Module 7: Media Planning Notes

Module 7: Media Planning Notes

• Source context: IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications) Module 7, Block Building – Media planning (2025), University of Cape Town, Faculty of Management Studies.
• Core aim: Understand and apply the media planning process within an IMC framework, including how to write a media plan and media strategy, the role of media objectives and media selection, media buying and online planning measures, and how mobile/social trends affect advertising spend.

Objectives and role of the media plan

• Objectives (Module 7):
  • Learn about the role of the media plan.
  • Learn how to write a media plan and media strategy.
  • Understand the importance of media objectives and media selection.
  • Learn about media buying and the measures of online media planning.
  • Understand how growing mobile and social media use affects advertising spending patterns.

Strategic Marketing Plan and IMC framework (Macro/Micro, Diagnostic → Strategy → Tactics)

• Strategic Marketing Plan components

  • DIAGNOSTIC ELEMENT
  • MACRO: Macro-environment analysis (PESTLE)
    • PESTLE: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental factors
  • MICRO: Micro-environment analysis (Competitor Analysis, Consumer Landscape, RESEARCH, segmentation)
  • STRATEGIC DIRECTION
  • TARGETING: Who is our prime consumer?
  • POSITIONING: How will we appeal to them?
  • BUSINESS ALIGNMENT: SWOT, vision, mission, values
  • MARKETING OBJECTIVES: What we need to achieve to meet our diagnostic/strategic plan
  • TACTICAL ELEMENT (We are here now – building blocks)
  • MARKETING STRATEGY: Pricing, Distribution, Product, Communication, Creative, Digital, Media, etc.
  • MARKETING TACTICS: Specific actions (Pricing tactics, Distribution tactics, Product tactics, Communication tactics, Creative tactics, Digital tactics, Media tactics)
  • IMC is represented at the center of these elements (integration across channels)

• Key definitions

  • Marketing Objectives: what we need to do to achieve what is outlined in the Diagnostic and Strategic sections.
  • Marketing Strategy: statement of how we are going to achieve the Marketing Objectives.
  • Marketing Tactics:具体 plan for executing the Marketing Strategy to meet the Marketing Objectives (where KPIs come from).

Diagnosis, Strategy, and Tactics (Integrated process)

• DIAGNOSIS involves understanding:
  • Micro and macro environment
  • Alignment with corporate strategy
  • Consumer needs and wants (market orientation)
  • Marketing sizing, research and insights
  • Segmentation (mapping options to target)
  • Competitor analysis
• OBJECTIVES: how to win
• TARGETING: based on segmentation map
• POSITIONING
• TACTICS (4 Ps):
  • Product, Price, Place (distribution), Promotion
• FEEDBACK LOOP: Marketing metrics and research feed back into strategy/tactics; diagnosis continually influenced by outcomes

Audience and media planning foundations

• Understanding the audience is central to media planning decisions.
• Page example (illustrative): Mbali got Naked in a park run – used as a simplified illustration of audience interaction with media placements (offline example of audience exposure).
• Media planning considers: who the audience is, where they are, and how best to reach them across channels.

Media types: PAID, EARNED, OWNED

• PAID MEDIA: Traditional and digital paid placements controlled by the advertiser
  • Traditional: TV, cinema, radio, magazines, newspapers, outdoor (OOH), digital formats, online display & video, podcasts, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) discussions, social media ads (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.), direct mail, etc.
  • Digital formats: content/native advertising, online display & video, podcasts
• EARNED MEDIA: Consumer-controlled amplification of messaging
  • Endorsements, word-of-mouth, organic social influencer activity, user-generated content (e.g., likes, mentions, reposts, reviews), publicity, media coverage
• OWNED MEDIA: Marketer-controlled interfaces
  • Websites, mobi-sites & apps, blogs & vlogs, packaging & retail signage, webinars & IP content, widgets & apps, newsletters
• Interplay: Endorsements and social activity can lead to earned media, while owned media serves as a base platform for messaging; paid media supports reach and amplification

Terminology you should know

• ATL – Above the Line: broad mass media (TV, billboards, radio, print)
• BTL – Below the Line: targeted/direct activities for specific segments (email marketing, direct marketing, events, sponsorships)
• TTL – Through the Line: hybrid approach combining ATL and BTL
• OOH – Out of Home advertising
• ADSPEND – advertising spend (budget allocated to campaigns)

What is media planning?

• Definition: The process of selecting time and space in various media to accomplish marketing objectives. In short: establishing the exact media vehicles for advertising.

Writing a media plan: key areas to consider

1) Which media? (print, TV, outdoor, radio, online, cinema, etc.)
2) Where? Regions or placement to reach the target market
3) When? Time of day, month, or year
4) How many times? Weight and frequency
5) How to integrate with other activities?
6) How much money is available?

Questions to ask during planning

• How do you reach your consumer in a way that captures their attention?

