Time To Make The Donuts

     If everyone believed an advertiser's message based on the images presented in the commercial, there would be no concern over the issue of advertising effectiveness. However, we all know that advertising is only one of many sources consumers use in determining what brands to choose when making a purchase in a product category. Word-of-mouth and product studies in the media (ie. Consumer Reports) are other sources of information used by consumers. In many ways, these sources are considered to be more valuable to consumers than advertising since they are thought of as more credible and when they are used, they are actively sought out by the consumer during the purchase decision process.

     Advertising has a much easier job incorporating itself into the consumer decision process when it reinforces existing ideas about a product than when it tries to change the ideas of the consumer. No amount of advertising can make a bad brand good. It can only hope to convince enough people to try the brand once, so they will in fact learn for themselves how bad the brand really is. Assuming a brand has worthwhile qualities and will not fail based upon intrinsic product flaws, much of what will incite consumer action is determined by the scheduling and placement of the ad media.

     A creative, strategically sound commercial will attract the attention of those who are exposed to its message and are involved in the product category. The objective in gaining consumer action should be to present the creative message at a time and place where it will generate the most attention by the target audience, functions which fall under the domain of the media planner. And what is media planning? It is the process of placing ads in such a way that they reach the target consumer in the most efficient manner possible. Media planning also takes into account product purchase intervals to capitalize on moments when purchase decision is most salient. Just like the droll character in Dunkin Donuts' series of television ads who arose in the early morning hours to meet the timing demands of his business (all the while mumbling "Time to make the donuts"), media planners must act to insure that the ad message is presented when the target is looking for information or considering purchase, in the hopes of being included in the decision set of the consumer.