Strategic Uses of Alternative Media: Just the Essentials

Citation

Parsons, A.L. (2012), "Strategic Uses of Alternative Media: Just the Essentials", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 29 No. 6, pp. 458-458. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363761211259296

The media options available to advertisers seem to be growing exponentially in recent years and the media planning process is becoming increasingly more complex. How consumers interact with media is also changing and advertisers need to know how to effectively and efficiently reach their target in the new media landscape. This book attempts to provide some strategic insights on how advertisers should incorporate these new or alternative media choices into their media plans. This book is very thorough. It covers many different aspects of advertising and media planning. It reviews many traditional advertising concepts and then examines them from an alternative media planning perspective.

The book is organized in two main sections with an introduction and thirteen chapters. The first section, Understanding Alternative Choices, provides an overview of the role of alternative media in targeting customers and explains the media planning process in detail. The second section, Media Use: How Media Speaks to and Reaches the Target Differently, includes chapters on several of the different media options available to advertisers. Each chapter in the second section provides a description of the media category and an overview of the issues related to selecting each type of media for use in an integrated marketing campaign. Highlights from the two sections appear below.

In the first chapter covers alternative media, defined as “a vehicle that cannot be labeled as traditional” (p. 4) and claims that a “a vehicle is considered alternative if it has a large, small, round, flat, stationary or moving, edible or nonedible surface that will hold a message and ensure the targeted consumer will contact with it” (p. 4). A lengthy list of alternative media options also appears in the first chapter providing the reader with an idea of the scope and endless possibilities available with alternative media. At the end of the first chapter there is a discussion of global advertising, marketing research, and target market selection that incorporates alternative media. The second chapter focuses on brand development, including the importance of selecting a brand name, brand awareness, brand image, brand loyalty, and brand equity and on the role of the economy in the advertising industry.

The third chapter outlines the strategy behind using alternative media and the importance of planning through the preparation of the creative brief. The author emphasizes that the strategy itself must be alternative and that the media used to implement the strategy can be all alternative media or some combination of both traditional and alternative media. The strategy choice depends on the product, the target, and how the target interacts with the brand. Alternative media can be less expensive, more creative and versatile and more effective at catching attention, creating surprise, and encouraging viral activity. The fourth chapter focuses on the process involved in media planning and the importance of selecting media that can provide a cohesive message to the target audience. The fifth chapter provides a brief overview of the creative process and the challenges associated with it.

The second section of the book consists of eight chapters that present information about different types of media, including traditional advertising, out‐of‐home: outdoor and transit, direct marketing, sales promotion, electronic media, mobile media, guerilla and viral marketing, and “everything else”. Each of the chapters in this section present a thorough discussion of the options available within each media vehicle and a broad overview of the key issues associated with creating, selecting, planning, and implementing each media vehicle. The author presents many examples of strategies used by actual companies to illustrate key points. After reading each chapter, the reader should have an idea of the capabilities and limitations associated with that type of media and how it might fit into an integrated marketing communications plan.

Given that the title of the book emphasizes alternative media, the chapter on traditional advertising seems out of place. An advertising practitioner choosing this book would presumably already be familiar with traditional media and would just want to learn more about alternative media. The book, however, would be useful for advertising instructors who want to include alternative media in their discussions about media planning. There are exercises provided at the end of some of the chapters that would be helpful in the classroom. Small business owners who are unfamiliar with basic advertising concepts may also find this book to be a helpful introduction to the world of advertising that includes alternative media.

Throughout the book there are many visual examples of advertisements, which help to break up the dense text. However, the advertisements appear to be examples of student work, and there are few, if any, references to them in the text as to why they are included or what they are illustrating. Visuals should enhance the text and not just serve as window dressing. I would recommend either referring to the ads in the text or using examples from actual real world examples as the visuals for future editions.

Overall, though, the book provides quality information in a relatively condensed format. While there could potentially be separate textbooks written about each type of medium, this book provides a strong introductory overview of the various alternative media options available to advertisers and the creative and strategic implications of using them. It would serve as a useful resource for practitioners and provide a solid foundation on media planning for academics.