By Patricia Wilson, founder of BrandCottage

Gone are the glory days of Mad Men when ad campaigns consisted of a glossy television spot that ran on three networks, reaching 90 percent of U.S households. There are now many new devices and platforms. There are new consumer-controlled choices including time-shifting, downloading and sharing.


Everything about media planning and buying has changed dramatically. We have moved from:

• A passive ad market to an engaged ad market.
• A brand-controlled ad market to a consumer-controlled ad market.
• A few brand managers controlling the brand to a social universe controlling the brand.

The Multidimensional Brand Jungle

Remember when a brand media plan had just three mediums: TV, Print, Billboards?


Today’s media landscape is cluttered with thousands of choices, driven largely by technological innovations. And there is no sign of media proliferation slowing down.


Traditional media has evolved to multi-platform channels. TV is no longer just one screen, but now four (TV, computer, tablet and mobile). Print is no longer just print but tablets now offer fully interactive magazine experiences on mobile devices. Digital ad buying is much more than banner buys. Viable digital media options now include ad networks, rich media, video, behavorial targeting, retargeting, contextual, search, mobile, email and social media.


In addition to considering “where” strategies, media planners must also consider “how” strategies for complex ad technology solutions. In addition to knowing the right target segments for ads, marketers must also know how to deliver ads in the most meaningful ways to consumers.

Making Sense of the Jungle

More than ever, CMOs and marketers need experienced media strategists working on behalf of their brands. Media planning strategists must serve as valuable neutral parties who can filter, evaluate and recommend the right media tools. However, too many media planners fall into one of two camps: classically trained in traditional media with little knowledge of digital media capabilities or digital planners with little knowledge of integrating digital initiatives into the larger communications plan.


Successful media plans are best served by classically trained media strategists with proven media planning skills and plenty of experience across a range of clients and brands. Today’s best media planners have evolved into the digital space, especially in terms of the tools required to deliver and engage consumer targets. Proven media planners are well trained in gathering consumer insights, synthesizing business objectives and developing a fully integrated plan.


In short, the best media planners embrace a holistic planning approach with no bias for one media option over another. They analyze and develop the optimal media mix in which to achieve objectives against a given target audience.

Asking the Right Media Planning Questions

Here are some critical media planning questions that marketers must ask to develop a successful media plan:

• What is the objective of the media plan? Awareness? Web site traffic? E-mail capture? Social engagement. Word of Mouth generation? Customer data? Coupon redemption?
• How will the media plan success be measured?
• What is the budget?
• What is the geography to be served?
• Who is the target segment?
• Is there purchase seasonality? Times of heavier spend and greater opportunity?
• What are the creative considerations?

It is also important to ask the right questions to determine target segments. For example:

• Do affluent business travellers use FaceBook as much as Gen Y?
• What about mobile usage among moms?
• In mobile, is SMS as effective as mobile apps?
• What social networks index highest among heavy fast food eaters?
• In digital, who is really watching video?

Answers to these questions can often be found using syndicated research like MRI, MMR, comScore, Nielsen, proprietary customer insights and a variety of other tools.


Finally, it is essential to understanding the delivery of ads. This reguires a deep understanding of ad technology solutions, along with an understanding of how to integrate technology with data to drive efficiency and target reach. Critical areas to consider include:

• Dynamic creative delivery options.
• Publisher partnerships and sponsorships.
• Audience data warehousing.
• Demand-side platforms.
• Social Media technology.
• Video serving options.

Media and technology will continue to evolve. Return on media investment will continue to be driving forces for every brand’s C-suite, not just CMOs. Experienced, well-rounded media planners will be critical in helping companies navigate swiftly changing media jungles to carve out the best paths to brand success.

Patricia Wilson is the founder of BrandCottage, a media marketing company with offices in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

By Patricia Wilson


Overall, optimism is growing in the advertising industry. However, not all media are created equal in projections for U.S. advertising spending in 2010 and beyond. It remains a difficult time for print, while television seems to be holding its own. Digital advertising continues to grow, and may have even benefited from the recession.


(See related blog: Advertising Spending Looks Up in 2010.)


“The rise of the Internet continued uninterrupted during the downturn — in fact, the downturn probably accelerated the shift of budgets from traditional media by focusing advertisers’ minds on the importance of measurable return on investment,” said ZenithOptimedia, in a press release forecasting ad spending for 2010 and beyond.


Television suffered less than other media, ZenithOptimedia noted, while “newspapers and magazines have clearly suffered the most from the downturn.”

Ad Predictions by Media Type

ZenithOptimedia predicts the following for 2010 global advertising spending by media:

• TV: Up 4.36 percent with 40.3 percent market share.
• Newspapers: Down 3.8 percent with 21.7 percent market share.
• Internet: Up 12.9 percent with 13.9 percent market share.
• Magazines: Down 4.4 percent with 9.6 percent market share.
• Radio: Down 0.5 percent with 7.5 percent market share.
• Outdoor: Up 1.72 percent with 6.5 percent market share.
• Cinema: Up 3.07 percent with 0.5 percent market share.

