Abstract:

What strategy should be adopted by researchers who want to help media planning? The traditional route has been to provide databases on media exposure, and these will continue to be required though their design, and access to them, could be improved. A study of actual media decisions and campaign evaluations suggests that media exposure data play a comparatively small part in media choice. The way forward is unlikely to be by providing a greater depth of information in this area. It is suggested that researchers study the users' needs more carefully, for example by observation (media case histories) and by consultation. Eight methodologies in data collection and analysis are recommended.