What is "media mix"?

"Media mix" is an advertising technique adopted by many companies with the aim of reaching as many consumers as possible by combining (mixing) various media (such as television, newspaper inserts, train hanging advertisements, direct mail (DM)), and internet advertising.

As I will explain in more detail later, "media mix" is a term that combines various media.

• Advertise to consumers with different lifestyles
• You can appeal to your audience multiple times by changing the media.
• Compensate for the weaknesses of each media

For example, people who don't watch TV won't see a TV commercial ad, but if they have a computer, they might see an internet ad. For people who watch TV and have a computer, you can change the scene and appeal repeatedly, so it's easier to make an impression.

There is also the term "media mix" in marketing, which refers to the development of content into other media (such as games or dramas) based on the original work. For example, light novels (ranobe) and manga can be adapted into anime, movies, and games. This is also an important technique, but this time we will focus on "media mix" as "advertising."

Details of "Media Mix"

As I mentioned earlier, the purpose of "media mix" is to increase the opportunities for your advertising to be seen by consumers by advertising across multiple media.

So what kind of media do consumers come into contact with on a daily basis? If we consider all tools used to communicate something to people to be media, then in addition to "television," "radio," "magazines," and "newspapers," information such as "billboards," "digital signage," "train hanging ads," "flyers," "direct mail (DM)," and "store POP" can also be considered media. There are also many advertising strategies on the Internet (online), and there are many opportunities to see information online, such as "listing ads," "SNS ads," "banner ads," and "video ads (YouTube, etc.)."

So what are the benefits of using multiple media? In the previous chapter, we said that the features of a "media mix" are that it allows you to advertise to consumers with various lifestyles, that you can appeal to multiple times by changing the media, and that you can make up for the weaknesses of each media. Here we will explain in more detail with concrete examples.

Advertise to consumers with different lifestyles

Each medium excels at targeting different consumer groups. For example, if the target audience is high school girls, they may not read newspapers but read fashion magazines, while businessmen may not use social media but read newspapers. Housewives may not listen to the radio but often watch TV, and so on. The types of advertisements you can reach will vary depending on the type of audience. There are also many other consumers with a wide variety of lifestyles, so it is important to appeal to them from a variety of angles in order to advertise your products without missing any.

You can appeal to your audience multiple times by changing the media.

The effectiveness of advertising increases as the number of times it appeals to one consumer increases. Advertisements that are seen only once are not memorable, but with a "media mix," it is possible to appeal to one person using many different media, making it easier to remember. Using the previous example, a high school girl who looked at a fashion magazine with her friends may see the same ad on social media on her way home, and a businessman may see the same ad on a train poster during his commute as he saw in the newspaper that morning. A housewife may see a product she saw in a TV commercial on digital signage while out shopping. By seeing it repeatedly, consumers are more likely to feel an affinity with the product.

Compensate for the weaknesses of each media

It's close to "advertising to consumers with various lifestyles," but each medium has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, while television commercials can advertise to many consumers, they also need to narrow down the information due to time constraints. On the other hand, with print media such as magazines, the advertising effect is limited to the reader, but there is no time constraint, so you can clearly communicate what you want to say.

In this way, by effectively combining the many media and advertising methods that exist, you can increase the opportunities for your ad to be seen and compensate for the weaknesses of each medium, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of your advertising.

What is "cross media"?

There is a method called "cross media" that is similar to the "media mix" that combines multiple media. "Cross media" is a method of promoting one product or service using multiple media. If you only look at the overview, you might think "Isn't this the same as a media mix?", but while both aim for "penetration," the way the advertising is done and the meaning of "penetration" are different.

Media mix

• Almost identical ads
• The aim is to raise awareness
• Image of "penetration": [horizontal] to spread

How to advertise using "cross media" and what its aims are

• Basically, don’t use the same ads.
• The purpose is to guide consumers who see the advertisement to other media so that the information is complementary.
• Image of "penetration": [Vertical] deepen

For example, have you ever seen a TV commercial with instructions like "Search for XX" or "Continue reading on the web"? This is one of the "cross-media" techniques, which starts with a commercial that can reach many consumers, and aims to supplement the information by directing them to a website that provides more detailed information. QR codes on paper such as flyers are the same in the sense that they complement missing information on the website.

As such, "media mix" and "cross media" are very different strategies, but they have in common the fact that they involve advertising using multiple media.

Points to note when using media mix

I think you understand that by adopting a "media mix" that deploys multiple media, you can create opportunities to acquire many customers. However, in reality, it is difficult to advertise in all media, so most companies will narrow down their advertising to a certain number of media. The standard used in this case is "CPA (cost per acquisition)." CPA indicates how much advertising costs are incurred to obtain one CV (result such as a product purchase), and

Advertising cost ÷ CV = CPA

It can be calculated as follows.

For example, if it costs 200 million yen to acquire 100 conversions,

[Advertising cost] 100 million yen ÷ [CV] 200 = [CPA] 5000 yen

This advertising campaign cost 1 yen per customer.

When considering a "media mix," it is common to calculate the CPA for each measure and use it as a benchmark. CPA is an important indicator when considering advertising costs, but judging based on CPA alone increases the chances of it not working well and failing.

For example, if you have a high CPA (Not cost-effective) and cancel TV commercials for that reason, and use the money instead for a lower CPA (Cost-effective) Let's say you invest a lot of money into internet advertising. As a result, your sales may decrease. Why do your sales decrease even though you invested in advertising that should be efficient?

The answer is that consumers are exposed to multiple media before making a purchase. If many consumers who become interested in a product after seeing a TV commercial also see an online ad before making a purchase, cutting TV commercials will result in losing customers that you could have otherwise acquired.

So what should we do? . .

When implementing "media mix,"
-Look at the entire ad and consider itabout,
・Do not treat the CPA of individual measures as absolute, but rather consider it as just one indicator.

The key point is to take into account the characteristics and relationships of each media and carefully consider the advertising strategies that should be adopted.

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Media mix summary

"Media mix" is an advertising technique that combines media with various characteristics to increase the opportunities for exposure to consumers and raise awareness. By adopting it, you can "advertise to consumers with various lifestyles," "appeal multiple times by changing media," and "make up for the weaknesses of each media."

However, since it is realistically difficult to advertise in all media, I think many companies will narrow down the media they use. In that case, it is important not to judge only by CPA (cost per acquisition). The key to a successful "media mix" is to look at the whole advertisement and select each media considering its characteristics and relationships.

At XICA, we support those in charge of implementing a "media mix" who want to "combine the most effective media to advertise efficiently and without waste!"

Specifically, by analyzing and clarifying "the process that consumers most often go through to make a purchase," it is possible to reduce opportunity losses such as "losing customers that we could have otherwise acquired."

In addition, by analyzing the efficient allocation of budgets, we can prevent "overspending of budgets" and "Measures that should be budgetedWe clarify your advertising goals and also offer suggestions on maximizing advertising effectiveness within your budget.

Author information

XICA Co., Ltd. Marketing Team