Michigan State University Extension
Tourism Educational Materials - 33710093
06/06/02
Selecting Promotional Media
Michigan State University
E-2005
McDonough, Maureen H.
Ackert, Gary A.
1987
Selecting the right media is a key to developing your
promotional strategy (see Extension bulletin E-1939 for
more information). There are three things that play major
roles in deciding on what media to use:
1) When and where your target market (see Extension
bulletin E-1939) gets its information
2) Your message
3) Your budget constraints
When choosing the promotional media that match target
market needs, message, and budget, you need to know what
media are available, their advantages and disadvantages,
and how to use them. This bulletin helps you make the
right choice.
One in Purpose, Different in Approach
The best reason to use promotional media is to transfer a
message from a source to one or more markets. Some media
reach certain markets better than others, and different
markets use different media to get their information.
They also use these media at different times. Thus, no
one medium can reach everyone at the same time.
For example, newspapers, television, and radio all reach
large, diversified markets, while newsletters, magazines,
and brochures are limited to those who buy or pick them
up. Television and radio are also used to reach specific
markets. The key is to know the audience that is
attracted to certain types of programming. For instance,
more men watch nationally televised sporting events than
women. Women who do not work outside the home watch more
early afternoon television than do men. Young adults and
adolescents are more influenced by radio than television.
Some messages are better suited for some media than
others. Newspapers are better for long, detailed
messages. Television and radio are best for public
service announcements. Radio and television also provide
"live" coverage for events.
To choose the medium that will best reach your market and
accomplish your objectives, you must know potential media
as well as you can, including good and bad points, and
who they can and cannot reach.
The Difference is in the Presentation
Promotional media can be divided into five categories,
based on the way the message is presented: print,
broadcast, interpersonal or informal, signing, and visual
images.
A person must see and read print media. Messages of these
media vary in length and are read by people at their
convenience. Examples include newspapers, newsletters,
catalogs, and brochures.
Broadcast media (television and radio) are generally
heard or seen when they are broadcast, although they can
be recorded. Messages are short, and if not heard or seen
the first time, they are easily missed.
Interpersonal and/or informal media rely on
person-to-person contact and/or communication. Examples
include word of mouth, hospitality information given by
lodging employees, friends, traveling companions, and
repeat visitors.
Signing and visual images make up the final two types of
media. Signing is useful for directing tourists to local
or area attractions, services, and facilities. Examples
are billboards, entrance signs, directional signs, and
road signs.
The visual image of a community or business is based on
how the community or business is perceived by travelers.
It is influenced by building design, signing in and
around the community or business, hospitality, and the
community's or business' overall appearance (see
Extension bulletin E-1938 for more examples).
What's available for me to use?
It is important to know the types of media that are most
often used in promotion, their good and bad points, and
how to use them.
Brochures-
Strengths:
* They are a very mobile form of promotion because people
take them home and give them to friends and family.
* They have souvenir value and can be referred to later.
* They can be developed to reach one market or as a
series to reach a variety of markets.
Weaknesses:
* They are a passive and impersonal form of promotion.
* People must make an effort to get them and then read
them.
* Brochures tend to reach small audiences and must be
targeted at specific markets to be effective.
* Because brochures are overused, people tend to overlook
them.
To develop an effective brochure, you must identify your
audience and develop a theme for the brochure. The
brochure must attract attention, be brief, simple, and
readable (for more information on how to develop a
brochure, see Extension bulletin E-1931).
Newsletters-
Newsletters are exactly that-"news" letters. They are
used to keep people up-to-date about what is going on in
an organization.
Strengths:
* They can be written informally.
* They are good for reaching special markets.
* They can be inexpensive to produce.
Weaknesses:
* They are not effective at reaching new audiences.
* The cost of producing them for large markets may become
expensive and/or prohibitive.
* The use of high quality production materials, such as
high quality paper and multi-color reproduction, can make
the cost of producing a newsletter prohibitive.
Magazines-
Strengths:
* They are very good for reaching selected markets.
* Magazines provide quality advertising.
* They are passed around to others more than newspapers.
* Magazines have a sense of "permanence." Once people
acquire them, they tend to keep them for a while. This
allows them to be re-read at a later date.
Weaknesses:
* Most require that photographs and stories be turned in
far in advance of publication.
* It is difficult to make changes between the time a
story is accepted and published.
