What is Media?
When we hear the term 'Media', we naturally think press, news reporters, journalists. However, in marketing and advertising, media refers to ‘mediums’ or ‘channels’ used to deliver a marketing message.
Any platform or avenue that can be used to deliver your intended marketing message can be considered media. The purist view subscribes to the idea that any surface or space can be considered a media channel - this can certainly blur the lines between the fields of advertising and art. Unless you are Banksy, I would recommend sticking to lawful media and marketing practices to avoid being penalised for vandalism.
Paid, Owned and Earned Media
Given that Media can be a rather broad term, it is usually grouped into three categories to help us understand and execute media strategies more methodically: Paid Media, Owned Media and Earned Media.
Unpacking Paid Media
The most common form of marketing used by bigger brands is advertising, which often leverages paid media. Paid media is usually divided into Traditional media and Digital media.
Both traditional and digital media have their individual benefits. It is good to be aware of these, but it has been proven quite often that the best results are seen when the two are integrated and used in harmony.
What is the goal of Media?
Now that we have an understanding of what Media is, we must know what its purpose is. The goal of media is to reach the right audience, in the right space, at the right time, with the right marketing message to achieve a specific media objective (i.e. Awareness, Consideration, Direct Response) at the most efficient ROAS (Return on Ad Spends).
There are a lot of elements to it, but the essence of it is finding the best way to reach potential customers. Hence, it is crucial that we think 'audience first' when planning our media campaigns.
It definitely helps to have an in-depth understanding of the various media channels and their audiences (i.e. the profiles of people primarily on each media channel, how they interact with each channel and why, the capabilities and limitations of each channel etc.) which will come with research and experience.
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