Communications firm Carat, as reported by MarketingProfs, expects the United States — in specific — to follow a similar ad-spending pattern:

• TV: Up 4 percent.
• Newspapers: Down 8.3 percent
• Online: Up 10 percent.
• Radio: Up 2.5 percent.
• Magazines: Down 5 percent.

Last, but not least, in its April revised forecast (via MediaBuyerPlanner), MAGNA raised its 2010 expectations, predicting a 3 percent rise in U.S. ad spending, including revenues from the Olympics and spending on elections, to 3 percent. This is MAGNA’s second correction of 2010, including a January forecast predicting flat growth for U.S. ad spending.


MAGNA’s U.S. outlook is bullish for the Internet and TV, but bearish for print:

• Search: Up 16.8 percent.
• Local TV: Up 16.2 percent.
• Internet: Up 12.8 percent.
• National TV: Up 10.2 percent.
• Magazines: Down 6.9 percent.
• Local Newspapers: Down 10 percent.
• National Newspapers: Down 11 percent.

Industry revenues will rise from $40.5 billion in the first quarter of 2009 to $41.3 billion during the first quarter of 2010, according to a MAGNA press release.


“Among the various sectors, television remains the largest advertising platform in the United States,” MAGNA said. “The $56.0 billion dollar segment will grow by 9.8% during 2010, slightly higher than our prior 8.5% expectation. This growth will erase 2009′s losses and return the sector to levels observed between 2006 and 2008.”

What Media Executives are Saying about the Future

Overall, ad spending is expected to grow an average of 3 percent in 2010, while interactive ad spending is expected to grow 10 percent, according to an AdMedia Partners online survey of global senior business executives in advertising, marketing services, digital marketing and related industries.


The majority of media executives (65 percent) said that online revenue will account for more than 50 percent of total revenue within the next five years at business-to-business publications. For newspapers, 44 percent said online revenue will outstrip print within five years and 38 percent said that it is likely to take 5-10 years.


Mobile and social media marketing are also projected to grow.


“These evolving media and service offerings are considered to be important growth opportunities increasingly requested by content owners and advertisers,” according to the AdMedia Partners report. “Just like the early days of the Internet, media companies are experimenting with various business models to monetize these opportunities.”


Patricia Wilson is the founder of BrandCottage, a media marketing company with offices in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

By Patricia Wilson


Finally, some good news on the advertising front. Recent forecasts indicate that advertising spending is climbing out of the recession hole.


(See related blog: Advertising’s Recovery: Not all Media Created Equal)


ZenithOptimedia recently upgraded its forecast for global ad growth in 2010 from 0.9 percent (estimated December 2009) to 2.2 percent (April 2010), the company said in a press release. After 18 months of consecutive downgrades, this is the global media services agency’s second upgrade in a row.


“Confidence in the global economic recovery, while tentative, continues to grow, and this improvement has been apparent in ad markets across the world,” ZenithOptimedia said. “Ad expenditure is accelerating in bullish developing markets, while in the developed world the downturn is coming to an end more quickly than expected.”

2010 Advertising Forecast: Partly Sunny

It’s a turnaround happily predicted by others in the advertising industry. Carat, as recently reported by the Guardian, also adjusted its outlook, predicting advertising to grow 2.9 percent this year, up from the 1 percent the company forecasted in October 2009.


Likewise, the results of a new AdMedia Partners survey indicates that worldwide senior business executives in the media business expect ad spending to grow 3 percent in 2010.


Finally, in MAGNA’s recent update, the company predicted that, excluding political and Olympic advertising on TV, “on a normalized bases the U.S. advertising economy will grow by 1.6 percent during 2010, ahead of our prior forecast of flat year-to-year growth.”


MAGNA’s long-term forecast is also rosier: “As expectations for the broader economy have improved over an extended time-frame as well, we are increasing our long-term forecasts, and now expect growth to average 3.5 percent between 2010 and 2015, up from +2.3 percent previously.”

Digital Advertising Leads the Charge

While traditional advertising media suffered the most from the global recession, digital advertising continued to grow and, “in fact, the downturn probably accelerated the shift of budgets from traditional media by focusing advertisers’ minds on the importance of measurable return on investment,” according to ZenithOptimedia.


This was confirmed at a recent Ad Age Digital Conference in New York where corporate speakers agreed they were now spending a bigger portion of the advertising pie — 20 to 25 percent — on digital advertising.


“We expect 10.7 percent growth in online advertising revenues, led by 17.0 percent growth in paid search,” MAGNA said. “Much of this growth will be due to the increasing ease with which many advertisers — especially those who are endemic to the Internet as well as small and mid-sized companies — can accomplish their goals through digital media.”


