Media Planning

Media Planning in Advertising

Media planning is generally outsourced to a media agency and entails sourcing and selecting optimal media platforms for a client's brand or product to use. The job of media planning is to determine the best combination of media to achieve the marketing campaign objectives.

In the process of planning, the media planner needs to answer questions such as:

·         How many of the audience can be reached through the various media?

·         On which media (and ad vehicles) should the ads be placed?

·         How frequent should the ads be placed?

·         How much money should be spent in each medium?

Choosing which media or type of advertising to use can be challenging for small firms with limited budgets and know-how. Large-market television and newspapers are often too expensive for a company that services only a small area (although local newspapers can be used). Magazines, unless local, usually cover too much territory to be cost-efficient for a small firm, although some national publications offer regional or city editions. Since the advent of social media, small firms with limited budgets may benefit from using social media advertising as it is cost effective, easy to manage, accurate and offers great ROI.

Different phases of Media Planning

1.    The first phase of any media plan is the initial market analysis, which consists of a situation analysis and the marketing strategy plan. These form the basis of information which the rest of the media plan is reliant on.

The marketing strategy plan should establish specific objectives and goals that will solve the marketing problems that developed. Once the market analysis is complete the improved knowledge gained should indicate a proffered target market. Enabling the marketers to understand where the prime advertising space would be to gain sufficient exposure, what factors effect that certain demographic, and how to promote to the audience effectively.

2.    The second phase in the media plan is the establishment of media objectives. Just as the marketing analysis lead to specific marketing objectives, this phase will result in explicit media objectives; such as creating a positive brand image through stimulating creativity. These objectives should be limited to those that can only be obtained through media strategies.

3.    Media strategy development and implementation is the third phase and is the point in the process that is directly influenced by the actions from previously determined objectives. Actions that meet these objectives are taken into consideration with following criteria; media mix, target market, coverage consideration, geographic coverage, scheduling, reach & frequency, creative aspects & mood, flexibility, or budget considerations.

·         Media Mix – A combination of communication and media channels use that is utilized to meet marketing objectives, such as social media platforms and magazines.

·         Target Market – A specific group of consumers that has been identified to aim it’s marketing and advertising campaigns towards, as they are the most likely to purchase the particular product.

·         Coverage Consideration – To alter the level of exposure of media to the target market, whilst minimizing the amount of overexposure and saturation into other demographics.

·         Geographic Coverage – Increased emphasis of exposure to a certain area where interest may thrive, whilst reducing exposure to areas they have less relevance.

·         Scheduling – The concept of aligning communication activity to coincide with peak potential consumer exposure times, such as around a big sports game on television.

·         Reach & Frequency – The decision to have a certain message seen / heard by a large number (reach) or expose the same message to a smaller group more often (frequency).

·         Creative Aspects & Mood – Different mediums for communication should be considered when developing a campaign. Social media might be more effective to generate emotion than a billboard poster on a main road.

·         Flexibility – In order to adapt to rapidly changing marketing environments it is important for strategies to be flexible. Such as unique opportunities in the market, media availability or brand threats.

·         Budget Considerations – The relationship between the effectiveness of a media campaign and the cost involved needs to be carefully managed. There should be an optimal level of response from the consumer for the price for the exposure.

4.    The final phase in the media plan is to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan and determine what follow-up is required. It is important to assess whether each individual marketing and media objective was met, as if they were successful it will be beneficial to use a similar model in future plans.

Components of a media plan

Define the marketing problem. Where is the business coming from and where is the potential for increased business? Does the ad need to reach everybody or only a select group of consumers? How often is the product used? How much product loyalty exists? How to build awareness or drive consideration through use of optimized contextual based material?

Translate the marketing requirements into media objectives. Must the ad reach people in a wide area? Then mass media, like newspaper and radio, might work. If the target market is a select group in a defined geographic area, then direct mail could be best.

Define a media solution by formulating media strategies. For example, the rule of thumb is that a print ad must run three times before it gets noticed. Radio advertising is most effective when run at certain times of the day or around certain programs, depending on what market is being reached.

Media planning's major steps include:

1 - Targeting,

2 - Environmental scan,

3 - Understanding the audience,

4 - Determination of content,

5 - Control