Media planning considerations and context

• Media planning considerations:
  • Content
  • Channel
  • Context (when and where)
  • Consumer (why is it being consumed)

Media plan process and measurement

• Media plan process overview (from diagnosis to tactics to execution)
• Decide how to measure the effectiveness of the spend
• Define the tactics: best implementable actions to achieve the strategy and objectives
• Define media objectives

Media strategy and objectives: framework

• Media Strategy components:
  • Who (audience), How much (budget), Class alignment, Brand alignment, and how the details fit together
• Post Campaign Evaluation: measure achievement of media objectives
• Media Objectives: define the target audience and communication goals
• Media Tactics: concrete actions to achieve the media objectives

Planning the audience: regional and demographic emphasis

• Planning with intent: Broad vs Narrow audience strategies
  • Example audience blocks: Children 0-14, Youth 15-34, Adults 35-59, Elderly 60+
  • Regional distribution example: Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, etc. (illustrative percent shares show regional weighting)
• How to filter audience for media strategy: age, location, sub-culture, need-state

Offline (Traditional) Media insights

• Magazines: higher trust in magazine ads (about 60% readers trust); highly targeted (e.g., hobby or lifestyle mags); potential secondary audience reach
• Radio: local appeal; targeted regions; strategic pairings with other media; peak traffic times; consider language formats and community stations
• Television: high visual impact; good for national reach; strong for awareness and in-home engagement for large campaigns
• Billboards/OOH: high visual impact; strong for creating conversations; SA-specific emphasis on township murals

Online Media and Digital Planning

• Online media channels: social media, programmatic advertising, every platform highlights demographics, psychographics, and programmatic targeting; potential for virality and precise targeting
• Programmatic advertising: algorithmic targeting across digital platforms to reach specific audiences
• Social media: key driver to increase digital footprint and potential virality; highly targeted; measurable

Media planning resources and crafting media objectives

• Resources for media planners: radio, TV and audience consumption data (e.g., BRC South Africa)
• BRC (Broadcast Research Council South Africa) provides audience data, RAMS, TAMS, etc. (see https://brcsa.org.za/ for industry data)
• Crafting media objectives involves defining audience reach, weight, frequency, continuity, and how they relate to campaign goals

Crafting media objectives: detailed criteria

• Media objective definitions:
  • Audience size (circulation/listenership)
  • Weight (OTS = Opportunity To See; how many exposures)
  • Reach: total number of people exposed at least once during the period
  • Frequency: average number of exposures to the same people during the period
  • Continuity: flighting pattern across the year

Case study: Capitec Bank – Capitec x Swiiitch collaboration (illustrative)

• Example objective: launch/segment-focused campaign in Gauteng and KZN targeting youth 16–24
• Methods:
  • Use TAMS to justify TV slots/channels (reach/audience fit)
  • Use RAMS to select radio stations/time slots (audience fit)
  • Explain how choices increase reach, frequency, and engagement

Case study: Panarottis F23 campaign laydown (illustrative channel mix)

• Target market: Age 25–49, HHI R20k+ (higher-income segment)
• Campaign channels and strategy: focus on TV, radio, OOH, and sponsorships
• Objectives: maintain continuous brand presence; drive store visits and product awareness
• Monthly/seasonal planning: detailed spend schedule (Jul 2022 – Jun 2023) with CPP/estimated CPP values
• Estimated CPP:
  • Example: CPP = \frac{Total Cost}{Total Rating Points}\
  • Provided example: if campaign costs R10,000 and delivers 200 rating points, then $CPP = \frac{R10{,}000}{200} = R50$
• Planned spend: total planned spend of R6,910,000 with notes on variance and CPP implications

Reaching and measuring: Reach, Frequency, and GRPs

• Reach: the number of people exposed to the advertising message (not a sale measure; essential for coverage)
• Frequency: how many times the same audience is exposed to the message; essential for reinforcement; too low can miss impact; too high can cause fatigue
• Duplication vs cumulative reach
  • Duplicated reach: same person exposed across multiple channels; counts more than once in total reach
  • Cumulative reach: counts only unique individuals reached across all channels
  • Duplication can waste budget if not managed properly; aim to minimize overlap
• Strategies to avoid duplication:
  • Targeting precision
  • Complementary channel selection
  • Frequency capping to limit exposures per individual

Rating points, GRPs, TARPs, and cost efficiency metrics

• Rating point concept (RP): one percent of the target audience exposed to the ad
  • Example: if 5% of the target market sees an ad in Carte Blanche, that is 5 rating points
  • If another channel reaches 4% of the target, total could be 9 RP, subject to overlap
• Gross Rating Points (GRP):
  • GRP = Reach imes Frequency \
  • Reach is typically expressed as a percentage; Frequency is average exposures per person (OTS)
  • Example: Reach 50% and Frequency 4 ⇒ GRP = 50 imes 4 = 200
• TARPs (Target Audience Rating Points):
  • A variant of GRP expressed for a specific target audience
  • Used to compare media coverage or cost efficiency per target
• Relationship: Higher GRPs generally indicate greater exposure, but cost efficiency matters