In the AdMedia Partners online survey, more than three-fourths of media executives said they are considering the expansion of online services or are entering into new online marketing businesses, including:

• Social media marketing (55 percent).
• Mobile marketing (48 percent).
• Search marketing (41 percent).
• CRM/Analytics (41 percent).
• E-mail marketing (35 percent).

Media Spending Considerations

In the past, marketers have typically planned year-over-year advertising increases. However, the 2009 recession has changed that dramatically, with most brands putting cost-cutting measures into place. The forecasts mentioned above indicate that spending will rise again in 2010, albeit cautiously. And with increased demand on media inventory, we can expect to see increases in media pricing — dramatic increases, in some cases.


BrandCottage will continue to report on these trends as we move through 2010.


Patricia Wilson is the founder of BrandCottage, a media marketing company with offices in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

By Patricia Wilson


It’s about time! This month, five major magazine heavyweights announced they will join forces to collectively “promote the vitality of magazines as a medium.” The Power of Print campaign — targeting advertisers, media buyers and other industry marketing influencers — will roll out in April.


The five magazine companies — Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, Meredith Corporation, Time Inc. and Wenner Media — claim this is “one of the largest print advertising campaigns ever created” in support of magazine advertising.


With the support of the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA), the campaign is scheduled for seven months, will include nearly 100 titles (both print and online) for a combined reach of 112 million readers each month.


One of my favorite advertising headlines from the campaign:“Will the Internet Kill Magazines? Did Instant Coffee Kill Coffee?”


As a 20-year veteran of media planning, I can tell you that print still matters in the advertising mix. Digital is the new kid in town and it’s gotten a fair amount of advertising attention over the last couple of years. However, finally, publishers and advertisers see a clear reader pattern — or lack of pattern, if you will — that’s emerging. Readers want choice. That includes print, digital, mobile, iPad and whatever else may come down the pike.

The benefits of magazine print: the intrinsic value of the glossy format, quality design, long-form journalism, beautiful photography and highly engaged readers.

Citing third-party data, the Magazine Publishers of America reports a healthy consumer outlook for magazines, compared to other media. Tops on its  highlight list is the fact that magazine readership has increased over the last five years. Yes, there has been a shift in readership and advertising to online. Despite the “Magazines Hemorrhage Cash” strories, more than 90 percent of Americans say they read magazines.

Print Versus Online Advertising

Magazine print continues to provide many advertising strengths: the intrinsic value of the glossy format, quality design, long-form journalism, beautiful photography and highly engaged readers. Of course, digital has its own set of intrinsic strengths: e-commerce, clickability, interactivity and trackability — to name a few.


Apple, for example, one of the most iconic brands in the world, fully understands the power of print. Even though Apple, itself, is a digital company. Magazines, for Apple, remain a cornerstone for their branding initiatives and product launches. This is true for many other top brands, as well.

Multimedia Integration

The lesson here, for marketers, is to look beyond the hype of digital to achieve desired results. All media can be valuable. Not all media can achieve all goals. Seasoned marketers understand that. In today’s multimedia world, integrated plans often work best — allowing advertisers to account for different readership styles, preferences and needs for various degrees of engagement levels.


Kudos to the magazine publishers for standing up for print and putting the facts out there. Magazine publishers, of course, have been wise to address the digital shift: adding multi-platform options, social engagement and integration strategies to the mix. But this is no reason to throw magazine print properties under the bus.


Patricia Wilson is the founder of BrandCottage, a media marketing company with offices in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

By Patricia Wilson


If you’re a media planner with experience (especially 10-plus years) you have undoubtedly sat in a room with the self-righteous digital or social media guru. You know them. They’re the ones who frown on you and your old-school media ideas as out of touch.


Of course, traditionalists are not without their own biases. After all, these new media mavens, you might think, have little real knowledge or experience with how media really works. And how do these new media gurus plan to scale their media plans — with small click-through rates — to come anywhere close to the reach of traditional media campaigns?


Which then prompts the digital and social media experts to claim: “You just don’t understand all the tools.”


And on it goes.


Please. Let’s stop the nonsense.


Clients need us to engage all the tools available to help impact marketing at the most efficient level possible. The truth is most seasoned media planners are excellent at examining all these tools and crafting an integrated plan that performs. Media planners set measurable goals and build plans to achieve them.

And digital planners do have experience and knowledge of engaging consumers with measurable effectiveness.


There is, for example, still no more powerful medium than TV for reach and entertainment. TV viewership has never been higher, although distribution to computer and mobile devices add many new dimensions. Direct mail and e-mail still work to drive short-term offers and promotions. In contrast,the Web is highly measurable. Behavioral targeting, ad serving and optimizing are very compelling.

In short, all media — both new and old — play vital roles in today’s marketing mix.

it is time to move beyond the us vs. them argument of old and new media and serve the clients and the brands with all the tools and intrinsic values of the full range of media offerings.


Patricia Wilson is the founder of BrandCottage, a media marketing company with offices in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.