Page 227 - DMGT507_SALES AND PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT

Unit 13: Broadcast Media and Media Planning

drinks, deodorants, shampoos, face creams, toothpaste, soaps, OTC remedies, and many Notes
detergents, etc.
Selectivity and Flexibility: A frequent criticism of television as an advertising medium is that it
lacks selectivity because it cannot reach a specific target audience. This criticism has only limited
value. Television offers some selectivity through regional coverage, broadcast time and
programme content. Doordarshan's satellite based regional services cater to eight states in the
language of the state.

Example: Programmes such as Disney Hour, Sunday Disney (Zee TV), Top Gear, Wheels
(BBC), Job Shop, Style Police (Channel V), etc., cater to different classes of audience. ESPN, Star
Sports and DD Sports are particularly popular among the young male population and sports
enthusiasts. Doordarshan and Bhaskar TV show educational programmes specially meant for
students. IFB Star Sunday Lunch (Star Plus) appeals heavily to homemakers.
Advertisers are refining their audience coverage by appealing to groups with specific interests,
such as news, sports, music, etc. Animal Planet (Discovery channel) focuses solely on animal and
nature lovers. Commercials can be scheduled to take advantage of festive seasons and special
occasions such as Diwali, Christmas, World Cups, Tennis Grand Slams and many other occasions.
Men constitute the primary market for Gillette products and for this reason Gillette sponsors the
World Series of baseball and advertises heavily. Likewise, marketers of famous brands of sports
gear sponsor many sports events.

Limitations

Costs: Though television offers unsurpassed creativity and reaches large audiences, it is an
expensive medium to advertise. Besides the high cost of media time, the costs of producing good
quality commercials are quite high.

Did u know? The cost of 60-second Macintosh commercial during Super Bowl 1984 was
$500, 000.
Besides the airtime costs, considerable costs were involved in producing the commercial. Even
local ads can be expensive to produce and often are not of high quality. High costs associated
with TV advertising discourage small-budget companies.
Lack of Selectivity: Advertisers, who are interested in delivering their message to a very specific,
narrowly defined, often small, target audience, find that TV leads to overexposure, reducing its
cost-effectiveness. For example, it would be difficult to reach only the vegetarian population.
Any TV commercial is bound to extend far beyond the target audience. Though, advertisers are
attempting to improve selectivity, yet TV still does not offer as much selectivity as radio,
magazines, newspapers and direct mail. In terms of flexibility, lead-time for national and other
major programmes can be a limitation as best time programmes are often sold nearly four to six
months in advance.
Short-lived Message: Most TV commercials last for 30 seconds or less and just about a single
sales appeal can be presented in this duration. Besides, nothing tangible is left for the audience
to examine or consider. The commercial appears to be a fleeting moment in time. Commercials
are becoming shorter and shorter because of the increasing demand for a limited amount of
broadcast time. Increasing media costs are forcing advertisers to consider shorter commercials
as the only way to keep their media costs in line. Advertisers think that by using shorter
commercials they can manage additional spots to reinforce the message or reach a larger audience.
Many of them even believe that shorter commercials can deliver an ad message just as effectively
as the longer ones at a considerably reduced cost.

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