The document discusses media planning and advertising agencies. It provides details on the key functions of media planning including determining the target audience, appropriate media channels, frequency of advertisements, and budget allocation. It also describes the different types of advertising agencies and their core functions like planning, creating, and placing advertisements. Additionally, it outlines the typical structure of advertising agencies and specialized departments within agencies.

1.  Media Planning:- Media planning comprises a series of decisions
made to answer the question – ‘What are the best means of
delivering advertisements to prospective purchasers of my
Brand or Service?’
 A good media plan needs to address the following issues:-
1. How many audiences is the media plan proposing to reach?
2. What are the best media to place the advertisements in?
3. How many times should the advertisements appear?
4. What would be the ideal media mix be?
5. Which geographical regions should the advertisements appear
in?
6. Which media should be selected to avoid places which do not
have the advertised product?
7. How should the budget appropriation for various media thus
chosen be made?

2.  A media plan is the essential ingredient of a campaign proposal
when it is presented to a client.
 For a long time, agency–client interface only took place through
the account executive. He / She would take the brief, return to
the agency and brief various persons in the media and creative
departments in charge of the brand.
 Over a period of time, media buying, which includes
negotiations on the printed rates has also become a part and
parcel of the media planning function.
 The Anatomy of a Media Plan:- For a media plan there has to be
at–least two audiences:- The Client & The Media Buyer.
 A good media plan is well organized, well written, and simply
presented and supposed to be in response to a marketing
problem.

3.  Hence, the first stage is to state the marketing problem, which
would be followed by the proposed marketing objective.
 These are followed by media objectives & strategies.
 Media objectives, are goals that are related to marketing
objectives & strategies, and Media strategies are actions that
can fulfill these objectives.
Ex:- If the marketing objective for brand A is to expand in six
cities within a state in the period of one year, the media objective will
be to use those media, which are located in those cities, keeping in
view the potential buyers who access those media.
 The media planner will recommend the strategy that will be
most suitable to achieve the objective.
 A strategy can be defined as the series of action plans aimed at
achieving the objectives.

4.  As a strategist, we have to keep in mind the environment, the
market, the competitors’ media–mix, purchase cycle of the
brand in question, possibility of innovation in the media, and
the creative strategy’s impact on media strategy among other
thing.
Ex:- The creation of an icon Lalitaji, a smart house wife, in the
Surf campaign in the 1980’s was a strategic coup in creativity.
The extensive use of television as media strategy reinforced the
advertising objective. The impact would not have been so immense
if it was only through the print media.
 A media plan generally incorporates scheduling vise–a–vise the
vehicles recommended.
 It also needs to analyze the situation, keeping in view the overall
objectives of the advertising campaign for which the media are
to be recommended.
 This also depends on market trends, competitive activity,
advertising opportunities & problems, and the target market.

5.  Competitive environment must reflect whether there is more
than one major competitor or there are a few minor
competitors.
 The objective, hence would be to neutralize or counter
competitive threats & pressures.
 Media Planners would look at the situation in terms of
competitive strategy.
 It may not be possible to wean away consumers from one
product to another right away, so a long–term strategy will also
have to be kept in view.
 The nature of the product, availability in various geographical
areas, and advertising budget are also important factors that
influence the media choice.

6.  In a nutshell we can say that an ideal media plan should have
media plan objectives, data supporting that the media
recommended are the best of all alternatives available, data
reflecting net reach and frequency for intended audiences, and
the cost summary tables reflecting the number of insertions per
month / quarter / year.
 A logical note supporting the recommendations also need to be
presented to the client along with the media plan.

7.  Advertising Agency:- ‘Advertiser’ in marketing parlance is the
term used for an organization that uses mass media to advertise
for its products or services.
 Due to the specialist nature of the advertising business,
organizations utilize the services of one or more advertising
agencies to handle advertising on their behalf.
 The use of a channel to send message is probably as old as human
civilization. Much before Mass media was invented, people did get in
touch with each other to know what was happening in distant lands.
 Advertising, as it is understood today, is not more than three
centuries old.
The first issue of a successful newspaper in America, ‘The
Boston News–letter’, carried a notice, inviting advertisements
in April 1704. The May 1st to 8th issue contained three notices
under the heading ‘Advertising’.
Two advertisements offered rewards for the capture of
thieves and the third was for the sale of real estate in New York.

