1

SUMMER INTERSHIP REPORT

“UNDERSTANDING OF MEDIA PLANNING”

At

“ALLIED MEDIA NETWORK PVT., LTD. BANGALORE”

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR

THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

TO

AMITY SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

AMITY UNIVERSITY NOIDA

2011-2013

R.Sivakumar

ENROLL. NO. A2021311005

FACULTY MENTOR

Ms. Anvesha Sharma

2

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEGDEMENT

Certificate (Industry mentor)

Certificate (Faculty mentor) 4

1. EXCUETIVE SUMMARY OF INTERNSHIP 5

2. INTRODUCTION

PERCEPT GROUP 8

ALLIED MEDIA 10

3. MEDIA PLANNING 11

4. ROLE OF VARIOUS MEDIA 15

5. MEDIA TERMS 19

6. MEASUREMENT

TV VIEWERSHIP MEASUREMENT 22

PRESS CIRCULATION MEASUREMENT 23

PRESS READERSHIP MEASUREMENT 24

7. WORK EXPERIENCE 25

8. OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSION 27

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY 28

3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

On completing the project assigned to me on “UNDERSTANDING OF MEDIA

PLANNING” for my Internship Training at ALLIED MEDIA NETWORK PVT., LTD. as a

part of the MBA -MEDIA MANAGEMENT curriculum, we would like to take this opportunity

to thank and convey our gratitude to everyone who made this possible.

I sincerely thankful to Mr.CHAKRAPANI and Mrs. ANVESHA SHARMA, for their valuable

guidance, continuous encouragement and strong support at every stage of our Project.

I also acknowledge with deep gratitude, the immense support we received from our parents who

have always encouraged us and have been a source of inspiration and help in continuing our

effort.

Last but not least, I also thank all those people whom I met in the industry during my internship

And helped me to accomplish my assignments in the most efficient and effective manner.

R.SIVAKUMAR

4

CERTIFICATE

Certified that the project work entitled “UNDERSTANDING OF MEDIA PLANNING” is a bona-

fide work carried out by R.SIVAKUMAR in partial fulfilment of the award of the degree of

MBA – MEDIA MANAGEMENT of Amity University, Noida .The project report has been

approved as it satisfies the academic requirements in respect of project work prescribed for the

MBA degree.

Mrs. ANVESHA SHARMA

FACULTY MENTOR

MBA-MEDIA MANAGEMENT

ASCO – AMITY UNIVERSITY, NOIDA

5

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

My internship is started with training in the Allied Media Network Pvt. Ltd., at

Bangalore, Allied Media Network Pvt. Ltd. is the media planning, evaluation and buying arm of

Percept Limited. Allied Media offers media solutions to clients in conventional as well as

traditional media. It has a dedicated multi-city intranet network which helps the centralized

planning and buying process with the capability to „execute & activate‟ at a localized level. The

training was to know all about the detail planning of the media and evaluation of the plans.

Allied media is one of the top 5 media agencies in India, which gained the level in shorter period

since its inception in the year 2007. Allied Media offers turnkey solutions in conventional and

traditional media, out of home, below the line, activation, retail, rural, experiential marketing,

entertainment marketing, new media, digital and interactive media, sports marketing,

sponsorships & endorsements. Allied Media is the only company to provide such 360-degree

offerings as they have all the resources and services available within themselves. Allied Media

gives as much transparency as possible in all transactions. Media buying and execution

benchmarks / metrics are mutually agreed upon between Allied Media and all its clients

beforehand. Post-campaign audits are tracked to confirm adherence to the agreed benchmarks

and metrics, thereby ensuring true transparency in the media buying process. Some of Allied

Media‟s esteemed clientele includes brands like Future Group, BSNL, Panasonic, Canon, DLF

and Sahara, to name a few.

My role is to help the media executives and planner as a media trainee, as I involved in all the

planning work for Toyota, Allied media‟s esteemed client. During this project I had learned

about the process of planning and buying, I majorly involved in the planning process of the

corporate campaign.

6

The planning department wills mainly handles the entire planning of mediums for the

campaign such as Channels, Press, Magazines and Internet. The process is not just merely

selecting the mediums, it involves lot of analysis based on the medium‟s current and previous

performance, to do the analysis there are some third parties who provides the metrics about the

mediums.

This project report will give the detail about all the technical as well as analytical details of the

planning & buying of mediums for a corporate campaign and how they are evaluated before and

after the release.

