| Course | MKT 498 Integrated Marketing Strategy (MKT/498) |
|---|---|
| Week | 3 |
| Paper type | IMC media plan |
| Length | about 1,013 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Business |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MKT 498 Week 3
Where Commuters Will See the Gold Line: A Media Plan With Reach, Frequency and Flighting for a Rapid Bus Launch in South Dakota
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
MKT/498: Integrated Marketing Strategy
Week 3 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Prairie Line Transit, its media costs and its audience figures are composites written for a model paper.
Last week's creative work gave Prairie Line Transit's new Gold Line, an imaginary rapid bus route for Sioux Falls, a frequency promise and a ten-minute campaign line. Prairie Line Transit's marketing director, Anita Lindqvist, has allocated $380,000 of the $640,000 launch budget to paid media; the rest will fund public relations, promotions and events. This paper defines the media planning terms, reviews research on how media work together and affect results, sets media objectives and presents a media plan with costs and a schedule.
Planning Vocabulary
Reach is the percentage of a target audience exposed to an advertisement at least once in a period. Frequency is the average number of exposures among those reached. Gross rating points, or GRPs, equal reach multiplied by average frequency, so reaching 75 percent of adults an average of six times equals 450 GRPs. Cost per thousand, or CPM, is the cost of reaching 1,000 people or impressions and allows media to be compared. Flighting means scheduling advertising in bursts rather than evenly.
Synergy Among Media
Naik and Raman (2003) developed a model to measure synergy, the extra effect that occurs when media are used together, and applied it to a brand's television and print advertising. They found that the combined effect exceeded the sum of the separate effects, and that when synergy exists, a firm should spend more in total and give more to the less effective medium than it would otherwise. The finding supports a plan that combines several media rather than putting everything into one.
How Much Advertising Moves Results
Sethuraman et al. (2011) conducted a meta-analysis of advertising elasticity, the percentage change in sales from a 1 percent change in advertising, across hundreds of estimates. Across those estimates the typical short-run figure was close to 0.12, with newer products responding more strongly and established ones less. Advertising matters, but modestly. For a new transit line, which behaves like a new product, effects should be stronger than average, but no campaign alone will deliver 2,400 weekday trips.
Comparing Channels in a Short Campaign
Danaher and Dagger (2013) studied a large retailer's multimedia campaign across television, radio, newspapers, magazines, online display, search, social media, catalogs, direct mail and email, linking each customer's exposure to purchases. They found that several traditional media, including television, direct mail and catalogs, along with paid search, had significant effects on sales, while some newer channels, such as social media and online display, showed little effect in that campaign. Their results caution against assuming that digital media always outperform traditional ones.
Media Objectives
During the four-week launch flight, the plan aims to reach 75 percent of metro adults an average of six times, about 450 GRPs, and 85 percent of medical district employees and college students an average of eight times. During the sustain flight, the aim is to keep weekly reach near 30 percent.
Selected Media and Budget
Local television and connected television, $96,000: broad reach and the 30-second video showing a nurse's commute; strongest for the general public
Outdoor billboards on Interstate 229 and arterials, $54,000: daily reach of drivers stuck in traffic, where the frequency message lands hardest
Transit shelters and bus wraps, $18,000: low cost on the agency's own assets and visible along the corridor
Streaming audio and local radio, $42,000: morning and evening commute times
Paid social, $38,000: video and countdown posts aimed at ages 18 to 34 and at people living or working near stations
Paid search, $22,000: people searching for parking, directions or the Gold Line itself
Direct mail to 41,000 households within a half mile of stations, $46,000: a station map and a free ride card
Employer channels, $24,000: intranet posts, break room posters and benefits fair tables at the two hospital systems and the largest clinic group
Student media and campus screens, $14,000: college newspapers, screens and orientation materials
The total is $354,000, with $26,000 held for production of additional versions and a contingency.
The plan spends where people sit in traffic, wait for parking or plan their week, because those are the moments when ten minutes sounds like a promise.
Why These Media
Television and billboards build broad awareness quickly. Direct mail reaches the households most likely to ride and, following Danaher and Dagger (2013), is a proven traditional channel. Employer channels reach the highest-value audience inside the workplace at low cost and carry the credibility of the employer. Paid social and campus screens reach students where they spend time. Search captures people already looking. Shelters and wraps turn the service itself into advertising.
Schedule
The campaign runs in three flights. The teaser flight, July 14 to August 10, uses billboards, shelters, employer channels and social posts announcing the date, at about 25 percent of the budget. The launch flight, August 11 to September 7, uses every medium at full weight, about 55 percent of the budget, with direct mail arriving the week before opening and television concentrated in the two weeks around launch. The sustain flight, September 8 to December 31, keeps social, search, radio and shelters running at low weight, about 20 percent, with a burst when the colleges' spring semesters begin.
Measuring Delivery and Results
Media delivery will be verified through station and platform reports of impressions and estimated reach. Awareness and belief will be measured by surveys of 600 adults before the teaser flight and after the launch flight. Ridership will be tracked daily with automatic passenger counters at each station, and free ride cards from direct mail will carry codes to show how many were used.