8.  In the beginning of the 18th century, when the volume of
advertising grew, newspapers, which became the main source
of advertising, found it complex and cumbersome to deal with
so many advertisers directly.
 Hence, there arose a need for middlemen. Interestingly, the
newspapers themselves gave prominence to advertising agents
in the U.S.A.
 The first advertising agency was set up in Philadelphia in 1841. It
was asked to reprint certain newspapers, and for its services, the
agency received 25% commission from the newspapers.
 After the Civil war, a new type of agent, the ‘Space Wholesalers’
appeared. They use to purchase space in bulk in newspapers and
sell it to different advertisers at a higher price.
 George P. Rowell initiated this strategy and became one of the
most successful and influential advertising agents.

9.  It was the closing part of the 19th century, when brand
advertising was gaining ground, that the advertising contract
between media and advertising agencies became a formal
arrangement.
 A standard discount or commission of 15% was offered to
advertising agencies on the gross billing of space purchased on
behalf of the advertisers.
 Over a period of time, the advertisers asked the agencies also to
Write and Design advertisements for them. This called for a team
effort from management experts, marketing specialists,
writers, artists and media specialists on a continuous basis.
 In 1990s, one witnessed the emergence of specialized media
buying outfits, referred to as the Agencies of Records (AORs).
 These AORs make bulk booking in the media for the various
brands of a client or the various clients that one agency is
serving, not only to avail of discounts but also to have a holistic view
of total advertising.

10.  Indian advertising is not very old. It witnessed a spurt after the
country became independent in 1947.
 It is during the last couple of decades, especially since the early
nineties, that the profession has witnessed phenomenal growth.
 There is a direct relationship between the changed Indian
economic scenario and the boom in advertising.
 Liberalization opened the floodgates for some to the best names
in international advertising, who began to look at India as a
serious place for business operations.
 Advertising Agencies – The Indian Scenario:- There are around
1000 accredited advertising agencies in India.
 In order to get credit facilities and full agency discounts from
the media, agencies need to get accreditation form the Indian
Newspaper Society (INS).

11.  INS protects the interests of the newspapers and also incase
advertisers (organizations) do not release payment to the agency
against advertisements placed in the media by the agency on their
behalf or in case the agency receives money from the clients but fails
to pay the media, the INS steps in.
 The complaints are registered with the INS, which looks into them
and in extreme cases may even advise member media organizations
to blacklist such advertisers or advertising agencies.
 Functions of the INS vis–a–vis Print media & Advertising
Agencies:- The INS monitors payment to publications by the
agencies through a system of Monthly Review Verification
(MRV).
 Member publications are advised to submit their MRV returns on
a monthly basis reflecting any outstanding beyond the credit
period.
 Then an Intensive review of defaulting agencies is undertaken.
The INS however, encourages publications & advertising agencies to
resolve their differences mutually without intervention from it.

12.  Case I:- A life–style company advertised heavily through an
accredited advertising agency and the cumulative billing was of
about Rs. 50 Crores. An agency, despite being in need of cash flow,
does not usually press a client to release funds, as it is getting
business from it. In–spite of soft reminders, the client did not release
funds for the campaign that had appeared in the media over a
number of months. The agency was under pressure from the
newspapers to pay for the said advertisement campaign before they
could take up more advertisements. Unable to get the funds, the
agency finally complained to INS, and the funds were release with all
kind of explanations, but the agency lost the account.
 Case II:- A public sector company received a letter from INS, asking,
if money was released to a particular agency for a campaign, that was
released by it in various newspapers about two months before the
date of the letter from INS. The agency in question was having
‘provisional’ accreditation. The company checked its account and
replied to INS with cheque numbers, which led INS to take action
against the defaulter agency.

