Finding the Right Media Mix
An Interview With Flynn Executive Director Colleen Bogart
With such a heavy focus these days on digital media, we sat down with Colleen Bogart, our Executive Director, Media Services, to get her take on media planning and the role traditional media tactics can still play in the media mix.
The Flynn media team buys both traditional and digital media. How do you determine the right media mix?
Colleen Bogart (CB): We always begin planning with a tactic-agnostic mindset, focusing on the audience first and gathering all available data. Depending on the target audience, and the client’s goals, budget, and how their previous campaigns have performed, a digital-only campaign may be the best approach. But, in many cases, incorporating traditional tactics will improve overall success: building brand awareness, generating demand, increasing scale, leveraging the power of multiple touchpoints, and, ultimately, improving cost-effectiveness.
With such a high cost of entry, is TV as cost effective as digital media?
CB: While TV can have a relatively high cost of entry, that isn’t automatically the case. The creative can be concepted to the available budget, and production costs can be tightly managed. And in addition to its use on TV, the video captured is often ideal for use on social platforms and digital channels. Then you’re amortizing that cost across multiple tactics.
As far as TV media, that can be more affordable than you may think. Shorter units, tightening your geography, and utilizing remnant buys can all reduce costs.
You also have to consider more than just the production and media costs. Video-based tactics such as TV can be very powerful and persuasive. And our experience with direct response television — where we include unique phone numbers and URLs, or use other tools — allows us to track performance to specific stations, networks, and dayparts. Beyond the calls and web traffic we can specifically tie to the TV campaign, we also see volume growth for both organic and paid search, as well as a bump in cost efficiency for the digital demand capture components of the program.
Are cable TV and print publications still seeing significant viewership and readership?
CB: While its breadth of networks and programming, including live sports, continue to give cable TV broad reach, the number of streaming services certainly has had an impact on all TV viewing.
When it comes to newspapers, circulation has continued to decline and their readership skews much older. The reach and readership of magazines are category and title dependent. Consumer magazines can still effectively reach specific targets, and niche publications for some industries, especially the medical field, continue to be well-read.
You mention print skews older, what if the target audience is Millennials or Gen Z? Are traditional tactics still important?
CB: Younger audiences are definitely lighter consumers of traditional media. Gen Z is the first truly “digital native” generation — “the first generation that swiped before they wiped” as Jacqueline Parkes from Viacom says. But, just like other generations, for Millennials and Gen Z, the message is still every bit as important as where and how it’s delivered. So is what you stand for as an organization. You should always be authentic with every audience, but especially with Gen Z.
Of course, both groups are heavy consumers of social media, and they respond better to brands that engage with them, rather than just try to sell to them. For Gen Z, we look at things such as Instagram Stories and TikTok. Anything that’s sharable is definitely a plus. And they prefer visual messaging over text, so video is always a consideration.
Beyond social, we look at tactics such as radio, streaming audio, podcasts, and streaming video. And both groups, especially Gen Z, are big on “experiences,” so sponsorships of live and virtual events can be a good way to reach them.
We’re also careful not to take a “one size fits all” approach based only on birthdates. Like any target demo, we look at a range of factors when developing our media plans, including things such as their leisure activities and online shopping habits.
Speaking of audiences, can TV target niche audiences or is it most useful for brands with wider target audiences?
CB: Some TV programming and cable networks index very highly for specific targets. And addressable TV can reach very narrow audiences.
It’s true that broadcast TV will always reach viewers beyond the main target, but there are other considerations in addition to cost efficiency when we evaluate TV. Are we looking to create demand (which TV can be great at)? Are the additional audiences also potential customers? As I mentioned before, a TV buy can also help improve the scale and efficiency of a digital media buy.
In closing, any media planning tips you’d like to share that would be especially helpful for marketing pros?
CB: I think it’s critical that agencies and clients work together to establish campaign goals and media KPIs. And that you make sure your media team isn’t out there on an island. We really want to collaborate with everyone involved in a campaign, whether that’s with research and insights, creative, or data analytics. We’re big on measurement, so I’d say you want to integrate tracking the effectiveness of your media investment whenever and wherever you can. That means finding out what data is available for analysis of the customer journey, web, and performance metrics. Then you need to determine or create the appropriate attribution model.
And, lastly, always, always be flexible and ready to pivot.
