Marketing Communications

MEDIA CONTEXT 275

Selecting media

Advertising always forms part of a surrounding context. An advertising context consists of

the receiver context and the medium context.^52 The receiver context refers to the situational

circumstances in which a person is exposed to an advertisement (e.g. at home, in the com-

pany of friends, on one’s way to work, when one is in a bad mood, etc.). The importance of the

receiver’s context (especially the psychological state) was dealt with earlier (see Chapter 3).

The medium context is the topic of this section and refers to characteristics of the content of

For many years, quantitative criteria such as reach, frequency, CPT, etc., have dominated media planning. Recently,

more and more media planners have become convinced of the importance of qualitative criteria such as the con-

text, capacity of image-building, creativity, etc. Creativity is very important because several media have become

increasingly cluttered. Some advertisers succeed in running a very effective and efficient advertising campaign with

relatively low costs due to creative use of the different media. Some examples are the following:

   Several years ago the newly launched Fiat Regata was promoted by attaching a life-size car to a billboard. In the

press, consumers were encouraged to walk near these billboards while filling out questions for a contest. The

campaign received media exposure in the press worth five times more than the actual media investment.^45

   In 1992, every time someone passed a tram shelter with a promotion for 3 Suisses, the billboard began to sing a

Jacques Dutronc song ‘J’aime les filles dans les abribus, j’aime les filles qu’on croise dans les trams.. .’ (I love the girls

in bus shelters, I love the girls I encounter on the tram... ). The campaign ran for seven days and was a huge

success. It is said that some people were so surprised that they even forgot to get on the tram.^46

   In Denmark, Carlsberg used an Abribus campaign in 2003 where the ad looked different during daytime than at

night-time. During the day, a pint of Carlsberg was shown on a black background. The pint itself was 80% filled

with white foam. At night-time, the same ad on the same black background was shown, but the pint was now

80% filled with the gold Carlsberg beer.^47

   In 2002, Virgin Express used a similar approach with newspaper ads. To promote the airline company, a full-page

ad was created with different fictitious news reports. All reports mentioned the low attendance on occasions

where normally many people are present. Headlines ran as follows: ‘Problem of the traffic jams finally solved.

Highways empty, except in the neighbourhood of the airport’; ‘Major peace manifestation attracts only 7 par-

ticipants’; ‘Nobody attends erotica fair’; ‘Sudden idling swept our cities’; and ‘Members of Parliament play truant

as never before’. In the middle of the page readers found the explanation for the situation: Virgin Express’s

extremely low fares to attractive cities such as Madrid, Milan, Nice, Rome, Athens, Barcelona, Lisbon, etc.^48

   In 2002, Procter & Gamble’s anti-dandruff shampoo, Head & Shoulders, was promoted by means of fragrance-

emitting ads on bus shelters. The posters showed a happy young lady with the wind in her hair inviting consumers

to press a button to dispense the scent of new citrus fresh.^49 By 2003, scent advertising was being used more

and more. In the Netherlands, the advertising agency Senta ran a magazine campaign for the fabric softener

Robijn (also known as Snuggle and Cocolino). When consumers rubbed the ink, the scent was released. About

80% of readers noticed the ad and also seemed to remember it.^50

   Marketers also invent new media. In 2003, a London ad agency recruited university students to wear brand logos

on their foreheads, turning their heads into living billboards. In exchange for wearing these ads in public places

for three or four hours, students received about £6.50 an hour.^51

researCh insight

The importance of qualitative criteria in media planning

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