7

PREFACE

The purpose of this report is to explain what I did and learned during my internship period with

the Allied Media Network Pvt. Ltd., in the Division of Planning Department. The report

focuses primarily on the assignments handled, working environment, successes and

shortcomings that as an intern did encounter when handling various tasks assigned by the

company guide.

8

Introduction

About Percept group

Founded in 1984, Percept Limited, an entertainment, media and communications

company, is at an enviable leadership position today, with a team of over 1,000 people and 62

offices in India and the Middle East and a capitalized billings of about INR 26 billion (FY‟11).

Percept companies deliver marketing solutions that reach consumers at every moment of

their lives. From integrated advertising campaigns, to embedded content, to innovative media

solutions; Percept companies construct tailor-made solutions that deliver in both local and global

markets. Percept services hundreds of customers in India and West Asia catering to national and

multinational clients.

Percept operates in 3 verticals:

Percept Entertainment Group - this encompasses Television and Movie Content Production,

Aggregation, Distribution & Marketing, Ad Films, Celebrity Endorsements and Talent

Management, Experiential and Entertainment Marketing, Sports Management and Marketing,

Wedding Management, Event Management and Marketing, Entertainment Branding and

Marketing, Branded Entertainment, Merchandising, Brand Activations and Promotions, and

Entertainment Intellectual Properties.

Percept Media Group - this comprises of Media Planning, Buying and Representation, Outdoor

Media, Retail Media, Rural Media, Digital Media and Digital IPs.

Percept Communications Group - this includes Advertising, Brand Communication, Strategy,

Creative, Public & Media Relations and Integrated Marketing Communication Consultancy

services.

9

Business Domains of Percept

Entertainment

Percept Pictures

Percept Sports & Entertainment

- Percept ICE

- Percept Entertainment

- Percept Sport

- Percept Art

- Percept Talent Management

- P9 Integrated

- Spark Entertainment

- Percept IP

- Bollywood Corporation

Media

Allied Media

Percept Out-Of-Home

Percept Knorigin

Percept Activ

Communications

Percept/H

Hakuhodo Percept

IBD India

MASH Advertising

Percept Gulf Fz LLC

Percept Profile

Perspectrum

10

About Allied Media

Allied Media Network Pvt. Ltd. is the media planning, evaluation and buying arm of

Percept Limited started by the year 2007. Allied Media offers media solutions to clients in

conventional as well as traditional media. It has a dedicated multi-city intranet network which

helps the centralized planning and buying process with the capability to „execute & activate‟ at a

localized level. The strong IT based network not only enables a bottom up planning approach,

instead of the traditional top down models, but also provide a unique media service delivery

platform through its micro-marketing infrastructure. This ensures reduced national and regional

response time apart from increased speed and efficiency for clients.

Allied Media intends to surge ahead with a four-point agenda of transparency, agency alliances,

consolidation, and true 360-degree communication. The key focus of Allied Media is to provide

clearly audited transactions for the clients to increase transparency and bring in a fair and level

playing field in the media business.

Businesses

Geared to meet the current and emerging market needs, Allied Media offers turnkey

solutions in conventional and traditional media, out of home, below the line, activation, retail,

rural, experiential marketing, entertainment marketing, new media, digital and interactive media,

sports marketing, sponsorships & endorsements.

Allied Media is the only company to provide such 360-degree offerings as they have all the

resources and services available within themselves. Allied Media strives to bring in as much

transparency as possible in all transactions. Media buying and execution benchmarks / metrics

are mutually agreed upon between Allied Media and all its clients beforehand. Post-campaign

audits are tracked to confirm adherence to the agreed benchmarks and metrics, thereby ensuring

true transparency in the media buying process.

Key Relations Developed

Some of Allied Media‟s esteemed clientele includes brands like Future Group, BSNL,

Canon, Panasonic, DLF and Sahara, to name a few.

11

Introduction to Media planning

The process of media planning consists of the series of decisions made to answer the question,

“what are the best means of delivering advertisements to prospective purchasers of my brand or

service?” This definition is rather general, but it provides a broad picture of what media planning

is all about.

Within this broad context, a media planner attempts to answer specific questions, such as

the following:

- How many prospects (for purchasing a given brand of product) do I need to

reach?

- In which medium (or media) should I place ads?

- How many times a month should prospects see each ad?

- In which months should ads appear?

- Where should the ads appear? In which markets and regions?

- How much money should be spent in each medium?

When all questions have been asked and decisions made, the recommendations and rationales are

organized into a written document called a media plan.