Conclusion
A media plan turns a message into exposures at the right time and place. Research on synergy supports combining media, research on advertising elasticity keeps expectations modest and evidence from a multimedia campaign shows that traditional channels still matter. The Gold Line plan uses nine media in three flights, concentrating spending around the launch and aiming each medium at a defined audience with the same frequency message.
References
Danaher, P. J., & Dagger, T. S. (2013). Comparing the relative effectiveness of advertising channels: A case study of a multimedia blitz campaign. Journal of Marketing Research, 50(4), 517-534. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.12.0241
Naik, P. A., & Raman, K. (2003). Understanding the impact of synergy in multimedia communications. Journal of Marketing Research, 40(4), 375-388. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.40.4.375.19385
Sethuraman, R., Tellis, G. J., & Briesch, R. A. (2011). How well does advertising work? Generalizations from meta-analysis of brand advertising elasticities. Journal of Marketing Research, 48(3), 457-471. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.48.3.457
What the MKT 498 Week 3 instructions ask
In the third week, MKT 498 students are often asked to develop a media plan or evaluate media selection for an integrated campaign. Typical requirements include media objectives stated as reach and frequency, selection of media types such as television, radio, outdoor, print, digital display, search, social, streaming and direct mail, justification based on audience habits and cost, a budget allocation and a schedule or flighting pattern. Some prompts ask students to compare media by cost per thousand. A strong paper ties every medium to an audience from the situation analysis and to the core message, explains how media work together, shows the numbers clearly and cites research on media effects in APA style.
How this MKT 498 Week 3 example is built
With $380,000 for paid media out of a $640,000 launch budget, the Gold Line campaign must reach medical district commuters, students and the wider public before an August launch. The paper first defines the planning vocabulary and sets objectives: 75 percent reach of metro adults at an average frequency of six during the launch flight. Research on multimedia synergy shows that television and print together can outperform either alone, a meta-analysis of advertising elasticities sets realistic expectations and a study of a retailer's multimedia blitz compares channels head to head. Nine media are then selected and costed, from employer intranets and transit shelters to streaming audio and local television, and scheduled in a teaser, launch and sustain pattern with weekly weights.
MKT 498 Week 3 grading rubric: where the points go
Media plans earn top marks when objectives are stated in measurable terms, media are chosen for clear reasons and the budget and schedule add up. Instructors look for accurate use of reach, frequency, gross rating points and cost per thousand, media matched to defined audiences and a flighting pattern that fits the campaign's timing. Research on media synergy and advertising effects strengthens the justification. The higher bands show how media work together and how each carries the core message, and they include a plan to measure delivery and results. Tables for the budget and schedule, correct calculations, scholarly citations in APA format and organized writing complete the assessment.
MKT 498 Week 3 help: mistakes to avoid
A typical shortfall in media plans is choosing channels the student uses personally rather than channels the audience uses. Cite audience data. Another common mistake is a budget that does not add up or a schedule that spends evenly all year when the campaign has a launch date. Concentrate spending around the moment that matters. Students also misuse terms, treating impressions as reach or adding frequencies across media without accounting for overlap. Define each term and estimate carefully. Some plans include a dozen media with tiny budgets, which buys too little of each to be noticed. Fewer media at meaningful weight usually work better. Finally, include measurement, such as survey awareness and ridership at stations, so the results can be compared with the goals.
Related MKT 498 sample papers
Other MKT 498 week samples
- MKT 498 Week 1: IMC Basics and Situation Analysis
- MKT 498 Week 2: Advertising Message Strategy
- MKT 498 Week 4: Promotion, PR and Events
- MKT 498 Week 5: Integrated Communications Plan
More BS in Business sample papers
- MKT 440 Week 3: Digital Marketing Terms and Metrics
- MKT 443 Week 3: Social Media Tactics by Segment
- MKT 446 Week 3: Website Architecture
- MKT 449 Week 3: Measuring Brand Recognition
MKT 498 Week 3 questions, answered
What does MKT 498 Week 3 usually cover?
It usually covers media selection and planning for an integrated campaign: reach and frequency objectives, choice of media, cost comparisons, budget allocation and scheduling or flighting.
Where can I find a free MKT 498 Week 3 sample paper?
The complete media plan for a composite rapid bus launch in South Dakota, with its budget table and three-flight schedule, is published above.
What is the difference between reach and frequency?
Reach is the percentage of the target audience exposed to the advertising at least once in a period, and frequency is the average number of times those reached are exposed.
What are gross rating points?
Gross rating points equal reach multiplied by average frequency; reaching 75 percent of the audience an average of six times produces 450 gross rating points.
What is flighting in media planning?
Flighting is scheduling advertising in bursts with gaps between them, concentrating spending around key periods such as a launch rather than spreading it evenly.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official University of Phoenix document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
Request this one custom, free · All MKT 498 week samples · All courses