Calculating reach and duplication with examples

• Example calculation: Reach 14.6% = 576,000 exposed out of 3,946,000 target females aged 16-24 who listen to a specific station
  • Reach% formula: ext{Reach imes 100} = rac{576{,}000}{3{,}946{,}000} imes 100 \approx 14.6\%
• Duplicated reach example: If 9% total GRP across channels includes a 2% overlap between Carte Blanche and SABC News viewers, unique reach is 7%, with frequency ~1.3

Cost per rating point (CPRP/CPP) and cost efficiencies

• CPRP (Cost per Rating Point) or CPP (Cost per Point):
  • CPRP = rac{ ext{Total Campaign Cost}}{ ext{Total Rating Points}}
  • Example: Campaign cost R10{,}000 and delivers 200 RP → CPRP = rac{R10{,}000}{200} = R50
• Cost efficiencies:
  • Compare schedules by GRP and cost; e.g., Schedule A: 100 GRP @ R500,000 → CPP = R5,000
  • Schedule B: 100 GRP @ R650,000 → CPP = R6,500
  • Lower CPP indicates more cost-efficient exposure per rating point
• Other drivers of cost efficiency: ad size, relevance, audience affluence, engagement level

Budgeting principles and activity levels

• Budgeting principles: media owners price inventory based on audience size; knowing required reach allows budgeting decisions
• Activity levels and their typical reach objectives (simplified):
  • Major activity: Maximum Reach
  • Medium activity: Targeted Reach (maintenance or proposition-focused)
  • Minor activity: Focused Reach (activation, experiential)

Recency theory and planning philosophy

• Recency theory: Advertising works best when shown immediately before a purchase decision; influence diminishes over time
• Recency planning: Focus on reaching many different consumers in short periods (e.g., within a week) rather than frequent exposures to the same audience over a long period

Dominance, Impact, and Continuity (media strategy imperatives)

• Dominance: A brand-specific competitive strategy to dominate a particular arena (target segment, touchpoint, or format), often sacrificing reach/frequency to concentrate investment on a specialized advantage
• Impact: The most powerful imperative; aim for a highly relevant impression; word-of-mouth often the strongest form of impact; requires close consumer contact (events, activations, impactful content)
• Continuity: Maintaining presence within budget constraints; not all brands can sustain continuous presence; use hiatus periods to counter wear-out or memory decay and align with seasonal consumer behavior
• Relationship of these imperatives: Each is a lens on how to allocate spend for different strategic goals; campaigns can emphasize one or more of these depending on objectives

Practical takeaways and examples from campaigns

• Capitec Bank x Swiiitch collaboration (Café Swiiitch):
  • Timeframe: 29 July to 4 August at Gateway Mall
  • Objectives: Blend beauty and banking; deepen brand associations through experiential activation
• Panarottis F23 campaign laydown (Tgt Mkt 25–49, HHI R20k+):
  • Media mix: TV, Radio, OOH; sponsorships; store launch OOH in a mall
  • Continuous presence and seasonal emphasis to drive engagement and store visits
  • Budgeting: Estimated CPP around R12,500; overall planned spend around R6.9M with variance notes

Quick reference: key formulas and terms

• Reach (percentage) and Frequency (OTS):
  • ext{GRP} = ext{Reach} imes ext{Frequency}
  • Reach is the % of the target exposed at least once; Frequency is average exposures per exposed person
• Gross Rating Points (GRP) and TARPS:
  • GRP = ext{Reach} imes ext{Frequency}
  • TARPS = ext{Target Audience Rating Points} (similar concept applied to a specific target)
• Rating Points (RP): 1% of target audience exposed to the ad
  • Example: 5 ext{% reach on one channel equals 5 RP
• Duplication vs cumulative reach:
  • Duplicated reach: overlap of audiences across channels; can inflate total reach if not accounted for
  • Cumulative reach: counts unique individuals reached across channels
• CPRP/CPP:
  • CPRP = rac{ ext{Total Campaign Cost}}{ ext{Total Rating Points}}$$
• Recency: short burst, broad reach vs long-term repetition

Summary of the IMC media planning approach

• Start with a diagnostic phase: macro and micro environments, consumer insights, segmentation, and benchmarking
• Define strategic direction: targeting and positioning aligned with business goals
• Develop a media strategy that translates objectives into audience-focused reach, frequency, and continuity plans
• Build media tactics and budget, considering cost efficiencies and channel complementarities
• Measure and iterate: use KPIs from media objectives, track GRPs, reach, frequency, and CPIs; adjust to maximize impact within budget

Quick glossary (memory aids)

• IMC: Integrated Marketing Communications
• ATL/BTL/TTL: categories of media strategies
• GRP/TARPs/CPRP/CPP: core performance metrics for media planning
• Reach: who is exposed; Frequency: how often; Continuity: when exposures occur
• Duplication vs unique reach: overlap vs unique audience counting
• RAMS/TAMS: measurement systems used by broadcasters for audience data
• BRC: Broadcast Research Council South Africa

End of notes