The traditional four P’s of marketing that are taught in school are Product, Price, Promotion and Place and are considered the elements of a marketing mix.  The product is the goods or services that are being produced, the price is what the customer pays, the promotion is how you communicate the message of your product to the consumer and place is where the customer can acquire the product.

Because the four P’s are so often referenced in marketing circles, lately it seems writers are coming up with new versions of the P’s.  I found an article in DOME Connection, September/October 2011 by Mark Potter that I thought was worth sharing.  In it he describes strategic marketing P’s that are important to the prosperity of any organization.  He came up with four strategic P’s.  Here they are.

Four Strategic Marketing P’s.

1.  Probe-Take time to find potential markets through market research.

2.  Partition-Also known as segmentation, companies determine characteristics in potential prospects and clients that can lead to success.  Determine certain variables in customers and then put them in similar groups so you can stand for someone.

3.  Prioritize-Decide the best groups to pursue.  How can you best serve and profit from the segmented groups?

4. Position-This is the “bridge from strategy to offering”.  Once you decide which groups to go after, define who you are to them like “a low cost leader” or “high quality supplier”.

How will you implement the new P’s in your business?  It’s that time of year to look ahead toward 2012.  Start thinking about it now and here’s to your success.

ASK ME HOW YOUR BUSINESS CAN BE A PART OF THE UPCOMING HOLIDAY TV SHOW HOLIDAY DREAMS

Riviera 7th Anniversary Party Models

Riviera 7th Anniversary Models

Riviera Magazine celebrated their 7th Year at an invite-only party inside the downtown Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. It’s these kinds of parties that remind me what fun it is to be a media buyer.

There was fashion from Neiman Marcus–lots of fur this season ladies, although I can’t figure out how long that’s going to work in our mild San Diego weather, food samples from Campine Catering (Chef Brian Malarkey is part of this-he seems to be everywhere these days) and drinks from Snake Oil Cocktail Co.  Music was loud and the scene was very much in-moving wildflowers graced the walls of the museum and a few of the exhibits were open…It was all about space and light…I’m still trying to figure out if I got it or not.  Large white canvases were supposed to change as you moved closer and away from them.  Even though I was an art minor in college, I really have trouble with this kind of art.

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

We left with gift bags in our hands and I felt like I got a glimpse of what it must be like every night working at a big ad agency in Los Angeles.  But really, I’m happy with this infrequent splurge so San Diego media life is just right for me.

A study that took place in the UK through a research firm called Ebiquity looked at over 3,000 ad campaigns that ran between 2006 and 2011 across nine different industries.  The research found that on average, TV ads were found to deliver an ROI (return on investment) of £1.70 for every £1 spent. Television came in ahead of radio, then static online displays and outdoor.  What’s even more surprising is that the report showed 71% of the sales were attributed to TV advertising even though TV receives about 55% of media budgets.  Even more, when TV was combined with a radio campaign, radio’s effectiveness rose by 100%.

My thoughts:  That’s just one more reason to look at TV advertising (and I’m an unbiased media buyer) and to also think about a media mix rather than just one medium for your ad campaign.

Data sourced from Thinbox; additional content by Warc staff, 13 October 2011

I  am excited to be a part of the production of a half hour holiday program produced with Phoebe Chongchua and Live Fit Films.  Your company can be a part of the storyline.  See the link below to find out how you can participate or call 858-759-2779 and ask for Janene and I’ll explain.

Click Here

Yes, it is already time to think about the holidays!

With the media landscape changing and more and more traffic on the Internet, Phoebe Chongchua and Janene Roberts have combined efforts to offer strategic marketing innovation, ideas and implementation of fresh online content (videos and articles) to keep your company’s exposure on the Internet high and relevant.

“If your videos capture an emotion that resonates with its audience, users will share it, because they are not just sharing your content —they are sharing the feeling your video has created.  This is one of the amazing things about social media for brands – sharing allows brand content to become a vehicle for human connection.”

~Chris Schrieber, Sharethrough

Multi-Media Video Campaigns include elements like full-service video production, writing, interviewing, researching and defining the best newsworthy story angle.  These videos can then be formatted for web and TV airing and sent out to multiple networks.

With the glut of advertising-like videos being posted online, your company needs to stand out by offering content that customers want to watch.  Your news stories will be fresh, provide information, will be credible and desirable, educational, and can be re-used in multiple platforms.

Phoebe Chongchua has been a TV news journalist for nearly 20 years. She founded the online living well video news publication, Live Fit Magazine & Films. Phoebe regularly appears on San Diego TV as a host and interviewer. She helps companies find their newsworthy story, produces a 2-min. Video News Story, and shares it with the world. Her company Live Fit Films handles all your multi-media needs.

Janene Roberts is a seasoned advertising agency executive who helps plan and implement multi-media campaigns nationally and in spot markets for clients like Metabolife, The San Diego Culinary Institute, The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, PostalAnnex+, Omni Hotels, The Wild Animal Park, the National City Mile of Cars and more.

The following is a summary of an article that was released this week by AdAgeStat and written by Stephen Krauss, and Bob  Shullman president and chief research and insights officer of Ipsos Mendelsohn, respectively. The Affluency column appears monthly on AdAgeStat.   It reiterates my comments in earlier articles about the fact that traditional media is still relevant and even shows among affluent spenders, print media is still preferred over digital.  Now, this is not an article against digital media, as it has had tremendous impact on media usage, only a reminder that digital media adds to our media plans as one more way to reach customers but does not take away other media options.

