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mk364 - international advertising
INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING
MEDIA WORLD-WIDE
Introduction - characteristics of the media - pros and cons
The various media at our disposal quite obviously have certain characteristics. Some writers go to
great length to state the obvious. Some of the pros and cons are:
Advantages
Magazines
Long life
News Papers Short lead time
Television
Animation
Radio
Sound
Posters
Can be dramatic
Transport
Low cost
Signs
Low cost
Disadvantages
Long lead times
Short life
Expensive
Spoken message only
Short message only
How effective?
How effective?
Many marketing communications textbooks provides a useful snap shot of this across most
media, for example Shimp or Belch and Belch.
The various media are often selected for their geographical reach, the ability to dramatise,
frequency of exposure and so on. This understood, the practitioner can then move on to more
important things.
Media decisions
Choosing appropriate media is of crucial importance. The notion that the 'medium is the message'
is not without foundation but has been challenged to some extent in the new electronic media.
Media Planning is a central part of advertising management and is influenced by a number of
factors:
MARKETING ENVIRONMENT
Company Sources
Market place Sources
Media Planning Decisions
Message Sources
Media Sources
MARKETING ENVIRONMENT
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Some of the more salient points are elaborated upon below.
AUDIENCE RESEARCH
This is an industry in its own right led by Nielsen globally and in the UK by, for example, the British
Audience Research Bureau or BARB (4,500 sample with "Peoplemeter"), British Market Research
Bureau (24,000 sample with TGI or Target Group Index), Media Expenditure Analysis Ltd. (MEAL)
and many others which attempt to understand audience characteristics and behaviour.
MEDIA PLANNING
Reach, frequency gross rating points, placement and cost of that placement are all important and
most writers deal with these and admit to their relative simplicity. But it is not a case of simplicity
being a virtue necessarily. Many practitioners now believe that this is not enough and are using
focus groups to help understand targets more fully, since the simple notions of reach - how many
- and frequency - how many times - and GRPs/TRPs - reach x frequency and Cost Per Thousand
- the cost of reaching that many of the target audience - are of little use on their own. Typically, for
example, creative content has an effect on advertising effectiveness and would have to be
weighted in some way to be entered into any calculation. This is clearly problematic. Audience
Duplication is another problem that needs to be addressed.
The planner therefore has to decide which are feasible, pick main medium, how it should be used.
He then has to decide on support media based on, for example, creative suitability e.g. dramatise,
and experience of effectiveness, availability and lead time (long/copy deadlines), regional
availability e.g. Observer, competition - where do they advertise -, effect on trade and sales force,
coverage and cost per thousand.
Media planning is therefore about matching the media to the target audience after careful
consideration of many things but especially audience characteristics. International campaigns are
shaped by strategy i.e. whether the multilocal or global (or something in between) approach is
taken. For a number of years international media vehicles such as International Herald Tribune,
Wall Street Journal, Time, Fortune, Newsweek, Readers Digest, Cosmo - to name but a few have been available to marketers, even if some have been English only. Mueller gives several
examples of which one is reproduced later in these notes.
A main issue was the battle between satellite and cable for dominance of, in particular, television.
This has been superseded by the ides of the electronic frontier. There seems to be at least two
fundamental outlooks in this area:
a) The fact that 3bn people watched the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 is an example that illustrates
that there are still possibilities for mass audiences and mass communication.
b) The above is now rare. New media developments are of prime importance.
Whether you go along with either of these you might still consider ‘zapping’ - the ‘do they watch or
make a cup of tea etc. debate’ - to be the major problem but that a striking, strong advertisement
is still the order of the day to break through the clutter. The number of sets per household, time
shift viewing and zipping along video tape are currently still a problem so it is up to the creatives to
solve them if they can.
We are concerned here therefore with:
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Changes in media technology
The development of mass markets
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The standardisation of brands
Changing life-styles of consumers
This adds up to the central question of narrowcasting i.e. using highly selective media for special
target groups. MTV is an advert channel. It has a target audience of 14 to 34 year olds and is
therefore to some extent an opportunity for global narrowcasting. Mueller (1996) uses the
example of a MTV trade advertisement to promote itself that uses a picture of a youth’s head with
MTV carved into the back of the hair with the copy ‘in 87 countries, it’s the universal passion.
(Okay. So it’s the other universal passion)’.
