ABSTRACT
Competitive media analysis provides a framework for making a variety of strategic decisions. It is crucial for establishing a point of difference for ones' own brand as well as for developing the competitive attack plan. Most brands have contingency plans that are based on competitive scenarios. There are two major national competitive media tracking tools available for assessing media placement. The larger of the two is Competitive Media Reporting (CMR), now owned by Kantar Media. The SWOT process provides useful information about a firm, a brand, an advertising agency, or other similar organization. The classic way to use competitive information is to understand how much ones' brand spends in relation to their competitors. Sometimes share of spending (SOS) is called share of voice (SOV) analysis. Although many media people use these two terms interchangeably, they are different. Marketing-mix models can help brand managers understand the impact of all their marketing elements, and how individual media perform.
