Stairway to Success

The word "analysis" just makes me cringe because it makes me think of math equations or algebra. Which essentially makes me want to be sick. However, media analysis is something that is crucial to the industry and has an art to it. It truly is a stairway to success and unlocks everything in media.

The Process

According to the textbook, there are three crucial "steps" or success tools that make for good media planning and analysis.

1) Matching media with Markets

As Azzaro so clearly states in the textbook, you have to understand your market inside and out in order to come up with a detailed analysis. It is crucial to know the needs, strengths and weaknesses of the company you're coming up with an analysis for. This way, it will send the right and accurate message to your demographic and the market you're trying to reach. After doing some online research, I came across 

2) The Local Market Profile

It's important, as Azzaro so clearly states, to know your market and research their strengths and weaknesses. This way, you can have a better understanding of how to reach your market and how to best reach the demographic. After some online research, I found a media analysis company called Carma that creates custom media analysis on a global level. Which is a bit different then the "local" profile but still gives the same idea. http://www.carma.com/customized-analysis/

3) Research on a Local Level

This is a continuation of the previous step, essentially it is knowing your market inside and out. Eating, sleeping and breathing your market and knowing everything about it. Knowing everything about them will help you know what to fill in on your profile and how to reach your demographic.

Media analysis is an endless road of opportunity that leads to incredible accomplishments. It helps you know your market and how to reach them in the most effective way possible. Once you know their needs and wants you can come up with creative ways to ignite their interests and evoke emotional responses that will increase advertising. Media analysis isn't boring math equations but instead a stairway that leads to success and an open road full of opportunity. 

Media Buying & Opportunity

There is more to media advertising than meets the eye. A large portion of successful media begins with media buys and eventually sales. According to the textbook there are three basic job functions when it comes to buying and selling media.

1) Media Planning (creating a successful plan)
2) Media Buying (buying media that will work for your demographic)
3) Media Sales  (presenting information to media buyers)

Out of Home

I'm going to focus mainly on the buying aspect of media in this blog. We have spent a lot of time in class focusing on the media buying aspect especially out of home advertising. According to president of choice media in Amarillo, TX, Brad Tully OOH media has one of the fastest growing rates each year at 8.2% increase per year. It comes in second to internet which has a growing rate of 11% per year. OOH media is endless in the opportunities it creates, it's allows for a variety of buying options and can be "personally" tailored to meet clients.

The Buy

The textbook states how crucial the actual media buy itself is. The whole point of the buy is to target specific media that will effectively carry out the media plan. The textbook goes on to say that it's very important to have good skills in analysis and negotiation when making the buy. This way it's easier to find better prices for the client's money. Media buying seems to be an art in and of itself and is crucial to the industry. OOH seems to be one of the areas where media buying is definitely excelling. Choice Media is one of the local Amarillo companies that is making huge strides in making buys and taking on clients and advertising in creative ways. OOH gives the opportunity for more creativity and unique ads for clients. Choice Media specializes in billboards, directories and banners in the Texas area. They are a perfect example of a company making smart local media buys for clients. http://www.choicemedia.biz/

Creative billboard advertising

Make it or Break it

Media lives and dies by its audience.

Media is all connected and influences each other. But audiences make it or break it

Audiences "make or break it" for media. In all forms.

Culture's Influence

 Without an audience media wouldn't exist or have the impact that it does in daily life. I'll be completely honest, I really wasn't sure what media measurements were prior to researching it and I never thought about how crucial ratings are to media's existence. I think the biggest challenge today for media is adapting to how consumers view or utilize the content. For example, it's much more common in today's culture to watch TV from a mobile phone or the internet than from an actual television screen. That changes ratings and how ratings are measured. For the purpose of this blog I'm going to focus mainly on television measurements.

Television (Nielson Media Research)

Network television viewings are managed by the Nielson Media Research measurement service. They use a people meter; a meter that is attached to about 5,000 homes across the country, every time someone tunes into a program it's measured and tells the network. This whole idea of being "measured" is crazy. It's like a whole new world I never knew existed! According to the Strategic Media Decisions textbook 2nd edition, the findings from the meters are used to project program ratings, audience size and characteristics for network shows. According to the textbook there has been some controversy with Nielson and their practices, evidence has shown that their ratings measure programs and not commercials. The whole point is for advertising commercials to be seen and truthfully how many people really sit and watch commercials? (unless it's Super Bowl Sunday!) The textbook also states that advertisers spent between $60 and $70 billion on television ads alone. Quite a bit of money for commercials! Personally, I know I am not one to watch commercials, I change the channel as soon as an ad shows up. 

Problems?

The textbook mentions some issues that Nielson has with their measurements and the impact of them. Truthfully, I think there are some good points that get brought up. (all of these points come from the textbook which was published in 2008 so these issues are pulled from that year)

1) In 2008, Nielson was making some changes in how they used their meters, every change that is made in how viewings are measured has a great impact. It can increase ratings or decrease them. This begs the question, can a measurement company "play" or "tweak" the viewings to their benefit so they can spend more money on advertising? How reliable are the ratings? 