The Media Strategy document should show how media would be selected to meet objectives.
For example: "Radio spots will be purchased every other week to extend support throughout the
period up to and immediately after Xmas". Media Strategy statements include things like rationale
for the use of one medium rather than another. For example: ‘Television will be used as a primary
medium because it offers the optimum combination of mass coverage flexibility in time and place
and meets the creative requirements’.
The Media Plan shows how media strategy is to be executed in terms of specific purchases. For
example, six one half pages are recommended in Good House Keeping magazine because:
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It provides concentrated coverage of the target market
It has minimal duplication with other recommended media
The Good House Keeping seal of approval is an asset in this product field.
Media Schedules. There are problems with frequency of advertisements. At least two strategies
are available to help in this area. They are:
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Burst
Drip
Schedules will often be constructed around the idea of pulsing. The definitive work seems to
have been conducted in the USA by Lever Bros. via Naples (1979 discussed at length in Donnelly
1996) who concluded that the optimal frequency of exposure must be three - one exposure having
no real lasting effect, two being the threshold and the third being the point at which the
advertisement has the greatest effect. After that the ad can be effective but at a decreasing rate
so that three becomes the benchmark. This led Naples to the "S" shape curve. Opponents argue
that other factors such as the residual effects of other advertising or brand/company image mean
that ads have an effect immediately, rise to an optimum, then slow down, producing a convex
curve. The one clear message that comes out of this inconclusive area is that frequent exposure
brings positive results.
The international perspective
We are said to be on the verge of cataclysmic transformation of the information world thanks to
the techno miracles of the multimedia. On the one hand there is the ubiquitous CD-ROM that is
apparently turning out to be too small and too slow. The computing power required to overcome
problems is too expensive and temperamental. Sony seemed to push the double speed and
double density disc for a while. Time Warner was talking double sided discs. On the other hand
the network - the global information infrastructure - has still to be established. As one media
analyst put it at about the time things really started to change:
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‘These problems and obstacles will eventually be overcome but, until they are, talking about
multimedia in terms of revolution may be like talking about the Titanic in terms of the future of
maritime transport’ Davis (1994), p29.
There are a great many issues in this area that concern marketers. For example:
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Over-promising/under-delivering. We're still waiting really.
Standards in terms of format/compatibility.
Neglect of the end-user. Who says we want video on demand?
Satellite and cable have led to a fragmentation of viewing and this has a knock-on effect
on audience research.
Advertisers should be worried about the ways in which consumers might take command
of their TV consumption and concerned about the explosion of new services potentially
available.
The notion that the `medium is the message' is dead. The message is the message, or at
least a bit of the message is created for the medium, deliberately.
There is great concern from some quarters on the question of ethics and the creation of a
multimedia underclass. Many people will not be able to afford to take part in the revolution
and therefore can't participate in society. There is a question mark over whether or not
aspirational programming and hence advertising can be a positive force as well as a
negative one.
The counter argument is one of the creation of a Jeffersonian community rather than a
centralised state/authority - putting power in the hands of the people.
From the international perspective, the focus is in three areas:
1. The media landscape
2. Media and especially Audience research
3. Media planning
1. The media landscape
De Mooij points to a number of trends that are relevant here. For example electronic media
expenditures have grown at the expense of print; magazine producers have reacted to the new
electronic media by replacing some general interest magazines by special interest ones; outdoor
media are a growing phenomenon; the growth of satellite delivery has supported both television
and cable networks that has been particularly important in the distribution of programming and
advertising internationally. The international media listed by De Mooij are newspapers, consumer
magazines, professional and technical magazines, television interactive communication, radio,
outdoor/transport, place-based, folders, POS material, direct mail, trade fairs/exhibitions,
sponsorship. This is good coverage but needs updating in terms of the growth of the Internet and
changes of emphasis regarding electronic media and interactivity.
Mueller (1996) uses some examples of international media vehicle promotion. For example
Cosmopolitan used the copy ‘En 34 paises del mundo, la mujer moderna prefiere….’.