Among Affluent Americans, Print Media Is Tops

Death of Traditional Outlets Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

It seems traditional media’s death is foretold by any number of people with examples like (Facebook’s 500 million members would make it the third-largest country in the world! Ashton Kutcher has more than 7 million Twitter followers! IPad-mania sweeps through coffee shops around the world!)

There is no denying the rapidly growing and disruptive impact of new devices and social media. But, there is also no denying that traditional media is thriving in the lives of consumers today, and that they form the basis of how most consumers use media. This is true for the general population, and it is even true among the affluent Americans that we study, even though they have the discretionary income to indulge in an array of devices, as well as the digital literacy to get the most out of them.

Throughout 2011, we have used our Mendelsohn Affluent Barometer to track new and traditional media use among American Affluents. This monthly survey consists of more than 1,000 online interviews with respondents making at least $100,000 in annual household income — in other words, the 20% of Americans who account for about 60% of U.S. income and approximately 70% of U.S. net worth. The survey was conducted between March and May 2011.

When asked how they read magazines, 93% said they read hard-copy print versions; in contrast, less than a third read them on computers, and no other format garnered more than 10%. The same pattern is evident for newspapers, which 86% read in print, compared to the 39% who read them on computers, and 14% who read them via smartphone. TV shows are watched on TVs by 94%, followed by 23% who watch them on computers. Websites are viewed on computers by 94%, followed by 32% viewing them on smartphones. The pattern is clear across all media. The vast majority consume content through its most traditional outlet: magazines and newspapers in print, websites on computers, video content through TVs and so on.

Media usage among all Affluents. Source: Mendelsohn Affluent Barometer

It has been well-documented that younger consumers differ in their media-consumption patterns from their older counterparts, and certainly they have been earlier adopters and heavier users of some emerging and alternative platforms. But even today’s younger generation shows the characteristic pattern of tending to consume media through its most traditional outlet, even as they show more cross-platform “experimentation.” For example, among those aged 18-34:

• 88% read magazines in print, followed by 35% who read them online
• Newspapers show the greatest amount of experimentation — 70% read newspapers in print, followed relatively closely by 54% who read them online
• 94% view video content on TV, followed by 35% who do so on computers
• 93% read websites on computers, followed by 38% who do so on smarthphones

Media usage among Affluents ages 18-34. Source: Mendelsohn Affluent Barometer

There’s no denying the widespread use and tremendous impact of “new” media. It is vitally important in the lives of consumers, particularly Affluents, and is becoming more so. In addition, any business that suddenly finds 20-30% of its best customers “experimenting” with less profitable options (from “analog dollars to digital dimes”) will face serious challenges. Reports of the death of traditional media are premature.

The first question people often ask each other upon meeting is
    “So, what do you do?”

For a long time I couldn’t figure out how to explain what I did in a cocktail-party fashion.  When I would say

    “I’m a media buyer and planner”

I would either get a blank stare and someone would say “Oh OK” and not really know what I was talking about or they would ask me to clarify and I would go into a long discussion about my process.  This was before I learned the two-minute  elevator pitch idea.  The only time I wouldn’t get a blank stare was when I was at a party with other advertising professionals.

Jay Levinson, the author of Guerrilla Marketing, explains media buying this way.  There are two parts to a marketing plan-the creative strategy and the media plan.  The creative strategy involves developing the ads and the media strategy involves placing the ads.  When I explain my position this way I’ve got a good elevator pitch.

So, I’ll discuss in a little longer than two minutes the basics of media buying and planning.  To begin, most likely you’re a small business and if you’re like most of us these days you’re looking to cut back on expenses and don’t want to hire a big ad agency.  So, you really just need two professionals to help you get started-A media planner/buyer to plot your advertising course and a creative  designer/writer  to develop the ads. You can add more professionals as your business grows.  This sort of ala carte choice can help you get your marketing plan going.  

There are two parts to a media strategy:   media planning and media buying.  In large advertising agencies you’ll find people who are either media planners or media buyers.  At smaller agencies, you’ll find media buyers do both. A media plan involves targeting the best mediums (television, newspaper, radio, internet, etc) to reach your target audience.  It also involves looking at the advertiser’s objectives and finding the best way to reach those goals.  Usually the target market consists of an age group such as 25 to 54 year-olds and a gender or all adults.  The target audience can get more defined like targeting households with incomes of $75,000 or more.  The more defined the target audience is, the easier it is for the media planner to reach the desired audience most effectively.  Most advertisers have a gender and age target demographic already established.  Companies should have defined their target audience while they were developing their business plans but if they don’t have a defined target audience, a media buyer/planner can usually help them define one by conducting media research.  

Media planners define goals for media buyers based on media planning/buying formulas such as cost per thousand (cpm) and cost per point (cpp).  These formulas are used as measurements for media’s effectiveness.  Media buyers then take these goals and plans and implement them by negotiating with the media to get the most cost efficient advertising.  Tools media buyers use to negotiate include the cpm and cpp formulas as well as negotiating for what we call “added value”, such as sponsorship mentions, internet advertising or promotions.  Media buyers tend to form strong relationships with media sellers and therefore they have an added advantage over someone who has never worked with sales representatives.  

Media buyers/planners are experts at getting (sorry I’m going to use a cliché here) the most bang for the advertiser’s buck.  So if you are planning on advertising, before you order an ad from a sales representative that has told you they can offer you a great deal on an ad in their magazine, internet site (fill in medium here) check with a media buyer/planner first.  They may tell you that although the out-of-pocket cost is low, you would only be reaching ten people who are in your target audience thus making your cost per lead extremely high.  Or, you could be paying more for the ad then the media buyer could negotiate for you.  Media buyers/planners are your unbiased friends.  Don’t implement a media plan without them.

About the writer