Major Mediums

Traditional Media

-Press

-Radio

-Television

-Hoardings

Contemporary Media (New Media)

-Internet Banners

-YouTube Ads

12

Keys to successful Media planning

A media plan is the blueprint for how the advertising message will be delivered to the target

audiences. It is also a persuasive document that communicates the rationale behind a

recommendation to spend significant amount of money. The process of media planning is

consists of several steps.

Corporate brand communication process

Media planning Process

Ensure that the communication

Reaches the consumer

Brand Team

Creative

Media

Develop Communication Strategy

Develop Actual Communication

MEDIA BRIEF

MEDIA PLAN

MEDIA BUYING

IMPLEMENTATION

POST ANALYSIS

13

Media Brief

Purpose: To provide agency with all the information necessary to translate marketing

goals into effective media plans. A good media brief must contain

- Key Brand Considerations

- Key Advertising Considerations

- Geographical Priorities

- Budget Priorities

- Key Learning from Past activity

- Key Planned Activity

- Competitive Environment

- Creative Considerations

- Timelines

Media Plan & Strategy

Purpose: To present the agency‟s recommendation on how best to invest Client‟s media

investment to accomplish the task and objectives identified in the media brief.

Covers

- Media Objective & Strategy

- Target Audience Definition

- Seasonality / scheduling

- Geographical Considerations

- Competitive Analysis & Implications

- Client Brand Considerations

- Media Selection

- Determining Media Weights

- Creative Considerations

- Activity Flow Chart

14

Medium Buying & Implementation

Purpose: To negotiate, purchase and implement the approved plan ensuring that it meets

its goals

The process must ensure that the agency has wherever possible

- Best Media Rates

- Best Positioning

- Renewal Options

- Bonus Units

- Product Placement

- Sponsorships

- Category Exclusivity

- Cancellation Options

Post analysis

Purpose: To ensure that the goals have been achieved . Quantifies the media performance

& serves as a base for an ongoing process of evaluation and learning

Must cross check

- Did the campaign achieve media objectives? If not, why?

- Does the amount spent match with the approved budget?

- What are the key learning that can be taken on to the next planning phase?

- Was there any competitive reaction?

- How did the plan perform better than that of competition?

- Did the plan challenge standard media practices?

15

Role of various Media

TV

Strengths

- Audiovisual Impact

- Mass audience at efficient cost

- Mass and Niche Options

- Quick reach buildup

- Immediate Audience Feedback

- Flexible ( National Vs. Regional and by departs )

Limitations

- High absolute costs

- High costs of production

- Mass Market Skew

- Clutter and Zapping

- Audience fragmentation

Newspapers

Strengths

- Sense of Immediacy

- Lends Credibility

- Local emphasis/ Geographical flexibility

- Mass reach

- Merchandise to local trade, co-op opportunities, local retail support

- Can convey long or detailed copy

- Special interest targeting through specialized sections

Limitations

- Uni Dimensional

- Expensive and inefficient for national plans

- Unreliable Colour reproduction quality but improving with new technology

- Smaller shelf life

- High Costs

16

Magazines

Strengths

- Mass and Niche options exist

- Good cost efficiencies, especially for females and upscale audiences

- Specialized content on the rise

- Good color reproduction

- Longer shelf life

- Excellent for conveying long or detailed copy

- Portable

Limitations

- Single Dimensional

- Clutter Level (Up to 50%)

- Early closing dates/ Longer lead periods

- Lack of Immediacy

- Slow reach build up

- Limited geographical flexibility

- Inability to control exposure by time of the day or day of the week

- High premium for regional/metropolitan editions wherever they exist

Radio

Strengths

- Low cost frequency

- Reaching specific audiences

- Support medium – imagery transfer

- Localised

- Reaches consumers on the move

- Jingles and other sound effects engage the listener

- Shorter Lead Time

- Allows quick copy changes

- Low production cost

- Flexible scheduling

- Mass (AIR) and select (FM) options available

17

Limitations

- Uni Dimensional

- Low reach

- Clutter : As many as 19 commercial minutes per hour

- Limited syndicated Research on listenership

Cinema

Strengths

- Low cost frequency

- Support medium

- Localized

- Opportunity for specialized event, promotions, events, stalls

Limitations

- Low reach

- Slow reach build up

- No syndicated Research

Outdoor

Strengths

- Coverage of mobile population

- Size Impact

- Geographic flexibility

- Simple message

- 24 hour exposure

- Point of purchase presence feasibility

Limitations

- Static Medium

- High cost

- Largely unorganized

- Limited exposure time (especially for drivers)

- Many elements compete for attention

- Demographic selectivity is difficult

- Restricted availability with tightening of zonal laws

18

Target Audience

- It is the audience group that is identified as the key consumer group for the brand. All

marketing/advertising activity is concentrated on reaching and appealing to this group