2. Media/Audience research
De Mooij points out that still much ad space worldwide is bought/sold on circulation. The kinds of
research undertaken are more mature in some countries than in others and there is a fight for
harmonisation of research techniques to achieve meaningful comparison - equivalence being the
international marketers goal. Whilst De Mooij does a good job with an incisive look at world
regions and offers a good explanation of gross rating points (GRPs), the journals are a better
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place to look in terms of what has been happening recently in terms of audience research. The
Jane Perry and Woods/Walker articles listed from the mid-nineties are typical and particularly
good. To quote from Perry:
‘Peoplemeters are inappropriate for the kinds of research future TV buyers are likely to demand
from satellite channels, such as detailed targeting descriptions, involvement with the channel, and
compatibility with the agency's requirements’.
Mueller’s (1996) use of McCann-Erikson figures for household penetration of broadcast media
includes the USA with 96% TV, 97% of colour TV, 70% VCR, 1% Teletext, 72% remote control
and 60% cable. Compare this with India. The % figures are 66%, 16%, 3% for the foirst three and
no penetration for the rest. Clearly an up-date would reveal differences today, especially in the
area of the impact of the Internet etc.
3. Media planning
Following on from audience research De Mooij puts the GRPs case again and looks at its role in
terms of either:
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Horizontal planning-global brands aimed at cross-cultural groups or
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Vertical planning-culture bound products in multi local settings
Thus the simplistic measurements such as reach, frequency, OTS - the tools used in order to
seem to be getting the message across in terms of budgets available, optimisation by matching
schedules to the profile - are of little use if the notion of primetime viewing cannot be equally
applied in each market of an international and hence global campaign. PanEuropean scheduling
cannot easily occur let alone global unless it is done so in a multilocal way. Media planning is put
into the context of the client-agency relationship and how media spots are bought. This takes into
account the role of ad agencies and the ownership of the media. Media planning internationally is
therefore a different function from the domestic situation.
The Internet, email and other ‘electronic frontier’ media are key considerations for most
organisations these days.
Summary
The company needs to decide which approach to media planning it will take. The choice is either
to use an international advertising strategy and international media supplemented by national
media or a standardised campaign based on national plans using national media and supported
by international media. These are referred to as horizontal planning and vertical planning
respectively.
It is appropriate to choose horizontal planning where you are launching a new product and where
you intend the brand to be global. This is because at the start the brand will be culture free. Where
a brand is established and culture bound vertical planning on a multi local base is appropriate.
The difficulties that are likely to be encountered with this are the budget and splitting of it,
comparing the costs for coverage and media spillover. The media briefing should give those
involved a clear idea of media objectives, targets, balance and placement.
Media selection costs can be extremely high. Buyers must be aware of much detail including:
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How to reach target audiences via the best and most advantageous media
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Negotiations for favourable rates
Size, length, frequency
Traffic and production - artwork, scripts etc.
Deadlines, timings - traffic Control and production e.g. printing from art work
Reach/Opportunities to see (OTS) - helps advertisers to measure how many people see
the ad but does not indicate how they react to it
Cost per thousand - cost per thousand who? meaningless unless made against specific
targets/profiles
Supporting publications - wide coverage? Experience of such media? - loss of
domination, additional production costs
The importance of concentration, domination, repetition, within cost constraints.
In short buyers should be able to choose the channel(s) of communication that can give the
message the best chance of being expressed clearly, communicate to as many of the
selected audience as possible at the lowest cost, eliminate the problems of judgement via
facts/figures to support. Buyers therefore must have information, authority, respect and
persistence.
Some examples of media worldwide
Here are some examples of the state of the media in various countries starting with the
industrialised countries. Consult De Mooij for a fuller view of this and the Jones reader for some
specifics in depth in Germany and the literature for an update.
The United States - The most important area for advertising, given the value of the business
conducted. Most multinational agencies are based in the US. The US leads the world in creativity,
technique, organisation, management and research. Important media are the Internet but also still
print, radio and TV. Advertising is more regulated than other free market countries, being subject
to federal, state and local regulations. People are also likely to sue for injury.
Europe - European advertising is dominated by the U K, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Media
opportunities and trends vary though in different member countries.
Other Developed Commonwealth Countries and South Africa - Australia, Canada, New Zealand
and Africa have a lot of involvement with foreign agencies. All are dominated by print, with TV
being important to a lesser extent. Radio is more important in Australia, New Zealand and Canada
than Africa where it represents around 4% of total expenditure. Regulations are largely similar to
those of the USA, UK etc.
