Making Media Selections

Even back in the day when advertisers chose from among three TV networks, a couple of local-market AM radio stations, and a single hometown newspaper, deciding where to place ads was a nail-biting proposition.

Now add in cable TV channels, dozens of radio stations in even the smallest market areas, 7,500 consumer magazines (and another 7,500 online magazines), countless alternative newspapers, and constantly emerging online advertising options, and you can see why placing ads sometimes feels like a roll of the dice.

The upcoming two sections help tip the odds in your favor with an overview of today’s advertising channels and advice about how to select the best vehicles for your advertising messages.

Selecting from the media menu

Marketing communications are delivered in one of two ways:

check.png Mass media channels, which reach many people simultaneously.

check.png One-to-one marketing tools, which reach people individually, usually through direct mail or e-mail. (Chapter 15 is all about direct mail.)

When people talk about media, it’s usually mass media they’re talking about, which traditionally has been divided into three categories, with a new category recently added:

check.png Print ...

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