* Most magazines, except for weekly magazines, lack a
sense of immediacy.
* Readers only read what interests them and may not read
the whole magazine.
It is important to remember a few things when deciding to
use magazines for promotion. First, local magazines are
more likely to run a story about a local event than will
regional or national magazines. Second, check to see if
the magazine has any format requirements for submitting
stories including specific line spacing and number of
lines per story. Third, find out about deadlines so that
you can submit your story on time.
Some magazines may require a story to be submitted up to
six months in advance of actual publication. Fourth, make
sure that the story you submit is well written and neat
in appearance. Many times the appearance of your story is
just as important as the content. Finally, although it
can be expensive, it may be easier to advertise in a
magazine than to get a story published.
Newspapers-
Strengths:
* People tend to see the events in newspapers as
happening "now" and being relevant to today; giving
newspapers a sense of "immediacy."
* Newspapers handle long, detailed messages.
* They reach markets at national, regional, and local
levels.
* Newspapers reach both select and diverse markets.
* They are an excellent medium to use to promote local
events or activities.
* Once people acquire newspapers they can either keep the
entire paper or clip out the information that is
important to them.
Weaknesses:
* Readers are selective. They read only what they are
interested in.
* Advertising in national newspapers is expensive and can
be prohibitive for non-profit organizations or small
businesses.
* Color reproduction varies in quality from paper to
paper.
Newspapers are used in two ways. One way is through
advertising. Most promotion at the regional and national
levels is done through advertising. Promotional ads are
placed by contacting a newspaper's advertising
department.
The other way is through publicity. Generally, publicity
is used most effectively at the local level. Most
newspapers publicize local and some regional events or
activities that are of interest to their readers through
community calendars, human interest stories, feature
articles and magazines, newspaper inserts, and
photographs.
Editorials are also used to get publicity by expressing
the opinion of your organization on current public issues
being debated in your community. In addition, some papers
allow organizations to have one of their members write a
column that provides "helpful tips" or other information
on public needs or other topics of interest to the entire
community.
News coverage of an event or activity is another avenue
for publicity. If an event is going to have an impact on
most of a newspaper's readers, or if it is significant
for some other reason, a local or regional newspaper may
cover it.
To cover an event or program, a newspaper must know about
it. To inform them, send out a well written press release
that briefly states the who, what, where, when, why, and
how of the event or program at least one week in advance.
Personally contacting the appropriate people at the
newspaper before the day of the event or program and
inviting them to attend may also help.
Television-
Strengths:
* It uses both sight and sound for a dynamic form of
promotion.
* It is a versatile medium.
* It can be used nationally, regionally, or locally.
* It reaches specific or diverse markets.
* It can be used to cover an event or activity "live."
Weaknesses:
* It is expensive to use.
* Commercials and other promotional messages are short
and easy to miss or ignore.
* The number of desirable time slots for commercials and
other promotional messages in prime day or night programs
is limited and often too expensive for small businesses
to use.
Television is used in two ways. The first way is through
advertising. This is done by contacting the advertising
department of a television station and buying commercial
time.
The second way is through publicity. Even though they are
no longer required to do so, many commercial television
stations still run public affairs programming, such as
public service announcements (PSA's), community
calendars, weekly specialty shows that deal with topics
of interest to their viewers, talk shows, and call-in
programs. Check with your local or area stations to see
which ones they offer.
Television news programs are also an avenue for
publicity. Many stations provide news coverage if the
event or activity is important to their viewers.
Commercial television stations also run non-news stories
during their newscasts, such as human interest stories,
feature stories, special documentaries that deal with
services or activities that are available in the area, or
upcoming events that are of interest to most of their
viewers.
Cable Television-
Cable television is commonly referred to as "pay TV."
Users pay a monthly subscription price for regular cable
programming. They can also pay extra for "premium
channels" such as HBO, Showtime, or the Disney Channel.
Strengths:
* It reaches very specific markets.
* It is required to carry a free public access channel
for those who want to make their own commercials or
programs.
* Advertising spots can be different than those for
commercial television. They can be shorter or longer, for
example.
Weaknesses:
* The main disadvantage of cable television is that not
everyone has it.
* Just because it is aired on a channel doesn't mean it
will be watched. For information on how to use cable
television, contact your local cable television company.
Radio-
Strengths:
* It is good for targeting specific markets.
* Radio can reach large, diverse markets.
