International
media planning and buying - and the perils of DIY
Released
on: February 11, 2008, 5:03 am
Press
Release Author: Richard Fox, Managing Director, Fox
Media
Industry:
Advertising
Press
Release Summary: The internet has made it much easier for advertising
clients to book their own media space and airtime - but there are
very good reasons to think twice about doing so ...
Press
Release Body: With the information superhighway nowadays linking
all parts of our global media village, in theory it should be easy
for anyone to plan and buy international media campaigns effectively.
Clearly the internet is making it much more straightforward for
clients to find the information they need and access media direct,
right around the world.
But
in the reality of this brave new worldwide arena, international
media planning and buying is no less hazardous for the unwary and
inexperienced than it was in days of old. Just because finding the
contact details of foreign media has become simply a matter of typing
a few words into Google, that doesn’t mean the trapdoors and
ambushes have suddenly been spirited away.
In
media, the buyer should always beware: but when an inexperienced
client is tempted to engage in a bit of DIY media buying at the
international level, the chances of a painful outcome can be greatly
multiplied.
The
fact that international buying tends to be more complex has implications
for lead times, for instance. Whilst multi-country media campaigns
can be executed quickly and efficiently by agencies with the right
media specialisms, clients who attempt to do the job themselves
will often underestimate the cumulative effects of differences in
booking protocols and terminology, variations in rate card structures,
language obstacles - even the way national holidays can impact on
short term buying - and a host of other factors.
Last
minute media buying is great if you're in charge of the situation
- but if the 'distress purchase' is being made by someone who should
have got their act together earlier, costs will inevitably soar.
Budgeting
is another media job that is often bodged by the DIY client. The
media budget for an international campaign needs to incorporate
a greater degree of flexibility than the budget for a single country
campaign. For a campaign of any sizeable duration, it's really important
to build into the media plan a larger reserve, ensuring that adjustments
can be implemented to take account of currency volatilities, sudden
massive increases in media costs (as has been happening in Russia,
for instance) and unexpected pan-continental expenditure 'spikes'
by competitive brands.
The
temptation to impose a 'one size fits all' media solution across
a number of different territories is also a common mistake. And
this is not confined to DIY-inclined clients: quite often it represents
a useful 'quick fix' that a rogue agency can use to cut their own
labour costs.
Just
as the over-zealous imposition of consistent creative executions
worldwide can have unfortunate consequences at the local level,
so too the use of broadbrush media planning for international campaigns
can erode the return on a client's investment in international media.
It's
all too easy for a client to consent to the selection of the same
media and media formats being utilised across all the countries
on the plan - when what is really needed is a 'media neutral' approach
in which a strong, overarching planning and buying strategy is carefully
adapted to the idiosyncracies of each country's media profile.
Of
course, for the inexperienced client, doing international media
buying can be fun - until things go wrong and the accidents start
to happen. Arriving on the scene of a campaign that's been put together
by someone without the necessary skills, understanding and resources
can be a salutary experience. Sometimes the media plan can be patched
up - more often it's a case of dismantling the whole thing and starting
again.
And
whilst one can understand why and how these media accidents can
happen, for many DIY clients the same old rule applies - they should
probably have left it to the professionals …
Web
Site: http://www.ukmediabuying.co.uk/international.htm
Contact
Details: Person to contact
Richard Fox,
Managing Director
Telephone
+44 (1) 354 740916 (from outside the UK)
01354 740916 (from UK)
Address
Fox
Media Company Limited
Huntingdon Business Centre
Blackstone Road
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire
PE29 6EF
England
e-mail
rf@foxmedia.co.uk
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