- Should Ideally be defined in terms that makes it measurable

- Traditionally defined in terms of demographics ( gender/age/SEC )

19

Media Terms

Medium – Television

Reach / Coverage

Defined as the percentage of target audience who saw the

program/commercial at least once during the evaluation period. Reach is

always unduplicated

TRP ( Television Rating Point)

o Defined as the sum of all individual ratings achieved during a campaign. Usually

measured over a weekly or monthly level and also, defined as a product of Reach

and OTS

GRP ( Gross Rating Point )

- Defined as the percentage of target audience who saw a particular

program/ commercial

Average Frequency / OTS

- Defined as the number of times, on an average, the audience reached , gets

an opportunity to see the commercial during the campaign period

Effective Reach

- It is the reach delivered at a given frequency level

Frequency Distribution

- It is the distribution highlighting reach delivered at each frequency

level in a campaign

CPRP ( Cost Per Rating Point)

- Defined as the cost of buying one rating point in the audience

- CPRP = Total Cost / Total GRP

- Used for comparing/evaluating cost efficiency of program/program

mixes, CPRP will differ from channel to channel and from audience to

audience

20

Medium – Print

Periodicity

- The time period between two consecutive issues of a publication

Reach / Coverage

- Defined as the percentage of target audience who saw the advertisement at

least once, Reach is always unduplicated

Circulation

- It is defined as the number of copies of a publication distributed based on

average number of issues

Readership

- AIR ( Average Issue Readership) is defined as the percentage of people in

the target audience who have read or looked at any issue of publication

within a specific time interval which is equal to the periodicity of the

publication

Average OTS

- Defined as the number of times, on an average, the audience reached , gets

an opportunity to see/read the publications selected in the campaign

21

MEDIA TERMINOLOGY FOR COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Share of Expenditure : SOE

- A brands share of the total advertising expenditure for the product category

Share of Voice : SOV

- A brands share of the total advertising GRP for the product category

Sources of information

Sources of Media can be broadly divided into the following categories

- Audience Media Interaction Estimates

- Media Spend Estimates

22

MEASUREMENT

TV VIEWERSHIP MEASUREMENT

TAM ( TV Audience Measurement ) / Media X Press

A joint venture between AC Nielson and IMClient

Covers 4+ years individuals

A viewership analysis package that provides information such as

- TVRs at a program/ spot or daypart level

- Channel Shares

- Time Spent

- GRPs and reach for activity that has happened

Also facilitates creation and evaluation of TV plans

Uses two streams of data

- TV Viewership Data from People Meter Measurement Service

- TV Program and Advertising schedules from TV Monitoring services

Areas covered by TAM are

- Andhra Pradesh - Mumbai

- Gujrat - Delhi

- Karnataka - Chennai

- Kerala - Kolkatta

- Maharashtra - Bangalore

- Madhya Pradesh - Hyderabad

- Punjab/Har/MP

- Tamil Nadu

- Uttar Pradesh

- West Bengal

23

PRESS CIRCULATION MEASUREMENT

ABC ( Audit Bureau of Circulations)

ABC is a non- profit, self-regulatory organization of advertisers, agencies and newspaper

and magazine publishers and members and reports the data to advertisers and agency

members

Six Monthly Report

Separate volumes for dailies and magazines

Provides circulations by editions

Provides detailed circulation break up at the state, town and district level for every

publication

PRESS READERSHIP MEASUREMENT

IRS ( Indian Readership Survey) 12+ years

Cliental , Rural, All India

Individual & HH level data

Provides Information on

- Reach of various media

- Readership by Publication

- Channels Tuned in/watched

- Radio stations listened to

- Viewership of Cinema

- Usage of Internet - Time spent on various media

- Duplication across media

- Product penetration - Press Planning & Evaluation

for the selected TG definition

Data available at a six month period

NRS (National Readership survey)

15+ years

Cliental , Rural, All India

Individual & HH level data

Provides Information on

– Reach of various media

– Readership by Publication

– Channels Tuned in/watched

– Radio stations listened to

– Viewership of Cinema

– Usage of Internet – Time spent on various media

– Duplication across media

– Product penetration – Press Planning & Evaluation

for the selected TG definition

Data available at a six month period

24

HOW IS READERSHIP CALCULATED?

