ABSTRACT
The target audience is the cornerstone of the media plan. Defining the proper target begins with setting the right objectives and then using the tools at the disposal to better identify the audience. The target must make sense from a business perspective, a marketing perspective, a media perspective, and a creative perspective. Over the years, there have been several improvements in linking actual brand purchase data to media behavior. These have led to a recent rise in the ability to model schedules and to determine the sales impact potential of various media alternatives. Mediamark Research Inc. Historically, the two nationally syndicated research studies used by media planners have been those of Mediamark Research Inc. (MRI) and Simmons Market Research Bureau. MRI is the most widely used syndicated research service for determining magazine reader-ship. The Simmons National Consumer Survey (NCS) offers much the same data as MRI but is more extensive in terms of its own segmentation schemes.
