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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
existing providers. The responses were used to
establish a database and tailor Virgin’s services
more specifically to customer needs. In the United
States, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Real Networks
have developed 10-minute, “longer-format
advertisements” to provide more information than
30-second commercials. The companies debuted
the ads to the 420,000 TiVo subscribers in the summer
of 2002, in an attempt to test the concept
while getting consumers to choose to actually view
ad content. Another company is experimenting
with PIP technology to send commercials without
interrupting the TV program. These examples
demonstrate previously unforeseen uses of interactive
media, and they are considered to be only the
beginning of numerous new communications
methods.
Not everyone is ready to embrace the new technologies
just yet, however. Some experts feel the
industries know much more about the technologies
than they do about how to use them. Other
observers feel that consumers are not as excited
about these capabilities as the providers think they
are. The Nielsen study cited earlier demonstrated
that of the 67 percent of viewers who were multitasking
by using the Internet while they watched
TV, more than 90 percent were pursuing unrelated
tasks (e.g., not co-using two media for the same
300
10. Media Planning and
Strategy
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
content and/or program). Studies in Britain indicate
that most of the early programming developed
for iTV was not around four years later and
was not what consumers wanted. Other studies
have shown that for the majority of consumers,
television is an entertainment medium that they
want to watch as “couch potatoes,” not interact
with. David Poltrack, head of research at CBS,
notes that “TV is something you do when you
don’t want to do anything.” Jeff Zucker, head of
entertainment at NBC, agrees, noting: “The majority
of people want to sit back and just passively
enjoy TV.” Add the cost of building the enormous
infrastructure associated with interactive TV, and
you will see that the interactive future is a long
time away. Are the TV industry experts just fooling
themselves? At least one study conducted by the
Statistical Research Corporation says they are not.
In the study, conducted in the summer of 2001, 72
percent of respondents said they are not interested
in interactive TV. Maybe media planning won’t be
so hard after all?
Sources: Tobi Elkin, “TiVo Inks Pacts for Long-Form TV Ads,”
Advertising Age, June 17, 2002, p. 1; Paul Knight, “Let’s Not
Miss a Chance to Make iTV a Big Winner,” Marketing, Feb. 21,
2002, p. 20; Ian Darby, “How the Ad Industry Has Learnt to Stop
Worrying and Love TiVo,” campaign, May 17, 2002, p. 16; “Survey:
Entertain Me,” The Economist, Apr. 13, 2002, pp. 4–6;
“Interactive Television a Dud,” Inman News Features, Aug. 31,
2001, p. 1.
The discussion in this chapter’s opening vignette describes just one of the many
changes taking place in the media environment. Perhaps at no other time in history
have so many changes taken place that significantly alter the media decision process.
As a result, media planning has become more complex than ever before. As you will
see in the following chapters, these changes offer the marketer opportunities not previously
available, but they also require in-depth knowledge of all the alternatives. Integrated
marketing communications programs are no longer a luxury; they are a
necessity. Media planners must now consider new options as well as recognize the
changes that are occurring in traditional sources. New and evolving media contribute
to the already difficult task of media planning. Planning when, where, and how the
advertising message will be delivered is a complex and involved process. The primary
objective of the media plan is to develop a framework that will deliver the message to
the target audience in the most efficient, cost-effective manner possible—that will
communicate what the product, brand, and/or service can do.
This chapter presents the various methods of message delivery available to marketers,
examines some key considerations in making media decisions, and discusses
the development of media strategies and plans. Later chapters will explore the relative
advantages and disadvantages of the various media and examine each in more detail.