We choose the most cost-effective media for your brand to achieve the necessary coverage, and number of exposures, among the target audience in Iran.
In terms of overall advertising expenditures,Iran media advertising is still dominated by Press and television, which are of comparable size (by value of `sales'). Posters and radio follow some way behind, with cinema representing a very specialist medium.

Television

This is normally the most expensive medium in Iran, and as such is generally only open to the major advertisers, although some regional contractors offer more affordable packages to their local advertisers. It offers by far the widest coverage, particularly at peak hours (roughly 7.00--10.30 p.m.) and especially of family audiences. Offering sight, sound, movement and colour, it has the greatest impact, especially for those products or services where a `demonstration' is essential; since it combines the virtues of both the `story-teller' and the `demonstrator'. However, to be effective these messages must be kept simple - and have the impact to overcome the surrounding distractions of family life; especially the attraction of the remote control - which has caused more problems for advertisers than any other development.
The medium is relatively unselective in its audiences, and offers relatively poor coverage of the upper class and younger age groups, but as it is regionally based it can be used for regional trials or promotions (including test markets).
The price structures can be horrendously complicated, with the `rate card' (the price list) offering different prices for different times throughout the day; and this is further complicated by a wide range of special promotional packages, and individual negotiations. It is truly the province of the specialist media buyer.
Satellite television - This has long been supposed to be the medium of the future, just as cable television was similarly supposed to represent the future a decade or so ago,but this promise has been largely fulfilled in Iran

Radio

The use of radio has increased greatly in recent years, with the granting of many more licences. It typically generates specific audiences at different times of the day; for example, adults at breakfast, housewives thereafter, and motorists during rush hours.
It can be a very cost-effective way of reaching these audiences (especially as production costs can also be much cheaper), although the types of message conveyed will be limited by the lack of any visual elements, and may have a `lightweight' image.

Press

In Iran, spending is dominated by the national and regional newspapers, the latter taking almost all the classified advertising revenue. The magazines and trade or technical journal markets are about the same size as each other, but are less than half that of the newspaper sectors.

National newspapers : These are still traditionally categorized, from the media buyer's viewpoint, on the basis of class; even though this is of declining importance to many advertisers. `Quality' newspapers for example, tend to have a readership profile of in excess of 80 per cent of Keyhan or Etemad Melli readers, though it is more difficult to segment readerships by age categories. They are obviously best matched to national advertisers who are happy with black and white ad, although colour is now available - and high-quality colour is available in some supplements.
National newspapers in general, and the quality Press in particular, are supposed to carry more `weight' with their readers (since they are deliberately read, not treated just as `background'); so that an advertisement placed in one is taken more seriously than a comparable one in a regional newspaper, although it may be more transitory (since it is not kept for reference as some local weeklies may be).

Regional newspapers: These may be dailies, which look and perform much like the nationals, or weeklies, which are rather more specialized, although they dominate the market for classified advertising. Indeed, there is usually much more advertising competing for the reader's attention, and the weekly newspaper now largely the province of the `free-sheet' - which is typically delivered free to all homes in a given area - obtaining all their revenue from the very high proportion of advertising which they carry, and accordingly having the least `weight' of all.

Advertisements in newspapers, referred to as `insertions', are usually specified as so many centimetres across so many columns. In these days of metrication, a multiple of 3 cm is used as the standard measure, instead of the previously traditional inch. Thus, a `30 cm double' is an advertisement that is 30 cm long, down the page, and across two columns of type; where the width of columns varies from paper to paper - an important consideration when you are having the printing `blocks' made. The position is also often specified; so that, for example, an advertiser of a unit trust will probably pay extra to make certain that the insertion is next to the financial pages.

Magazines : These offer a more selective audience (which is more `involved', with the editorial content at least). Magazines are traditionally categorized into general interest, special interest and trade or technical. The advertiser will, therefore, be able to select those which match the specific profile demanded by the advertising strategy. The weight, or `authority', of magazines is correspondingly high, and they may be kept for a considerable time for use as reference - and passed to other readers (so that `readership' figures may be much higher than `circulation' figures). They can offer excellent colour printing; but, again, the clutter of many competing advertisements may reduce the impact of the advertiser's message.

Trade and technical : In the trade and professional fields there are now a significant number of `controlled circulation' magazines. These are like the `free Press', in that they are delivered free to the recipients; but, at least in theory, those recipients should have been carefully screened to ensure that they are of value to the advertisers - and the circulation can, if properly controlled, represent a wide cross-section of the buyers, and influencers, in the advertiser's target audience. The rates for positioning are usually more varied than for newspapers, with premiums being paid for facing editorial matter and, of course, for colour.

Internet/Web

This is a rapidly growing force in brand marketing in Iran. It is very varied in form, but much of it still follows the example of press advertising, but the most effective usage - now adopted by the 'search engines' - is interactive.
We are using a new mixed method called media ripples to gain a higher brand recall among the target audience

Mobile

We think that although the personal mobile phone is becoming very attractive as an important advertising media to the network operators, it is relatively unproven and therefore still remains in the media buyers' sidelines.

Cinema

Although the numbers in the national audience are now small, this may be the most effective medium for extending coverage to the younger age groups in Iran, since the core audience is aged 15-24.