ZQMS-ARC-REC-002

ASSIGNMENT COVER

REGION: MATABELELAND SOUTH

PROGRAM: BACHELOR OF ARTS AND MEDIA STUDIES INTAKE: 14

FULL NAME OF STUDENT: NQOBILE MPOFU PIN: P1139827C

MAILING ADDRESS: 1253 DULIBAVHADZIMO, BEITBRIDGE

CONTACT TELEPHONE/CELL: 0774010725 ID. NO.: 02-050604R 02

COURSE NAME: MEDIA MARKETING COURSE CODE: BAMS 208

ASSIGNMENT NO. e.g. 1 or 2: 2 DUE DATE: 07/10/2018

ASSIGNMENT TITLE: Discuss the implications of opening up the airwaves for media marketing
in Zimbabwe.

MARKER’S COMMENTS: ______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

OVERALL MARK: _____________ MARKER’S NAME: ________________________

MARKER’S SIGNATURE:_______________________________ DATE: ___________

The role of communication is very vital in the development of the country and this becomes a

success with the help of the people through various feedbacks. Looking at the modern society, it

depends on the media for information, entertainment and educational purposes. These platforms

have influence on the consumers of media products and also services and how the formulation

process takes place. The invisible highway of information that has been controlled by

frequencies, to prevent media technologies such as radio and television from having highway

accidents. The airwaves have various advantages and disadvantages to be discussed in the

writeup. The airwaves have undergone tremendous changes in past decades. It used to be the

premier of mass medium for audiences and marketers .

According to the Merriam Webster.com, airwaves are defined as “the medium of radio and

television transmission”. The Cambridge English dictionary then gives a definition that airwaves

are “the radio waves used in broadcasting radio and television programs” by saying that .It

means that the way in which the signal is transmitted through. Then the Collins dictionary then

gives a standard definition which means that airwaves is “the activity of broadcasting on radio

and television”. This fairly well means that the radio waves used in radio and television are the

ones used for broadcasting

Defining media marketing and first analysing the word ,we can see that it comprises of two

words ‘media’ and’ marketing’. According to the ZOU module ,media refers to the channels of

communication ,either physical or not ,and ‘marketing’is a process that looks after those

services.So that gives me the definition of media marketing is ‘The process were by those

involved in the production of media services do so in the right way at a lowest possible cost .
The airwaves offer a variety of features to media marketers and many of the medium’s

characteristics seem important to marketers .Of the various mass media ,the radio as part of the

airwaves is believed to be the most personal medium Greame Button (1995,193)explains that

“some adverts are intimate and whisper in our ear ,some are strident and assertive .”some talk to

us reasonably about why we should purchase their media products the radio offers advantages

like selectivity ,cost efficiency , flexibility and mental imaginary. Radio offers a high degree of

selectivity through geographic coverage, a large number of stations and a variety of program

formats. The organizations can focus their specific messages to their audiences through the

different languages in the different areas which can be difficult with other media. Of the various

media the radio has the widest media coverage because it can reach every household and can also

reach even the illiterate people. With the vast and increasing number of radio stations and the

diverse languages used ,it has made the radio to be the medium with the largest coverage around

Zimbabwe making it an appropriate medium for marketing.

The airwaves have cost advantages as a marketing medium because radio costs far less and the

marketing is inexpensive to produce .In most marketing messages ,they need to be prerecorded

and taken to the different stations for broadcasting to broaden the reach and frequency within a

limited media budget ,even though the television is quite opposite with high costs ,marketers

have the best chance to reach a high audience through the use of television. Organizations that

focus on brand awareness often manage to reach the desired target audience especially when the

campaign is on prime time viewing.

The airwaves especially television offers the greatest creative opportunity amongst the

traditional media because it offers visual elements unlike audio and again has dynamic

movement. Media marketers have a way of being creative which means that they give greater
meaning to a brand at the same time manipulating the emotions of the audience at the same time

incorporating characters that the audience can relate to and offer multisensory appeal .On the

other hand, radio is viewed as one of the lower cost medium used in marketing. Radio does not

require the video equipment and the enormous logistics of producing their marketing campaigns

.Radio spots are also less expensive than television placements because they are sold in packages

of a certain number in rotation.

Still looking at the implications of airwaves, the radio often offers the timeliest marketing

campaigns; this benefits the media marketer in that the turnaround time on getting a campaign on

air takes little time. The radio also uses sound and this is an advantage because it encourages

audience to use their imagination in creating images whilst processing the message. According to

Verne Gay, radio can reinforce images created by a television campaign through image transfer

.This is possible if the same words and jingles are used in the campaign. For example, when the

audience hear the same sounds they the connect with the television campaign and then visualize

the images, making the two inseparable as the reinforce each other.

