method, all available funds method, affordable method, marginal analysis and others. Contemporary budgeting rarely relies on a single method, but instead uses a combination of methods to guide the marketer in determining the optimal expenditure levels. Devising the creative strategy The creative strategy is also known as the message strategy. The creative strategy explains how the advertising campaign will address the advertising objectives. Developing the creative strategy typically begins by identifying the big idea (also known as the creative concept that will establish the intended product position in the minds of the customer. Another way of thinking about the creative concept is that it refers to the one thing that will make consumers respond. The creative concept should show how the product benefit meets the customer's needs or expectations in a unique way. Laskey et al. developed a typology of nine creative strategies. Initially devised for television, this typology has been widely adopted for other media including print media and social media. Laskey, Day and Crask's typology first identifies two broad classes of creative strategy: Informational: rational appeals that typically provide information about the brand's benefits Transformational: emotional appeals that assist consumers to imagine an aspirational lifestyle Informational appeals typically involve factual claims that list the product's benefits in a straightforward manner and are more likely to be used with high involvement goods. Transformational appeals play on emotions and are designed to transform the consumer's perceptions of themselves or of the product. Transformational appeals are more likely to be indicated for low-involvement goods or services. Emotional appeals are often known as a soft-sell approach. Because they bypass rational cognitive processing, transformational appeals are less likely to result in counter-arguing in the consumer's mind. In addition to determining the overall creative strategy, the advertiser also needs to consider the creative execution – which refers to the way that the message is presented. Examples of creative execution include: problem-solution formats, fear appeals, sex appeals, humour, parody, slogans or jingles, mnemonics, slice-of-life, guarantee, celebrity endorsement, testimonial, news style, scientific appeals, dramatisation and product demonstration. Media planning Strategic media planning consists of four key decision areas: 1) Setting media objectives (with reference to both marketing and advertising objectives); 2) Developing a media channel strategy for implementing media objectives – the broad vision of when and how to reach target audiences; 3) Designing media tactics – specific instructions about media vehicles, placement, preferred position; 4)