Japan - Advertising is different here in many ways from Western Societies. The culture prevailing
includes much tradition rooted in ancient eastern philosophies. This combined with attitude and
religious heritage influences both the economy and advertising. Tariffs, quotas and invisible trade
barriers discourage foreign business and distribution channels make it difficult for foreigners to
compete. Advertising has to appeal to the customers' ideologies. Print, radio and TV are
important. Issues of group and frugality influence it.
Eastern Europe - In excess of 300 million customers, budgets small but growing due to socialist
philosophy recognising the need for advertising. Some of these states hoping to join the EU soon.
Perestroika and Glasnost have translated into reforms that enable foreign goods to be advertised.
In some cases joint ventures between foreign advertising agencies and state commercial
organisations have worked.
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 Hungary - Advertising similar to the West, State Agencies are Hungexpo, Magyar flirdeto
and Interpress. They work with foreign agencies such as McCann Erickson. Media print, electronics, cinema, billboards. restrictions - tobacco and alcohol.
 Poland - Advertising is usually licensed through AGPOL, the government agency that
controls advertising. Situation changing with developments in Poland, most likely to
become an EU member state.
 Bulgaria - Advertising is channelled through the state agency Bulgarre Klama, but
available on all media. Foreign goods however are limited in availability, because of a
shortage of hard currency. Advertising therefore is generally used to promote domestic
products.
 Soviet Countries - The development in the old USSR was cautious, permitted under Lenin
but not under Stalin. Considerable change since Stalin's death and the break up of
USSR. Advertising is still under constraints that vary between countries. When
advertising was allowed it was to ‘Drink Milk’ rather than for branded items. Because of
the difficulties of supply of goods, the need for advertising was limited. Even today
advertising is limited but growing. Word of Mouth is still consequently important.
China - Because of its size it could be the largest market in the world. However consumer
products are scarce hence limited advertising. The situation is rapidly changing and will do so
more in the future. The key question seems to be will Hong Kong take over China and with it bring
Western trade situations? (refer to China case in seminars).
The Third World - This includes 120 countries in the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Many countries are unstable and weak. The Third World is an untapped market for advertisers
where they can offer low priced, suitable goods e.g. hand sewing machines. A useful way of
prolonging life cycle to companies in developed countries.
The Third World has been divided into three groups in an effort to distinguish between them:
1. Rural peasants and handicraft producers - earnings at around subsistence
2. Urban poor, low - income employees - dependent on local markets for food and health needs.
3. Urban middle class and upper class - including foreign residents.
Clearly it is the latter market of interest to advertisers and includes:
Arab Middle East - A challenging market due to the influence of Islam. Countries are
fundamentally democratic, concepts combining both capitalist and socialist ideologies. The male
is more privileged and the rights and status of women vary from country to -country, often coming
behind the dog. Advertising has only existed since the 1950's. Print media is most important.
Radio is limited. (refer to Middle East notes in seminars).
Latin America and Caribbean - Area includes:
12 republics of continental South America
8 Central American republics
The West Indies (13 Caribbean Island republics)
A useful market because European in character. Population is European, Mestizos and Indian.
Spanish is the official language, except for the Caribbean where it is French or English. Although
advertising is allowed, trade is difficult because of political and economic problems.
Asia (Third World) - Different languages, attitudes and policies exist. Asia made up of low income,
middle income and high-income groups.
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Low: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
Middle: Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia
High: South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore
Advertising is most important in the high-income areas because customers are able to spend on
goods. Print and TV are particularly important.
Africa (South of Sahara) - Advertising expenditure is low because of little economic development
and much illiteracy. Luxury items are severely limited, perhaps to village elders. The elite, largely
foreigners, are into heavily branded goods such as Reebok shoes. Quality goods are sold on the
black market, advertising not being necessary. A key question might be: What are the differences
between the opportunities for advertising in industrialised countries and the rest of the world?
SELECTED REFERENCES
Mueller chapter 7 is useful generally and De Mooij has elements of the media in chapter six and
the whole of chapter eight. Most marketing communications texts deal with these issues. See Fill
chs 14 and 15 for useful coverage of media generally. Tom Griffin's book is particularly useful for
an international perspective but deals with media issues that are applicable in any market - see
the whole of part 4 but especially chapter 12 on media planning. The Jones reader is good on
specifics only, for example the German media. The Haagen Dazs reference is the same as
previously. If you are especially keen see the comprehensive text by William Donnelly is entitled
Planning Media - Strategy and Imagination, Prentice Hall 1996. Many references listed are from
the mid-nineties when a lot of changes were taking place. Use WARC to update in particular
areas.