The implications of the airwaves might have positive implications but truth be told where there

are advantages disadvantages are prone .Opening up the airwaves for media marketing such as

using the radio lacks some visual element. The radio cannot show or demonstrate the media

product or use any form of visual appeal, for many ,identification often is critical considering the

increasing number of media products for example if a campaign is about a satellite connector ,the

need for identification is vital especially where literacy rates are low.

The radio as an airwave medium also has a disadvantage because the increase in the number of

stations creates audience fragmentation meaning that the number of audience at a particular
station becomes small ,marketers want to reach a broad market so at times they have to buy time

or specify on a particular station and only reaching specific geographic areas.Also ,radio is

limitedcompared to other other marketing platforms like television and the internet .

As a marketing platform the radio has difficulty in attracting and retaining radio listeners

attention to advertising and marketing commercials because among listeners there is a tendancy

of station changing and program switching making them to miss most commercials.Again clutter

has become a challenge in the media and in most cases in radio .People wouldn’t want to listen

to commercials every minuite .

Television is one of the greatest achievements in media because as we speak even if Zimbabwe

is considered a third world country, almost every household owns a television set. It is used as a

medium of entertainment, knowledge and entertainment and also communication. It is an

accessible medium as one can watch from the comfort of their homes. As a medium of

advertising through the air waves ,television allows the media marketer to demonstrate the

benefits of ownership meaning that one can actually see how the product or service works, how

it is packaged so that the prospective purchasers would know what to look for at a point of sale .

Marketing through television reaches a march larger audience as radio but does that during a

short period of time when they are most attentive to their favorite shows. This allows the

message to be conveyed in sight, sound and emotion which can give credibility to the media

product. The television has the credibility of being creative and thus attaching a personality to

the media product and service.

Television has some disadvantages and advantages as a form of media marketing through the

airwaves. It has the ability to make changes such as when updating on the conditions of sale or

maybe the change in packaging ,it means the marketing campaign will start from scratch making

it a lot more expensive. Television makes it more difficult to effectively target the core audience

even though there are some strategies that can help for example when targeting farmers ,it is

advisable to place your campaign in the more serious timeslots like news hour and channels like

national geographic.Vakratsas and Ambler (1999) say that advertising has become an important

marketing activity and serves as a facilitator in the media world.

Since we now live in the global era where everyone is always on the internet, the internet is also

a player in airwave marketing .The internet is now well known and has changed the world of

marketing and transformed it. Online marketing has also been a new baby in Zimbabwe and has

proved to be of convenience and quick in media marketing. The internet has easy accessibility

with consumers or prospective customers of the media product who are also on the internet and

reaching the various markets that are anywhere in the world and not only locally. because of the

Zimbabwe is able to purchase goods across borders and reducing the cost of transportation ,for

importers online marketing is an advantage for example one can do business from their home

comfort in the same way tracking the delivery of the media products until delivery. Internet

marketing is great for business as it gives a better and comfortable shopping experience.

In Zimbabwe, since online marketing is new, it has a high operating cost .Those with riches have

the luxury of the internet, it allows instant contact with customers and that gives assurance

.With online marketing there are advantages of sending and receiving information in the e-mail

saving paper and postage. As an aspect of online marketing, it gives the ability of targeting

audience based on demography making you concentrate on the audience that you truly want to
offer your media products and services .With that it becomes cheaper because you will be

targeting all your market efforts on specific areas. Internet marketing gives you the ability to

market globally and as Zimbabweans to be able to be placed on the international market. Another

advantage is that one can handle millions of customers at the same time but the challenge with

our Zimbabwe is that the website infrastructure is inefficient and sometimes can deliver late, but

with efficient website it can give the best experience.

Looking at the history of Zimbabwe, the national airwaves remain a part of the continuing

history of Zimbabweans to fully enjoy the rights of expression through the airwaves as

mentioned in the Zimbabwean constitution and international conversions of peoples rights .There

is not much future in the media of Zimbabwe as it is retaining the few radio stations, one

television station and very expensive internet access. The government has since lost advertising

and circulation revenue with the private media increasing circulation and demanding to be paid

in foreign currency.
REFERENCES

1. Barker , J.M.(1987) The Marketing Book , 3rd ,Avon ,bathpress.

2. Button , G ,et al (1995) The media students handbook.London .New York .Routledge.

3. Mabaso.C ,Module ,BAMS 410 , Media Marketting , Mount Pleasant , Harare.

4. http .Merian Webster ,com

5. Oxford English dictionary

6. Smyth , D.W (1977) , Communication;Blindspot of western Marxism .Canadian journal