The basics of print media planning and buying (strategy development, evaluating publications, negotiating, corporate deals, types of print, etc.)

1. Print Planning and Buying
The Basics
Prepared by The Media Kitchen

2. Agenda
Print Strategy Development
Evaluating Publications
Negotiating
Corporate Deals
Placement Types
Cross-Platform
2

3. Print Strategy Development

4. A Strategy is Important for Effective
Print Planning
• Prioritizes target audiences
• Narrows consideration set to specific
categories
• Guides the evaluation of print properties
4

5. Print Strategy Framework
Campaig Campaig
n n
Message Objective
Tone of
the s
Brand
Overall Audience
Communicatio Mindsets,
n Strategy Lifestyles
Editorial
Environment
s
Print Audience Print
Strategy Compsumption
Print
Categories
& Types
5

6. Certain campaign elements must already be in
place
Campaig Campaig
n n
Message Objective
Tone of
the s
Brand
Overall
Communicatio
n Strategy
Print
Strategy
6

7. Campaign Elements
Brand Tone Campaign Message Campaign Objectives
Consistent from prior
For example, build
Typically remains campaigns, an
awareness, drive sales,
consistent from evolution of a past
drive to a promotion,
campaign to campaign message, or a brand
etc.
new effort
7

8. Choose print environments
that…
Will help to accomplish
Are relevant to and
Match or amplify the the campaign
synergistic with the
brand tone objectives
brand message
8

9. An understanding of the audience is
essential to developing a print
strategy
Overall Audience
Communicatio Mindsets,
n Strategy Lifestyles
Print Audience Print
Strategy Compsumption
9

10. Audience Research Tools
• Syndicated research: MRI, Simmons, etc.
• Qualitative research: Focus groups, interviews
• Publisher-provided: Often, publishers do their own
audience research (be careful to distinguish the
sales pitch from the facts!)
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11. Audience Characteristics
• Important when developing the communication
strategy
• Some audiences provide the greatest opportunity for
Mindsets
growth (if multiple targets, they should be prioritized)
Lifestyles
• Some audience segments will be most receptive to the
Interests
brand message in a print environment
• These factors often coincide with how they consume
print
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12. Audience Print Consumption
• What they read – be where the audience is
• Where they read affects their state of mind and
What perception of the message (work, home, traveling,
Where etc.)
When • When would they be most likely to respond to a call-
Why to-action (i.e. relaxing with the Sunday paper)
• Why do they read (seeking information vs.
entertainment vs. emotional support)
12

13. These factors help determine the
editorial environments and types of print
in which to place the brand message
Editorial
Environments
Print
Strategy
Print Types
13

14. Editorial Environments
• Look for print categories that have:
• High audience composition (% of readers who
fall within the target) and/or
Print • Wide audience coverage (% of target who reads
Categories a print category)
• Exceptions can be made based on campaign
objectives (i.e. need high impact at the expense of
efficiency)
Fitness Business Parenting
News Trade Niche Gaming
Sports Women’s Service
14

15. Importance of Editorial
Environments
• Allows you to reach the audience when they will
be more receptive to the brand message
Receptivity • i.e. Someone reading about the financial
climate might be more receptive to an ad for a
financial planning company
• Increases the possibility that you’re reaching
people who care about the brand category
Targeting • i.e. If someone reads health magazines,
there’s a better chance they will ne interested
in a health food product
• Unexpected environments can help the message
Element of resonate
Surprise • i.e. An ad for a weight loss program in Cooking
with Paula Deen
15

16. Types of Print
Monthlies Weeklies Dailies
Shorter lead-time to be Typically newspapers;
Longer shelf-life; kept
in an issue; more very short lead time to
longer by reader;
current content; fewer place time-sensitive
easier to align with
pages can mean less creative; can aligh with
planned content
clutter appropriate sections
16

17. Types of Print
• Can impact the credibility of an advertiser (i.e. a
publication distributed in a doctor’s office)
• Can more precisely target
Alternative
• Distributed where the audience is (i.e. at a
Distributio
festival, reastaurant, or on an airline)
n methods
• Can be a regular publication mailed to a
specifically targeted audience for a more effient
buy (i.e. a Family or a Women’s edition)
17

