Most of the research done up to now with regard to the choice of media has been either at the level of the audience or at the level of communication. Audience surveys of major media categories are necessary, but they are not sufficient. Large-scale surveys which seek to compare the general effectiveness of several media categories sometimes lead to disappointing conclusions. In order to make progress, we must study the working of the actual process of communication? We must know the "why" and the "how" of effectiveness. Consequently the media planner will henceforward need the help of the psychologist, the sociologist and the semiologist.
The paper covers five "planned economy" countries. While significant differences exist among these countries, the considerations that justify the investigation of the choice of media on a regional basis, apply to them equally. Due to the relatively low volume of advertising, media research is generally still in its infancy. The special features of media selection due to the characteristics of the socialist planned economy, exist less in the methods and techniques than in the analysis and interpretation of the data.
For the purpose of selecting the media for an advertising campaign designed to reach consumers, advertising men in France have hitherto had at their disposal information coming from two types of source wholly independent the one from the other : 1. Panels or sample surveys supply them with information on the socio-demographic characteristics of the consumers who constitute the advertising target ; 2. Research by the C.E.S.P., the O.J.D. and surveys carried out by some of the media themselves, giving information on the audience they serve and on the characteristics of this audience. To bring together these two groups of information it was necessary to make use of complex models involving probability techniques, and for a longtime the researchers' efforts were concentrated on the elaboration and perfecting of these models.
In Section One of this article, entitled "The context of the advertising campaign" we shall show how advertising decisions form part of a series of decisions which may be set forth in the form of a "decision tree", which will make it possible to define the nature of the advertising plan. Finally, we shall explain the aims of the media plan. In the Section Two, entitled "The main categories of media and the demands of a media plan", we shall examine systematically the characteristics of the main categories of media in relation to the objectives mentioned earlier, these characteristics being the coverage of a target population, the possibility of communication between the various parts of the message, and the accessibility of media. We shall then be ready to describe in Section Three, entitled "The choice of a media plan", the methodology in question, and, finally, to show how advertising campaigns can be checked.
In Section One of this article, entitled "The context of the advertising campaign" we shall show how advertising decisions form part of a series of decisions which may be set forth in the form of a "decision tree", which will make it possible to define the nature of the advertising plan. Finally, we shall explain the aims of the media plan. In the Section Two, entitled "The main categories of media and the demands of a media plan", we shall examine systematically the characteristics of the main categories of media in relation to the objectives mentioned earlier, these characteristics being the coverage of a target population, the possibility of communication between the various parts of the message, and the accessibility of media. We shall then be ready to describe in Section Three, entitled "The choice of a media plan", the methodology in question, and, finally, to show how advertising campaigns can be checked.
It would therefore seem possible to arrive at what we have called the optimum insertion schedule, by means a simulation technique and with the help of a computer, which are both classic tools of Operational Research. But in spite of all the respect that this science merits, we ought not to forget that the value of the solution produced by Operational Research depends on the value of the data and hypotheses on which it has been put to work. There, is no question of pretending that the problem of optimising a media schedule is nearly solved by the simulation technique suggested. But it would still be an important step forward to be able to analyse a schedule in terms of coverage and frequency of opportunities to see...this is why we think that the possibility of applying this technique is worth consideration.
Duplication is an essential element in the choice of advertising media, but in many cases, it is not known. It would thus be desirable to calculate the methods which would allow this element to be estimated. The calculation of these methods requires two preliminary tasks: - A theoretical analysis of the problem, in order to determine the models which offer certain interesting logical characteristics; - A statistical analysis of cases where duplication is known, in order to check which of the models is nearest to reality.