Advertising Media Planning, Seventh Edition

This is a great introductin to media. From reach and frequency through the use of CMR to pull competitive media data, this book covers everything. The information is straightforward and ordered, and the writing is to the point. Included, there is a glossary that covers every definition you've forgotten. And there are a lot. This is an excellent book for someone who has taken time off from media and is looking to get back into it, or just a great reference tool for a person in the advertising industry. I highly recommend it.

I've worked in the media departments of two major advertisers and a major advertising agency--and I use this book all the time when I need help on any training sessions I am conducting. It is very thorough with all information you need, but also concise enough not to get bogged down.For my own use, I find the section on Media Planning Resources on the Internet and invaluable tool to find more information.A must for any media planner's or buyer's bookshelf!

One of the mysteries of the UK ad scene is that there is no good, up-to-date, practitioner-written textbook on media planning, so the arrival of an updated version of an established US text is doubly welcome.Jack Sissors and (mostly, as a result of Mr Sissor's ill-health) Roger Baron have done a very thorough and comprehensive job of explaining and illustrating the basics, from how to get information about any given medium to how to put together a strategy and a detailed plan.Unsurprisingly, the material is purely US-based, and therefore includes, for example, considerable discussion of the problems of reconciling different area definitions; but analyses such as how to weight a plan by region or medium can apply, suitably modified, anywhere.There is a wide range of suggestions for (mostly) websites from which to seek detailed information, some of which may be both unfamiliar and useful to non-US readers - the MPA's analysis of the effects of position and ad size in magazines is a good example....Many of the references may seem old, but, as the authors make clear, they have gone back to the classic originals of basic thinking - and much of this still holds good today.The new edition is up-to-date, with quite extensive discussion of the internet as a medium, and slightly more limited coverage of cross-media and multi-media planning. Conversely, data fusion barely gets a mention - and is not in the index. Nor are optimisers, which are not discussed in any detail - merely treated as a tool of the trade - or modelling, which gets a brief half page on p374.If the book has a weakness, it is in the area of evaluation, which gets several mentions, but little detailed discussion. In an era where effectiveness has marched up advertisers' list of priorities, this may need addressing next time.Nonetheless, any would-be media person should read it, and learn.

Roger Baron's book goes to great lengths to cover all the basics having to do with the media planning discipline. This book should be required reading for all entry level media professionalls as well as those considering a career in media planning. Well written, good flow. Highly recommended.

'Advertising media planning' is a must read for any individual intersted in entering the advertising world or even for those seasoned veterans who would like to brush up on the finer aspects of media planning. While the book is somewhat dry at times, the basics are black and white. I liked that this book can also be used as a reference guide for media terms and definitions and highly recommend it.