All media is planned and bought in different ways as they each have a unique structure, format and rate structure. For example, descriptors may also vary, TV and Radio are planned considering the zones or day parts that are preferred, whereas for Print the placement areas are called sections. The geographic coverage areas areal so quite different, for example with TV and Radio, you have a set of stations that  fall into the Metro region or Regional region, but a Metro region doesn’t actually assume all Capital Cities but refers to the city regions of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

All other markets fall under the Regional category. The formats in how you buy the media influences the cost and sometimes can influence where the message is placed. The rates and costs to advertise may be fixed over a period of time or can fluctuate depending on the demand for advertising in the market. For example print rates are generally fixed over a period of 12 months until they apply their next rate increase, so regardless of which issue you want to be in, the rate will the same throughout this period.

However with TV, whilst a rate structure is negotiated at the beginning of the year, the rates through out the year do vary, so if you buy a spot in the News in say April then another one in July, the cost for the July spot will usually be higher as there is generally higher viewing during the winter months. The following pages will provide a brief summary of these key variations and considerations that a Media Agency needs to be fully aware of when under taking their planning and buying.