The Media Handbook: A Complete Guide to Advertising Media Selection, Planning, Research, and Buying

Helen Katz' The Media Handbook is an easy to follow guide which will help a wide range of marketing/advertising students and practicioners gain a basic understanding of the media planning process. I feel comfortable making this observation as a former media planning executive at DDB Chicago advertising agency and now as instructor teaching two media planning courses at Loyola University Chicago. This book begins with chapters on "What is Media" and "Media in the Marketing Context" then moves through the steps of the media planning process before it concludes with chapters on media buying and media plan evaluation/accountability. It provides a good overview of media planning yet spares the reader exhaustive explanations of media terminology and media math calculations found in may college media textbooks. Author Katz has authored this 3rd Edition to stay current with the rapidly changing media environment. To a reasonable extent, she has succeeded although today's digital media technology changes are occuring at such a breakneck pace that any media textbook is somewhat out of date a week after it has been written. A broad cross section of the marketing/advertising community will find The Media Handbook to be a useful reference source in understanding the role of media planning in the marketing communications process.