13.  Rule 56 of the Advertising Agencies Service Standard details its
stance in the case of a problem concerning payment form the
advertisers:-
 Defaulting Clients:- As per rule 56:-
 56(a):- Where an advertiser fails to pay and in consequence the
agency is unable to pay publications, INS, upon being authentically
informed by the agency and being so satisfied, will advice its
member publications to suspend the advertisements of the
concerned advertiser, until payment is realized. This is without
prejudice to the agency’s clear liability to pay its dues even if its
clients has not paid.
 56(b):- On being so advised by the INS, the newspaper shall not
refuse to publish the advertisements scheduled by the concerned
agency on behalf of its advertisers, whose previous advertisements
have been paid for. Further a newspaper shall have the right to
suspend the advertisements of an advertiser, scheduled by an agency,
if payments for the previous advertisements of the said advertiser
has not been received by the publication within the credit period.
This is without prejudice to the agency’s clear liability to pay the
newspapers even if its client has not paid.

14.  The protection under the clause will not be available to an
advertising agency if it has bills pending with the publication for six
months or over from the date of publication. The protection under
the clause will, further not be available to an advertising agency if
the advertiser has paid the bills.
 56(c):- The advertiser shall pay dues to the advertising agency. If the
advertiser has not paid the advertising agency within the credit
period, the member newspaper will be entitled to receive the
amount of the bill from the advertiser within one week of receipt of
notice to pay the member newspaper. In all such cases of direct
payment, the advertiser shall pay the gross amount to the newspaper
and the member publication shall pay due commission to the
concerned advertising agency. This is without prejudice to the
agency’s clear liability to pay the newspapers even if its client has not
paid.
 The spirit behind the rule was to grant a reprieve to the agency,
which ultimately places the advertisements.

15.  Types of Advertising Agencies:- Broadly speaking, there are three
types of advertising agencies:-
1. Full–Service Agencies:- As the name suggests, it provides a whole
range of services to clients, both advertising and non–
advertising.
 Advertising services encompass planning, creating and
producing advertising campaigns, which broadly include Account
planning, Research, Creative services, Media planning and
Production of Advertisement material for print, Broadcast and
Outdoor media.
 Non–advertising functions may include Public relations, Making
corporate identity plans, Packaging, Organizing fairs,
Exhibitions, and Training material, etc.
 Some agencies are even involved in their clients’ marketing
processes, which may include Distribution and suggesting
Marketing Strategies for their products.

16.  Full service agencies can be further sub–divided into two
specialist categories:-
a. General Consumer Agencies:- Are those who are willing to
represent a wider variety of accounts such as soaps, detergents,
oils, automobiles etc.
b. Industrial Agencies:- Are those who represent a client or a
company that makes goods to be sold to other businesses.
Computer hardware, furnaces, turbines, x-ray equipments, etc. fall in
this category.
2. Ala Carte Agencies:- Ala Carte agencies, i.e., order according to
choice, can be had from being a full service agency or small
specialist outfits.
 Such outfits specialize in creative concepts, strategy
development, media planning etc. Their services are used by
Small and Medium size agencies which may not be in a position
to afford highly paid creative writers or media planners.

17.  These agencies are, however, foreign in the Indian context. In
India, we have got a number of creative shops, who probably
render the same services as these boutiques.
3. House Agencies:- A house agency is an advertising agency
established by a company to look after its advertising
requirements.
 Keeping in view the parameters of accreditations, such agencies
get media recognition, and are hence entitled to 15%
commission on media billing, which becomes a sort of saving for
the advertisers.
 In–fact, in Indian context, two top agencies, Lintas and Mudra
Communications started as the house agencies of Hindustan
Lever Ltd. and Reliance, respectively.

