Media consultants may also be referred to as marketing consultants, public relations consultants or advertising account executives. In general, a media consultant will help a business create a strategic plan that will gain positive press exposure. While some media consultants deal only with placing ads and gaining media coverage, others will offer additional services in the marketing and advertising areas.
Significance
Many business owners are not educated in or skilled at coming up with creative advertising slogans or other advertisements. It is often beneficial to a business to hire a media consultant, an outside expert in the advertising field, to develop effective advertising campaigns. Media consultants can often be more cost effective, because they are experienced in placing ads in various media outlets. A media consultant will be able to place ads in the most appropriate venues that will provide the greatest return on investment for a particular business.
Function
Media consultants create impactful advertising slogans, write copy for radio commercials, produce television commercials and design print advertisements. They also maintain a network of contacts within the media industry and act as a buyer on behalf of their clients, placing ads strategically to achieve the greatest return on investment. A media consultant acts as a resource to a business, bringing in expertise about all of the available media outlets and determining what combination of advertising and public relations strategies would be the most effective for the current marketing campaign.
Types
A basic media consultant will help a business place ads in various advertising venues. This type of media consultant acts primarily as a media buyer and is not typically involved in creating the ad or sales copy. More comprehensive media consultants will offer copywriting or production services in addition to ad placement and buying. A marketing consultant is another type of media consultant. A marketing consultant offers the most comprehensive services, although the specific services offered by a marketing consultant can vary widely. Generally, a marketing consultant offers services ranging from identifying a target market to creating a core message to implementing a comprehensive marketing plan on behalf of a client.
Considerations
Choosing a media consultant can be a difficult decision for a business owner. Business owners should take care to select a consultant who can best meet their current media needs. It's also important to choose a consultant with experience in a similar industry. A marketing consultant can be more expensive than a media buyer, so if the primary need is assistance with selecting appropriate media outlets, it may make more sense to choose a consultant who is more affordable. It's perfectly acceptable to ask for references when choosing a consultant.
Potential
Media consultants can make the difference between a profitable marketing campaign and a useless one. Utilizing the services of a consultant may appear to cost more money, but the return on investment should more than cover the added costs of hiring a consultant. Business owners often lack the time and expertise required to ensure proper placement of advertising, and as a result often run ads in venues that are ineffective or not appropriate for their industry. Many business owners make the mistake of running the least expensive ads. A media consultant can often gain more exposure for less money by placing ads that may be more expensive per spot or per run but reach a larger and more targeted audience. This more efficient use of a marketing budget can free up additional funds that can be redistributed to other areas of a business.
Tags: media consultant, marketing consultant, consultant will, media consultant will, media outlets, return investment