Selecting Media for National Accounts: Factors of Importance to Agency Media Specialists

Abstract

Building on previously published research, a multi-stage study of large agency media specialists was conducted to document the importance of nineteen selection factors used to evaluate media for national advertising accounts. In Stage 1, indepth interviews were conducted to identify relevant media selection factors; in Stages 2 & 3, a questionnaire was pretested and mailed to a sample of media vice-presidents, media directors, and media planners with 162 U.S. agencies; and in the final stage, follow-up interviews were conducted to determine the veracity of data interpretation. Analysis found six distinct decision clusters, that systematically differ in degree of importance to media specialists regardless of their personal, professional, or agency backgrounds. The results suggest that media selection decisions are primarily driven by a medium's ability to reach a specific target audience, regardless of whether the selection decision is made for local advertising, advertising in general, or for national advertising specifically. Funding for this study was provided by the Cox Institute for Newspaper Management Studies in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at The University of Georgia. The authors express appreciation to Dr. Margaret Morrison of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville for her assistance with the planning and execution of the study.