2) In some cases, it's programs that are rated not commercials. The commercials is what is advertised not the actual network show. People (like myself) are more than capable of tuning into their program and as soon as a commercial comes on they change the channel. But because of how Nielson measures the ratings the meters count when a remote clicks into a channel even if it's when the program is on. Not the commercial. This leads to another question, are advertisers really utilizing their money wisely on where they place ads?

I don't have answers to these questions but they're very thought provoking about how reliable the measurements truly are. I just thought it was interesting and definitely made me think beyond just retaining information! I also think it can help us get more creative in how we advertise and where commercials are placed! 

Changing Times

I think it's interesting to also consider the changing times that we live in now as it relates to media. According to a study on Nielson's website they show this image which states that only 50% of viewers actually view programs from a television. 30% use a computer or a mobile device, 9% use mobile and 11% watch TV and use mobile. Half only watch TV from their homes. I think that definitely influences ratings because there's more to measure than just homes. In my mind, media is the best industry because it constantly evolves to match the changing times.

Nielson's website has this information on their website, the top 10 television shows (prime time) each week. A great resource for advertisers and knowing where ads fit! http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/top10s/television.html

Audiences make or break media. The industry is a puzzle of constantly evolving and adapting to ever changing viewing audiences and achieving success.

The "Big" Stage

Ravens' Quarterback Joe Flacco

49ers Quarterback Colin Kapernick 

49ers 

Vs.

Ravens

Football's Biggest Stage

February might mean the hope of spring for some people, or basketball season beginning in full swing, but for people like me, it means the Super Bowl and all the hype that comes with it. As a true football fanatic, everything about the sport's biggest game excites me. The ads, the players, teams, coaches and fans. The game has evolved into a part of America's culture. The Super Bowl is where dreams are captured or lost, it's where football players compete for sport's immortality. I love everything about it. This weekend on Feb 3rd, the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens will get the chance to play on football's biggest stage and become a part of one of the biggest media events of our culture. It truly has become more than a game. It's a time for ordinary men to chase greatness, and for dreams to come true. It's also when media is shown at its finest through commercials, sports commentaries, coverage and advertising. It's greatness.

The Commercials & Hype

The Super Bowl is by far more than just a game. Not only do sports teams get to compete for glory but media takes on a whole new competitive edge. The hype is unmatched. The commercials themselves are their own form of a "super bowl" it's like the media is competing in its own game to win the public's attention. It's gotten increasingly more and more expensive (almost outrageously in my opinion, but of course that's what keeps the industry in business) as the years have gone by. According to a website called "Business Insider" in the sports page section, 1995 was the first year the a 30 second super bowl commercial slot cost $1 million! Since then it's increased to $3 million last year! This picture breaks down the costs from year to year for a 30 second slot.

Super Bowl Ad costs throughout the years.

Okay, so now that there's this breakdown chart of what the Super Bowl ads cost. Here lies the question. Why? What's the point? Well, the Huffington Post states that last year's game was one of the highest rated with 111.3 million tuning in for the major sporting event. The four quarters of football clearly have become one of the best advertising outlets for media today. With that many viewers how can media not get their message across? It's really a perfect sales pitch if you ask me. Personally, I am WAY more likely to pay attention to commercials when it's during my favorite game of the year cheering on some men in football uniforms!

Media's Big Stage    

The Super Bowl is immortal. It idolizes the players who play the game, the coaches who teach it and the commercials that help make the game complete. Media doesn't only use their ads as a way to capture the game but the coverage and commentators. I think in a lot of ways the Super Bowl demands attention and the audiences are way more likely to pay attention during those ads then any other day. It's the biggest stage for football, sports and media. It's immortalizes those involved. One of our biggest days in America. I mean every Super Bowl Sunday, my phone is turned off and I am locked in for the duration of that game. It's like time stops. Maybe that makes me  a crazy sports fan or maybe I'm just one of the millions who get caught up in all the "hype." 

I don't think any Super Bowl blog post would be complete without some commercials. Without further ado here is the top ten Super Bowl commercials from 2011 on superbowlcommercials.com. I have to say endless entertainment! It's not all about football on Super Bowl day! http://www.superbowl-commercials.org/2873.html

Through the Years

    Media is a crucial part of our culture, especially social media. It's become our way of communicating and truthfully it's become one of the most persuasive and influential aspects of our society. We thrive off of staying "in the know" and having information at a moment's notice.

   Media and our culture wasn't always this way, we used to be elated over talking on the telephone or listening to a radio broadcast. A textbook called Strategic Media Decisions explains major changes that media has experienced through the years. It's changed, it is more accessible and it's a social outlet as well as an information source. We survive off of media. Through the years it's evolved from creating the printing press to Facebook, and Twitter taking over. In a lot of ways, media has become more and more influential.

