Question 1

Reach refers to the number of people who will actually be exposed to and consume the advertising.

Accepted Answer

Reach should not be confused with the number of people who will actually be exposed to and consume the advertising, though. It is just the number of people who are exposed to the medium and therefore have an opportunity to see the ad or commercial.

Question 2

Media planners rely largely on primary market research to determine the consumer target audience.

Accepted Answer

The consumer target audience may be determined from the marketer's research. However, planners rely largely on secondary research sources, such as Arbitron and Nielsen Media Research, which provide basic demographic characteristics of media audiences.

Question 3

The good media specialist today is actually a real advertising generalist.

Accepted Answer

The trend toward integrated marketing communications and relationship marketing is creating a new breed of media planner: younger, computer literate, and schooled in marketing disciplines beyond traditional media. The good media specialist today is actually a real advertising generalist. And with many of the biggest client changes happening in "media-only" agency reviews, it's apparent that the media professionals have finally come into their own.

Question 4

If a brand has been on the market for some time, a low brand development index indicates high sales.

Accepted Answer

The combination of brand development index and category development index can help the planner determine a media strategy for the market. If the brand has been on the market for some time, the low BDI raises a red flag; some problem is standing in the way of brand sales.

Question 5

Familiarity with the advertiser's campaign always affects motivation significantly but attention very little.

Accepted Answer

Familiarity with the advertiser's campaign may affect attention significantly but motivation very little. The attention factors of quality reproduction and timeliness can motivate someone, however.

Question 6

The cost of reaching target audiences is decreasing for all media due to greater number of media choices.

Accepted Answer

At the same time that there are more media choices, the number of messages that need to be communicated has also proliferated-so much so, in fact, that they have outstripped the ability of consumers to process them. People can cope with only so many messages, so the media have to restrict the number of ads they sell. As a result, the cost of reaching target audiences is increasing for almost all media.

Question 7

A low brand development index and a high category development index indicate a brand is selling unusually well given the low demand for the product category.

Accepted Answer

According to exhibit 9-10, a combination of a low brand development index and a high category development index indicates a product category has good market potential, but the brand has a low market share.

Question 8

Marketers are interested in those media opportunities that offer the largest audiences.

Accepted Answer

Marketers are naturally interested in having their messages exposed to as many customers and prospects as they can afford. So they are also logically most interested in those media opportunities that offer the largest audiences.

Question 9

Specialization of audience interest or identification is a factor known to decrease attention value.

Accepted Answer

Six factors are known to increase attention value:
(a) audience involvement with editorial content or program material
(b) specialization of audience interest or identification
(c) number of competitive advertisers (the fewer, the better)
(d) audience familiarity with the advertiser's campaign
(e) quality of advertising reproduction
(f) timeliness of advertising exposure

Question 10

Media objectives translate the advertising strategy into goals that media can accomplish.

Accepted Answer

Media objectives translate the advertising strategy into goals that media can accomplish. They explain who the target audience is and why, where messages will be delivered and when, and how much advertising weight needs to be delivered over what period of time.

Question 11

Advertising is most effective when it positions a product as part of the solution that consumers seek.

Accepted Answer

Consumers choose a particular media vehicle because they gain some "reward": self-improvement, financial advice, career guidance, or simply news and entertainment. Advertising is most effective when it positions a product as part of the solution that consumers seek. Otherwise, they may see it as an intrusion.

Question 12

It is often better to run one large ad occasionally than run small ads consistently because it is more likely to be read.

Accepted Answer

Competitive activity often dictates more message units. The product itself may demand the prestige of a full page or full color. However, it's often better to run small ads consistently rather than one large ad occasionally.

Question 13

Most studies of the advertising response curve indicate that incremental response to advertising builds with repeated exposures.

Accepted Answer

Most studies of the advertising response curve indicate that incremental response to advertising actually diminishes, rather than builds, with repeated exposures. The optimal frequency concept moves the focus of media planning from exposure effectiveness to effective exposures per dollar.

Question 14

To reach lower-income markets, radio is the medium of choice.

Accepted Answer

To reach lower-income markets, radio is the medium of choice, as both Coke and Pepsi have demonstrated successfully for years.

Question 15

Communications objectives are stated in terms of reinforcing or modifying customer purchasing behavior or creating a perceptual change about the brand over time.

Accepted Answer

Advertisers using the IMC planning model start by segmenting their target audiences according to brand-purchasing behavior (for example, loyal users, brand switchers, new prospects) and then ranking them by profit to the brand. Communications objectives are then stated in terms of reinforcing or modifying customer purchasing behavior or creating a perceptual change about the brand over time.

Question 16

Development of a media plan requires an entirely different process than the development of the marketing plan.

Accepted Answer

Development of a media plan involves the same process as marketing and advertising planning. First, review the marketing and advertising objectives and strategies and set relevant, measurable objectives that are both realistic and achievable by the media. Next, try to devise an ingenious strategy for achieving these objectives. Finally, develop the specific tactical details of media scheduling and selection.

Question 17

Spillover media offer potential cost savings through regional campaigns.

Accepted Answer

Spillover media pose a threat for the multinational advertiser because they expose readers to multiple ad campaigns. If the advertiser runs both international and local campaigns for the same products, discrepancies in product positioning, pricing, or advertising messages could confuse potential buyers. Advertisers' local subsidiaries or distributors need to coordinate local and international ad campaigns to avoid such confusion. On the positive side, spillover media offer potential cost savings through regional campaigns.

Question 18

Media planning decisions may require hard scientific research and detailed mathematical analysis, aided by sophisticated software programs.

Accepted Answer

The purpose of media planning is to conceive, analyze, and creatively select channels of communication that will direct advertising messages to the right people in the right place at the right time. Some of these decisions require hard scientific research and detailed mathematical analysis, aided by sophisticated software programs.

Question 19

As people come into and out of the market for goods and services every day, frequency provides a means of having the message there when it's most needed.

Accepted Answer

While frequency is important to create memory, continuity is important to sustain it. Moreover, as people come into and out of the market for goods and services every day, continuity provides a means of having the message there when it's most needed. Ads that hit targets during purchase cycles are more effective and require less frequency.

Question 20

Major advertisers can ensure a big audience by simply advertising on TV.

Accepted Answer

It wasn't long ago that major advertisers could ensure a big audience by simply advertising on TV. Not anymore. Today it's much more difficult to reach a big audience, even though consumers are spending more time with media than ever before-an average of over 11 hours daily.

Quiz 9: Planning Media Strategy: Disseminating the Message Part Three: Creating Advertisements and Commercials