19. Evaluating Print Properties

20. Much of the information you’ll need
to evaluate publications can be
pulled from online data sources

21. • Impressions and coverage are proportionate, as are
composition and index
• Utilize all numbers to tell a story about the readership
– Just looking at one number can sometimes be misleading
21

22. • Median age: the middle age in the range of ages
reading the publication
– Clients often ask for this information during presentations, so
it’s important to have it handy
• Find the optimal balance of Reach/Frequency to
evaluate full print schedules:
– Reach: the % of the target audience who will see the ad
– Frequency: the number of times they will see the ad
• The right balance is based on an understanding of the audience and
client priorities
• Should be included when recommending a plan to the client
22

23. • Use the FASFAX report to calculate the Circulation Vitality of a
magazine
• You will find:
– The % of circulation that is subscription vs. newsstand
– The total circulation for the year
– The change in circulation from year to year
• It’s an indication of the health of the publication
• Can be leveraged during negotiations
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24. • Ad Vitality: the
change in the number
of ad pages and
revenue from year to
year
• An indication of the
health of a publication
• Can be leveraged
during negotiatoins
• Found on
Magazine.org 24

25. Use to:
• Learn about publications within specific categories
• Look up sales contact info
• Find publication details:
– Gross Open Rates
– Current Ratebase
– Current Circulation
– Closing Dates: Date by which the publication needs to receive an
IO in order to place an ad in an issue
– On-sale Dates: Date the issue is released onto newsstands
(subscriptions are usually mailed prior to this date)
25

27. Information Needed from
Publisher
Request for Proposal
Ratebase: Guaranteed circulation per issue
Gross Open Rate: The publicly listed cost for an ad
Proposed Rate: The cost at which the publication is willing to sell an
ad (Often fluctuates based on number of pages bought)
Discount: The percent difference between the Gross Open Rate and
the Proposed Rate
Total Audience: The number of people who read an issue;
calculated as the total circulation x readers per copy
Target Audience: The number of people within a specific
demographic and/or psychographic who read an issue
Editorial Calendar: Description of planned editorial for each issue.
Although this may change throughout the year, it gives an idea of
the kind of content planned
Frequency: Number of issues per year
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28. There are numerous factors to
consider when reviewing proposals

29. Efficiency is reaching the most people
with the least amount of money
Ratebase Measures the cost of an insertion against the publication’s
CPM guaranteed circulation per issue
Audience Measures the cost of an insertion against the number of
CPM audience impressions per issue
Measures the total cost of the print schedule against the
Effective
total circulation or number of impressions (factors in
CPM
bonus pages)
29

30. Positioning
• The publication should provide guarantees of where the ads will
be placed within each issue
• Better positions often mean higher visibility
TOC:
Cover 4: Opposite table
Back of contents Far
Cover 2: cover
Forward:
Inside Within 1st
front cover 33% of
issue
Cover 3: Opener:
Inside the Opposite the
back cover beginning of
an article
Editorial Adjacency: Masthead:
Next to content that Opposite the list of
is relevant with the publishers and
brand editorial board
30

31. Bonus pages
• A great way to bring down the effective CPM
• If counted into the Effective CPM:
– Should not be considered added value (they become part of
the effective page rate)
– Should abide by the same positioning and other
requirements, just like paid pages
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32. Added Value
• Partnership elements beyond the brand ad negotiated into
the cost of the schedule
• Can expand on the brand ad’s message, either for general
brand awareness or to help drive to a promotion or website
Advertoria
l Front
E-blast cover
strip
Vista/Starch
Fraction research
al unit inclusion
(measures ad
Newspetter effectiveness)
In-book or online
Sponsorship promotional
listing
32

33. Ability to Meet Requirements
• Clients often have specific requirements
publications must be able to accommodate, for
example:
– Separation from a competitive advertiser
– Flexible with closing dates
33

