Advertising Strategy

4. Media Selection

Identify your segment of the market and decide which media best reach your target audience.

4.1 Finding advertising media is straightforward - though the choice of media is now vast.

• Look in BRAD (formerly British Rate and Data), available in reference libraries.
• Look at the possibilities, and observe where your competitors advertise.Consider traditional, new media and non-mainstream methods (see box).
• Ask a selection of people from your target market what they read and watch.
• Consider the use of a specialist media buying agency to help you.

4.2 Ask newspaper and magazine advertising departments for media packs.

• Look for circulation figures audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations .
• Ask for a readership profile, which analyses characteristics and spending habits of readers, including the proportions in socio-economic groups A, B, C1, C2, D and E.
• Examine advertising rates for different sizes and types of advertisements and different positions.

4.3 Choose the media that match your needs. Ask yourself some key questions.

• How many members of your target group read a particular publication or visit a certain website?
• Does the publication or site have the right image for your advertisement?
• How much will your ad cost to produce?
• How much will the ad cost to run?

4.4 Investigate the scope for negotiation.

• You might get a big discount for taking unsold ad space at the last minute.
• You might be able to have a larger ad or a better position for the same price.
• Extra discounts may be available for repeat advertising.
• You may get free PR if you run an ad.