Media planning

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:

Choosing which media or type of advertising to use can be especially 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.

The fundamental purpose of a media plan is to determine the best way to convey a message to the target audience. A media plan sets out a systematic process that synchronizes all contributing elements in order to achieve this specific goal. The media plan is broken down into four stages; market analysis, establishment of media objectives, media strategy development and implementation, and evaluation and follow-up.

Similarities can be made to other marketing concepts such as the consumer decision-making process with comparisons such as, increasing brand awareness and knowledge, improving brand image, and the maximization of customer satisfaction.

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 purpose of a situation analysis is to understand the marketing problem, in relation to their competitors. For example, undertaking an internal and external review or competitive strategy evaluation.

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.

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.

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. Each of these criteria are explained briefly below:

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