OPTIMIZING BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR ADVERTISING ACROSS VARIOUS MEDIA FOR MAXIMUM AUDIENCE EXPOSURE

Selection of media and budget allocation is a major concern in advertising. It involves choosing the appropriate media that is effective in reaching the target audience of the population in consideration. Generally, predicting an optimal target audience exposure in selection of media is a complex problem. In this study, a Linear Programming technique is used to investigate the budgetary allocation of a Company for effective media selection planning. The problem is formulated using empirical data from the Airtel Company and other media sources. The resulting linear programming model is analyzed using Quantitative Manager for Business version 6.2 and Linear Programming Solver version 7.2.2 which embodies the simplex algorithm method. It was found that out of the three major media categories which give a total of Forty-Five (45) media outlets in the country and a budget of Six Hundred Thousand (N600,000), the results show that the optimal target audience is 541,399,986. The optimum media mix which attracts a significant audience exposure and generates the desired objective value for the advertising campaign include; three (3) Television media outlet, seven (7) print media outlet, and twenty (20) radio media outlet, radio stations respectively for the budget allocation on the major media categories in order to optimize the target audience exposure for the length of the programme.