* Radio can help increase the market coverage of other
media, especially print media.
* It can be used to cover events or activities "live."
* It can be used locally or regionally.
* People can listen to it while doing something else.
* It is an excellent medium for reaching people on the
move.
* Advertisements and PSA's can be repeated frequently.
Weaknesses:
* The length of most advertisements and PSA's is usually
short and easy to miss or ignore.
* Radio cannot be used to demonstrate a process.
* Often there are many stations in an area which makes
the audience for each station small.
Radio can be used two ways. One way is through commercial
advertising. To advertise, call the advertising
department of your local or regional radio station.
The second way to reach markets with radio is through
publicity. Even though they are no longer required to do
so, many radio stations still carry public affairs
programming, such as PSA'S, community calendars, talk
shows, call-in shows, and short messages. Check with your
local or area radio stations to see what they offer.
Radio stations will also give news coverage to events or
activities if they are significant, have an impact on, or
are of interest to most of their listeners.
Which one Should I Use?
Knowing what types of media are available, the pros and
cons of each, and how to access them is important when
deciding which ones to use. Deciding what is best for
your market will depend on:
1) Your target market and where they get information
2) The method that best fits your message
3) Your time line for promotion
For example, if you target young adults for your message,
you will want to use a rock and roll radio station to
reach them, rather than an easy listening station. If you
want to inform people of an event, a community calendar
might be more effective than an editorial message in a
newspaper. Some media, like newspapers and magazines,
have rigid deadlines which may limit their usefulness to
you.
Tips on Accessing Media
There are many things that are critical in gaining access
to any promotional media:
1) They need NEWS!-- The news media (newspapers,
television, and radio) are always looking for stories
to cover. Something is considered news if it has a sense
of significance and is of interest to people. Your
message may be news if it has one or more of the
following characteristics:
* Timeliness-does it relate to current community issues
or fit in with current community events or activities?
* Proximity-does your event or activity take place within
the community or nearby?
* Prominence-is a prominent person going to be at your
event or activity? Does it stand out from the rest of
the events or activities taking place at the same time?
* Unusual-will your event or activity give people an
opportunity to experience something unusual, or is the
event or activity itself unusual?
* Human Interest-does your event or activity have
something that is of interest to human nature?
2) Make sure your message clearly communicates Who?,
What?, Where?, When?, Why?, and How?
3) Contact media people in your area and establish a good
working relationship. This can be done if you:
* Call and introduce yourself before sending any
information.
* Ask for their help in developing your message for their
medium.
* Know of any special formats or requirements that your
chosen medium has and follow them.
* Find out their deadlines for submitting information.
* Try not to contact them after "deadline time" arrives.
* Work with them at their convenience.
* Keep communication over the telephone as much as
possible.
* Provide any information that will let them know who you
are and what you do or what services you provide.
* Keep them up-to-date with your current and upcoming
events.
* Get them involved in your event(s) and activity(ies).
Invite them to your business, give them a tour of your
facilities, and show them samples of your products.
* Call and thank them for using your message after they
have done so.
4) Keep your wording, especially for television and
radio, as simple, clear and conversational as possible.
5) Keep your message short and concise, with your main
point at the beginning of your message.
6) Present your message in a logical manner and avoid
technical jargon.
Conclusion
Selecting promotional media is important. To make a wise
selection, you need to know what kinds of media are
available, their advantages and disadvantages, and what
it takes to gain access to them. Promotional media must
be evaluated to see which ones are best to reach your
target market and accomplish your objectives within your
budget. The information provided in this bulletin will
help you get off to a good start in choosing promotional
media.
Resources
4-H Youth Programs, Cooperative Extension Service, MSU.
"Communications Made Easy: A 4-H Guide To Presenting
Information." No. 4-H 1065. $9.00.
Farm Bureau, Information Planning Guide. "Communicating
For Action," Information/Local Affairs Conference, Feb.
19 and 20, 1985, Flint, MI.
Sissors, Jack Z. and Jim Surmanek. 1982. "Advertising
Media Planning." 2nd ed. Crain Books, 740 Rush Street,
Chicago, IL 60611.
This information is for educational purposes only. References
to commercial products or trade names does not imply
endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not
mentioned. This information becomes public property upon
publication and may be printed verbatim with credit to MSU
Extension. Reprinting cannot be used to endorse or advertise
a commercial product or company.
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