Adams, J. (1995). Will the boss-class ride on the superhighway? Research Jan 1995 p.25.
BBC (1994). TV Programme. The Bunny Business, The Business, 9.6.94. BBC.
BBC (1995).TV Programme: The Money Programme - Superhighway special. BBC2 19.2.95.
Brackman, C. (1999). Its not your father’s media. Agency magazine, Fall
Cannon, H. and Riordan, E. (1994). Effective reach and frequency: does it really make sense?
Journal of Advertising Research March/April. ppl9
Channel 4 (1995). TV Programme: Visions of Heaven and Hell. Channel Four 7,14,21 Feb 1995
9pm. ("Selling the future", "Welcome to the jungle" and "Virtual Wasteland")
Chilvers, D. (1995). Tracking down satellite households in the UK. Admap Feb.
Coderre, F. and Boivin, Y. (2000). Fewer is better. Journal of Advertising Research, 40, 4,
July/August.
Cooke, M. (1994). Research that persuades the respondent to pay. Research Dec. p4-5
Cowan, D et al (1999). Client-agency perspectivesof information needsfor media planning. Journal
of Advertising Research, 39, 6, November/December.
Davis, J (1994). The perils and pitfalls of the multimedia revolution. Admap Nov.
De Mooij, M. (1994). Advertising Worldwide. chs 6, 8
Dimling, J. (1994). How to measure the TV 'superhighway. Admap, Feb.
Fill, C (1995). Marketing Communications. Prentice Hall.
Financial Times (1993). Technology in the office. Survey, 26.10.93 "
Financial Times (1994). Software at work.Review, Spring 1994.
Furniss, T (1994). Satellites pave way to global mobile phones. Sunday Times 27.2.94. pll.
Griffin, T. (1993). International Marketing Communications. Butterworth-Heineman.chs9-12.
Ha, L. (1997). Limitations and strengths of pan-Asian advertising media: a review for international
advertisers. International Journal of Advertising, 16, 2.
Jacobs, B. (1995). Advertising agencies and the management of media. Admap, April.
Jacobs, B. (1991). Trends in media buying and selling in Europe and the effect on the advertising
agency business. International Journal of Advertising, 10, 4.
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Lloyd, C. (1994). Business dives into virtual reality. Sunday Times 6.2.94
Margolis, J. (1995). And man created cyber space. Sunday Times. 26.2.95 pp6.
Mattellart (1991). Advertising International. ch4
Mattellart, A. et al (1993). International image markets in The cultural studies reader. Simon
During (Ed) Routledge 1993
McDonald, C. (1994). ‘Burst' versus 'drip’. Admap Dec.
Menneer, P. (1995). European radio audiences - figures to be taken at face value. Admap Feb.
pp20
Naughton, J. (1995). Observer 15.1.95 "Life" p.4 on cable, wireless and class war
Neijens, P. and Smit, E. (2000). New ways to measure media use amidst media abundance.
ESOMAR, May.
Nolan, D. (1994). Digital TV: the challenge for advertising. Admap Feb.
Owen, T. (1994). The internet cometh.. don't hold your breath. Research Dec.
Perry, J (1995). Measuring change - How TV audience measurement might develop in a
fragmentary and interactive future. Admap Feb.
Phillips, W. (1995). Sliding down the bannister: today's multichannel radio. Admap, Jan. ppll
Poster, M. (1990). The mode of Information. Polity ch3.
Rubens, W. (1991). Peoplemeters in the USA. Admap March, pp33.
Shimp, T. (1997). Advertising, promotion and supplemental aspects of integrated marketing
communications. Dryden.
Thackray, J. (1994). The e-mail is deadlier...The Observer 1.5.94. p.8.
Vangelder, P. (1995). Multimedia's researchers offered multiple choice. Research Feb p21.
Various authors (1995). Media research faces a watershed - will researchers match the media
revolution" Research(plus) Feb.
Warc staff (2003). The media. www.warc.com.
White, S. (1999). Cutting a path through the international media jungle. Admap, February.
Woods, R and Walker, J. (1994). The future of advertising - media relations. Admap Nov.
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