What is "Media Planning"?
Media planning is generally outsourced to entail 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 objectives.
In the process of planning, the media planner needs to answer questions such as:
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How many of the audience can be reached through the various media?
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On which media (and ad vehicles) should the ads be placed?
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How frequent should the ads be placed?
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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.
Components of Media Planning
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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?
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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.
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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:
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1 - Targeting,
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2 - Environmental scan,
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3 - Understanding the audience,
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4 - Determination of content,
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5 - Control.
Advertising Media Includes;
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Social (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, WhatsApp, etc.)
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Television ( TVC, television commercial)
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Radio (AM, FM, XM, Pandora, Spotify)
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Newspapers
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Magazines (consumer and trade)
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Outdoor billboards. (Print and Digital)
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Ambient experiential
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Public transportation
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Direct Media (DM)
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Digital advertising (such as web-based, mobile and mobile applications)
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Search engine marketing (SEM, keyword marketing in search engines)
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Specialty advertising (on items such as matchboxes, pencils, calendars, telephone pads, shopping bags and so on)
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Other media (catalogs, samples, handouts, brochures, newsletters and so on)