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Part Two Integrated Marketing Program Situation Analysis
Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
II. Integrated Marketing
Program Situation Analysis
3. Organizing for
Advertising & Promotion
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
As the focal point of agency-client relationships, the account executive must know a
great deal about the client’s business and be able to communicate this to specialists in the
agency working on the account. 15 The ideal account executive has a strong marketing
background as well as a thorough understanding of all phases of the advertising process.
Marketing Services Over the past two decades, use of marketing services has
increased dramatically. One service gaining increased attention is research, as agencies
realize that to communicate effectively with their clients’ customers, they must
have a good understanding of the target audience. As shown in Chapter 1, the advertising
planning process begins with a thorough situation analysis, which is based on
research and information about the target audience.
Most full-service agencies maintain a research department whose function is to
gather, analyze, and interpret information that will be useful in developing advertising
for their clients. This can be done through primary research—where a study is
designed, executed, and interpreted by the research department—or through the use of
secondary (previously published) sources of information. Sometimes the research
department acquires studies conducted by independent syndicated research firms or
consultants. The research staff then interprets these reports and passes on the information
to other agency personnel working on that account.
The research department may also design and conduct research to pretest the effectiveness
of advertising the agency is considering. For example, copy testing is often
conducted to determine how messages developed by the creative specialists are likely
to be interpreted by the receiving audience.
The media department of an agency analyzes, selects, and contracts for space or
time in the media that will be used to deliver the client’s advertising message. The
media department is expected to develop a media plan that will reach the target market
and effectively communicate the message. Since most of the client’s ad budget is spent
on media time and/or space, this department must develop a plan that both communicates
with the right audience and is cost-effective.
Media specialists must know what audiences the media reach, their rates, and how
well they match the client’s target market. The media department reviews information
on demographics, magazine and newspaper readership, radio listenership, and consumers’
TV viewing patterns to develop an effective media plan. The media buyer
implements the media plan by purchasing the actual time and space.
The media department is becoming an increasingly important part of the agency
business. An agency’s ability to negotiate prices and effectively use the vast array of
media vehicles, as well as other sources of customer contact, is becoming as important
as its ability to create ads. Some of the major agencies and/or their holding companies
have formed independent media services companies to better serve their clients. For
example, the Leo Burnett agency formed Starcom as a full service media planning and
buying company, while McCann Erickson Worldwide formed Universal McCann, and
Foote Cone and Belding Worldwide formed Horizon.FCB. These media companies
primarily serve the agency’s clients but may also offer media services separately to
other clients as well. A number of large advertisers have consolidated their media buying
with these large media services companies to save money and improve media efficiency.
General Motors consolidated its $3.6 billion media business with Starcom,
while the Interpublic Group’s Universal McCann handles close to $1 billion in Nestlé
media business around the world. 16
The research and media departments perform most of the functions that full-service
agencies need to plan and execute their clients’ advertising programs. Some agencies
offer additional marketing services to their clients to assist in other promotional areas.
An agency may have a sales promotion department, or merchandising department, that
specializes in developing contests, premiums, promotions, point-of-sale materials, and
other sales materials. It may have direct-marketing specialists and package designers,
as well as a PR/publicity department. Many agencies have developed interactive
media departments to create websites for their clients. The growing popularity of integrated
marketing communications has prompted many full-function agencies to
develop capabilities and offer services in these other promotional areas. IMC Perspective
3-1 discusses how traditional advertising agencies are developing integrated marketing
capabilities that extend beyond media advertising.