34. Year Over Year Comparison
• Provides a benchmark or starting point for
negotiations
• Year over year changes are a good indication of a
publication’s health
34

35. Negotiating

36. Rarely is a proposal perfect
when first submitted, so it’s
important to negotiate

37. Negotiations
Strive to reach the right balance between efficiency,
positioning, and added value
The sales rep’s The planner’s
job is try to get job is to try to
the most get the best
money for their value for their
product client
37

38. Negotiating Tips
Know • If a certain page rate will allow you to reach the desired number of
pages within the budget, ask for it
what you
• Request specific positions or added value based on the client’s
need and priorities (i.e. if e-blasts are part of the campaign, the publication
ask for it can probably execute them for free to their opt-in email list)
• Explain why you need what you need, for example:
• Budgets are down
Keep lines of
• Aggressive competition
communicatio • The client is skeptical
n open • Provides leverage to request a better deal, and gives the
sales rep leverage to fight for your request internally
• Be professional and appreciative, as sales reps represent you within
Maintain their organization to have your request approved
a • Acknowledge that you’re both doing your job, but ultimately, you’re
mutual partners working for the client
respect • Remember, you represent your agency and your client, and the
media business is all about building relationships – build good ones!
38

39. Corporate Deals

40. Corporate proposals are structured
differently from single-book
proposals
They vary by publishing house, but
they all leverage incentives

41. Corporate Proposals
• Work with one contact who represents all publications
under a publisher’s umbrella to negotiate each
partnership
• Positioning and added value negotiations vary by
publisher
– Some are negotiated by the corporate rep, while others are
negotiated with each individual publication
41

42. Corporate Incentives
Proposals are typically
structured on a tiered system based on
spend
Higher tiers offer better incentives, which can come in the form of:
• Lower out-of-pocket page rates
• Greater discount across all titles (% saved off of the Open Rate)
• Greater CPM reduction across all titles (i.e. Tier 1 = 2% CPM
decrease, Tier 2 = 1.5% CPM decrease)
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43. Corporate Concessions
Proposals are typically
structured on a tiered
Also reach higher
system
Tiers by making concessions
• Adding a new publication to the plan
• Share of budget: one publisher is guaranteed the most spend
• Share of market within category: one publications is
guaranteed more pages than a competitor
• Exclusivity: A publication is guaranteed to be the only one
chosen in the category or vs. a specific competitor
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44. Corporate Proposals – Things to Note
44

45. Placement Types

46. Print buys are not limited to
brand ads

47. Beyond the Brand Ad
Advertorial: a branded page
with custom content relevant
to the brand message
• Typically created by the
vendor with the client’s assets
and talking points and
client/agency direction and
approval
• Must say “Advertorial”
47

48. Beyond the Brand Ad
Content Partnership/Sponsored Editorial: editorial
content relevant to the brand message
48

49. Beyond the Brand Ad
Impact units: Can be traditional impact units like a
gatefold, or more unique (i.e. functional units)
49

50. Beyond the Brand Ad
Insert: Typically more
than one page on
different stock paper
with a brand ad and
custom content
50

51. Custom Programs
• A custom program can enhance
the value of a partnership:
– Custom content
– Blown-out promotion
– Content integration
– Can showcase the vendor’s talent in
creative
– Co-branded content
• Custom programs can
incorporate the editorial voice, so
it’s tailored to the audience and
blended with content
51

52. Leveraging Cross-Platform

53. It can be smart to leverage a media
partner’s multiple outlets, if it makes
sense for the brand

54. Cross-Platform Buys
• Many media companies own television, print, online,
and/or radio properties
• Opportunity to develop an extensive custom program
that will run across media platforms for maximum
exposure
54

55. Benefits of Cross-Platform Buys
• Leverage in negotiations
– Bundled for a more efficient buy
– Increased added value to support the initiative
– Better positioning
• Greater Impact
– The messaging is reinforced via numerous outlets
– Allows for unique and creative custom executions or
promotions
– Each medium can reference or drive to other platforms
55

56. Presentation created by:
Erin Silvetti
esilvetti@mediakitchen.tv