capability. In breadth the question is, What proportion of the target audience (Le. people within a market segment) is covered by readership as opposed to circulation (in other words, will have an 'opportunity to see')? In direct mail this could be 100 per cent; with a national newspaper, perhaps 60 per cent. Commonly, an in-depth coverage of around 80 per cent is aimed for. Turning to penetration, certain media are known by long-standing practice to penetrate decision-making units even where the people involved cannot be identified - a major trade fair, for instance, or a weekly trade magazine that has to be seen by anyone who is anyone in
order to keep up to date.
5. Negative characteristics Some people resent advertising, and it is as welI to check before using a particular media group whether this could be
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in any way counter-productive. Most people in the UK dislike advertising messages on the telephone or salesmen at the front door or on the street corner. They also dislike loose inserts, and direct mail that is too intensive or repetitive: for many, radio and television commercials are intrusive. It
-depends on many factors - just check it out.
6. Positive characteristics Is there an added plus which comes over and above the basic medium itself? Examples are with an advert in a very prestigious publication, where to be seen in good company lends an extra credibility to an advertising proposition. With an exhibition stand, a comfortable lounge can be a welcome oasis after the formal business has been completed. An in-house exhibition or seminar might draw together people with common interests who have not met for some time and welcome the chance of informal discussion almost as much as they appreciate the event itself.
7. Cost There are two costs to be considered, and also price. The first cost is the total capital investment involved and whether this is compatible with the cash flow position and the other major expenditures in marketing activities. Second, the cost per contact must be evaluated, ranging as it does from the latest estimated call cost for an industrial salesman of over £200 to just a few pence for a mass medium. Media planning decisions are often made on the outcome of aggressive media buying, and this is where price comes in. All rate cards have their price, and 10 per cent off quoted rates
can be a lot of money.
8. Speed Television, radio, newspapers, direct mail ~ all, under pressure, can transmit messages within 24 hours or less, and to a very large audiences. The sales force can respond even more quickly, but at a rate of just a few people a day. At the other extreme, it might be two years before an appropriate trade fair takes place. Thus, if the time for activating consumer/customer behavior is a critical factor, the choice of media must be influenced by this.
9. Complexity and convenience Nothing could be simpler than to advocate a half million pound appropriation to a single commercial network on television, and the balance to full pages in national newspapers. Such a media strategy may even be right. This is in stark contrast to the complexity of a multi-market multi-shot direct mail campaign, coupled with regional presentations and tied in with local PR, back-up sales visits, regional press, support-
;,ing literature, and posters with a culminating business gift. The choice of media just might be influenced by ease of use (idleness), coupled with such