18.  Advertising Agency Structure:- The structure of an advertising
agency depends on the type and size in terms of the business it
has and the number of people it has employed.
 Whatever be the considerations, an agency must have expertise in
Creative writing, Graphic designing, Production and Media
planning.
 As advertising has become indispensible in the overall
marketing mix, agencies are required also to be associated
with the product development process.
President / Proprietor
Artist Copy - Writer Production – in - Charge Traffic / Media
Fig:- Structure of a Small Agency

19. Branch Head
Head – of – accounts
team
Account
Planner
Creative Media Studio Finance
Banks
Financers
Clients
Suppliers
Clients
Brands
Art Copy
TV / Film
Producers
Planning Buying
Operations
Print Production
Outdoor Press,
Printers, TypesettersFig:- Structure of a Medium / Large Agency

20.  Advertising Agency Functions:- The broad functions of an
advertising agency are Planning, Preparing and Placing
Advertisements.
 Planning begins with the advertiser, also known as the client. The
people from the advertising agency should know about the
clients’ Sales volume, Distribution channels, Competitive edge,
and Consumer insights.
 This is followed by work on the ‘big idea’, visual inputs, media
strategy and options in the proposed campaign.
 After internal discussions within the advertising agency, some
agencies suggest one campaign, while others may present two
or three creative routes to the client with arguments in support
of the proposed campaign.
 Before finally going for the production, it is always advisable to
get the final go–ahead in writing from the client. One mistake
may force the client to hold back payments for bills.

21.  Once, a go–ahead is given, the department has to issue contracts
to Publishers, Channels, Radio stations, Outdoor advertisers, etc.
 Production material is sent to the media by the scheduling
department and monitoring begins once the campaign is
mounted to ensure that it was published on the date, time,
page, and location decided, and, that the reproduction was
satisfactory.
 The bills along with voucher sheets, must be then submitted to
the client for clearance of bills.
 Functions of Various Specialist Departments:-
1. Account Planning:- Hiring an account planner means bringing in
a professional who would be proactive in ensuring that the
right steps are taken in the advertising development process.
 Some critics feel that account planning cells are created to
impress potential clients at the time the agency makes a pitch.

22.  We can define an account planner as someone who is charged with
single–mindedly understanding the target audience, then
representing it throughout the advertising development
process – thereby ensuring that the advertising is both
strategically and execution–ally relevant to the defined target.
2. Account Management:- Account management to an
advertising agency is what the nervous system is to the body.
 The account service person, also referred to as the client servicing
executive, is the face of the agency.
 The Vice President (Account Servicing), Group Head (Account
Servicing), Account Supervisor, and Account Executives work as
conduits between the advertising agency and the advertiser.
 They are responsible for taking the brief from the client, which
they interpret to various specialist departments in the agency
upon getting the approval of the client, and supervise the work to
ensure quality production and meeting of deadlines.

23.  The Account Executive, is the ‘most important’ single individual
in an agency by virtue of his psychological position, which is
roughly mid–way between the advertiser’s and agency’s.
 He is the client’s representative in the agency’s office and the
agency’s ambassador in the client’s office.
 The Account Manager’s work is also that of a process & systems
keeper, keeping track of meetings and ensuring that the
relevant jobs are initiated and delivered.
3. Creative Service:- Creative services are called the Heart & Soul of
advertising and are the most visible input.
 It includes Copy writing and Graphics. The Copy writing
department is responsible for writing the persuasive message
and the Art department is responsible for visualizing and
creating the visuals in the advertisement.

24. 4. Media Services:- Media personnel are experts who understand
the media and the media market.
 The media department’s job is to match the profiles of the desired
target with the profiles of the audiences of a wide range of
media.
 The media are then evaluated according to efficiency, cost and
reach.
5. Traffic:- The greatest casualties in the advertising business can
result from missing on the deadlines.
 The media, also have their own dead–lines to follow. Any delay on
the part of the agency may lead to missing out on an insertion.
 The traffic department ensures that deadlines are met within the
agency and it catches up with outside organizations such as
media houses, suppliers, traders etc.

25.  In some agencies, there is no separate traffic department, rather
it is a part of the media department.
 The Production supervisor, who is generally attached to the
creative department, looks after the production schedules and
deadlines of printing, production and allied jobs.
 Revenue Sharing of Advertising Agencies:- The agency gets 15%
on gross and 17.65% on the net rates, which works out to be the
same in terms of the receipt at the agency.
 Some media may allow cash discounts of 1% to 2%. Accredited
Agencies in India get 60 days credit facilities from the media.
 The advertiser does not get a discount, should he prefer to go
directly to the media. This, in a way, ensures business for the
agencies.
 Besides the commission from the media, the agencies also get paid
for creative work.