   I will be the first to admit I love media and social media specifically. I love having access to information in the blink of an eye and I love the "popularity" social media gives you. However, I do think that media has more of an influence now than it ever did years ago. Today, advertisements, daily news, and television have become major ways of influencing homes and decisions. A yahoo article called "media influence in our society," talks about how our culture is so accustomed to technology, and media and the way it is a major aspect of our society. It's ironic how something like the printing press opened the door for mass media becoming en-grained in our everyday lives. We can't even turn on the tv or listen to the radio without media having some impact on thought or action.

  I love media. I love that it impacts our culture, however sometimes it's interesting to take a look back through the years and see how media has developed into a major aspect of our culture.

This youtube video really captures where media started and what it has evolved to throughout the years and paints a picture of how much of an influence it has over our society. We thrive off of media and our culture has been built around it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm5Zgkwnp_g

Life Lately...

God is constantly so unbelievably good and faithful. I can't get enough of His love! Lately, things have been adjusting back into a semi-normal routine with school starting back up. Zi is back at school with me which is great since I need to get him back in shape for show season. This is my last semester at BHE which I really can't believe.

I was thinking a lot about that today... for three semesters I have been at this school where I have faced one of the most difficult trials of my life and yet one of the most beautiful seasons of my life. God has done more than I ever could have fathomed and He has refined me and grown me in ways I never imagined. As I look to the future and what next year holds, I don't get scared or overwhelmed because I am so confident in the fact that God has a plan and will give me the strength for wherever He calls me to go. All I desire is to be where He wants me to be.

On the horse front, things have been fantastic... Zi is coming along better than I had hoped and I'm really excited to see about some shows this summer and trying to market myself as a trainer. I just want to keep working unceasingly in this horse industry and see what God does. If I am confident of anything, it is that He has called me to be a light and a witness within the equine world and that is where He has gifted me. I often feel so unworthy of being used by the Lord and I am so thankful for His amazing grace and unending love. This is the desire of my life: If I have to go through trial or critiscism or hardship and God is seen through that and someone comes to know Him then everything is worth it. That is eternal. That matters more than any horse show or training job or colleg because at the end of my life all I want is to be in my savior's arms and be able to worship and praise him constantly
. I am so thankful for what God is doing and I am so excited to see where He takes me in these coming months! Surrender is beautiful.

Philippians 1:21 For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

I Am not my Own

I am officially on Christmas Break! A whole month away from school, I get to be at home with the family and I also get a blessed chance to catch up with friends whom I haven't seen for a few months. I love this restoration and rejuvenation period God blesses us college kids with! :)

Lately, most of my time has been taken up with riding and working Zi (He needs to stay in shape with the month away from school, next semester starts our show season!), working out, hanging with the family and dear friends, working, and spending time in the Word. I love having no time contstraints and able to sit with my Bible and journal and write, pray and read for endless minutes. In addition to this semester closing out... there is the overwhelming and ever present question of "what am I going to do next year?" Blackhawk is a two year program school and next year I am either transferring on to another 4 year university to get my bachelor's degree in animal science (equine emphasis) or going straight to work in the training industry. Needless to say, I have absolutely no idea what next year is going to encompass. But I do know this. I am not my own. My choices are not going to be made based on what I want but on what God has for me.

I've spent a lot of my journaling time and time in prayer reflecting on my life and on the passions God has given me and on what God is doing in my heart. Right now, this is what I know. I am passionate about training horses and teaching people and horses...I love working with horses others don't always understand and I love the complexity and beauty of the discipline of dressage. I love being around people, I love loving people.. I love being there for others and I love doing whatever I can to help others. I love to love! More than anything else, I love Jesus Christ and everything I do reflects Him and the call He has placed on my life. I live to glorify Him. I am not my own.

Currently, I am planning on applying to West Texas A&M and Oklahoma State University for next year and hopefully being apart of their horse judging and equestrian teams. However, I have no idea where I will actually end up. Just as the Israelites laid out their fleece overnight prior to battle to see what God would do; I am laying out my fleece and waiting to see what God reveals. I could end up at another college far from home... yes, being away from home would be so incredibly difficult. However, my infinate fear in life is that I make choices to live comfortably, to do what is easy. I know God calls me to be uncomfortable, to trust Him so completely that I am unafraid to put myself in situations that cause discomfort. Wherever God calls me to next year, I will follow. I long to be a woman who is so lost and consumed with the Lord that I without hesitation go where He leads me.

He has opened doors for me in the horse industry in ways that I never would of imagined... I pray to one day have a ministry where I can work with people and horses and serve the Lord. I want to be used by Him. I have been placed at Blackhawk to be used by Him and to be put in an uncomfortable situation so that He can refine me. There is no part of myself that is my own. All of me is completely and utterly Christ's.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20