Respondent is shown the publication Masthead

He/She is asked about the number of issues read by him/her in a certain period :

- 1 year for quarterlies

- 6 months for monthlies

- 3 months for fortnightlies

- 1 month for weeklies

- 1 month for bi-weklies

- 7 days for dailies

- 6 days for 6 day dailies

If the number > 0

- the respondent is asked if the occasion fell within the periodicity of the

publication

○ If yes - then AIR ( Average Issue Readership)

○ If no; then included in claimed readership

25

Work Experiences

When I first arrived, it was unclear to me exactly what my duties were to be. This was

because my terms of reference didn‟t indicate exactly what I was to work on. Through my senior

supervisor Mr.Chakrapani, and other colleagues within ALLIED MEDIA, I was able to quickly

understand what my work involved and to what extend I was to do it.

The following were some of the motivations that made my work easier and enjoyable:

Working as team with the rest of ALLIED MEDIA contributors was something that I

truly treasured then since it was through them that I found it more enjoyable.

Working on projects that I believed would eventually provide a clear understanding on

the daily operation of ALLIED MEDIA. This gave me the morale to work even harder

in order to meet deadlines.

Being given a chance to learn about the planning for media.

Working in ALLIED MEDIA was good experience for me

The Impact of My Work

Most of the task that I did work on focused more on Planning of media for Allied Media‟s client Toyota.

My work is to help the planners in order to their needs, where I learned lot of planning process of

a campaign. From the buying side of the Allied Media i have involved in the process of

analyzing the deals from the channels. I learned a lot of planning and buying tactics which helps

a lot for success of the planning and also I gained a lot of contacts too.

LEARNING FROM INTERNSHIP

While the work I performed during this period was particularly analytical and equally

based on perfect decision making, I feel that this internship period exposed me to experiences

which have significantly altered my perception of planning of media.

26

My Expectations

My expectation was exceeded. I have not only gained the knowledge from the ALLIED MEDIA

but also benefited from vast experience and knowledge of the planning and buying of media. I

have worked with Allied Media for nearly 50 days and worked for a major campaign of Toyota.

Here I learned a lot all the entire planning process of the media which involves like analysis of

data such as TRP and readership of the particular media. I gained lot of experience in all the

planning side of the media.

Benefits of the Program

In retrospective, I can say that I benefited from the internship program than I thought I

would in a number of ways:

Having a rare opportunity to use the knowledge and skills that I had acquired back at the college

to provide in planning of media.

Career-wise, the internship program undoubtedly enriched my curriculum vitae (CV). Also,

having gotten a chance to interact with most staff and to understand their knowledge, I have had

an insight on how to shape my career towards a humanitarian job in the near future.

The internship program gave me a chance not only to work with Allied Media but also a chance

to learn from the best experienced and creative people in the field. This would reflect much onto

my experience

To conclude, I can state that my internship at the Allied Media was a rewarding experience and

provided me with some new perspectives that I did not come across during my studies back at

the college. I also have to stress that my colleagues at the Allied Media contributed greatly to

making my stay there a very enjoyable one. Particularly, working together with Mr. Chakrapani

&Mr. Bhaskar was a true pleasure and his faith in my abilities was a real source of motivation to

date.

27

OBSERVATION AND CONCLUSION

Observations

During the fifty days, I realized that it takes many steps to achieve success in a planning.

This was ascertained by a number of observations:

As a internee I observed all the planning process of the Media agency and how much of data content is required

and how people are working in a team to get the good output with their entire effort to make the campaign‟s

success and to help the client with the preferred output.

In the planning process I have observed all the data analysis work and to get information from the data and also

buying process of the media and to run the campaign is also very difficult and it includes lot of ground work and

perfect planning will be maintained according to the time. I think in planning the decision making based on

numbers and also TG is more important to make the success of the planning.

Interns are given the much needed supervisory support that goes beyond work related issues.

This is so given the fact that a supervisor would once in a while spend at least part of his/her

private time total with an intern over issues that touches on personal life. This was very

encouraging.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I have to attest my supervisor (Mr.Chakrapani, Business Director) at

ALLIED MEDIA for the good job. I really appreciate the way I have been guided through this

internship program with Planning & Buying and Operations, beginning from the opportunity to

take the time I needed to refresh and expand my knowledge in several issues concerning

planning of media and Operations department, over a somehow protected period where I could

discover and learn to value my new working environment, and finally earned the confidence to

deal with assignments myself. It is through them that I did enjoy my work every day.

28

BIBILOGRAPHY

Websites

http://www.perceptindia.in

http://www.campaignindia.in

http://www.rohitbhargava.com

http://blogwyse.com

www.wikipedia.com

Books

Advertising Media Planning, Seventh Edition

-Roger Baron, Jack Sissors

Marketing Management

-Philip Kotler