Tips for Successful Media Planning.
This is a media planner stan blog. Without our media planners, strategy would fall flat, and creative would never see the light of day. In homage to our diligent planners who scour over spreadsheets and request avails until their eyes cross, we managed to pull our media planners away from their computers to compile a list of tips to make sure you, or whoever plans your media (hit us up if you need help) is getting the most out of your budget and strategy.
1. Ensure your budgets and flight dates
create a healthy frequency.
We consider this to be the gold standard of media planning. Finding the perfect balance of flight vs frequency vs budget is like Goldilocks trying to find the perfect porridge. If the flight is too long with a small budget, your audience won’t get enough frequency to remember your campaign. If the budget is too big over a shorter flight, too much frequency can turn prospective customers off from your message, citing you as “too bothersome.” Instead, aim for the “just right” mix of a balanced budget and flighting. Frequency ranges between 3 – 7 exposures per person are considered good frequency. Numbers closer to 7 would have a flight of 3 – 4 weeks, and numbers closer to 3 would have flights of 1-2 weeks.
2. Keep your media diverse but with
purpose.
Our media planners will recommend it, but our social Media managers will defend this point until they are blue in the face. You do not need to be on every platform just because it exists. Get that tattooed. Trying to saturate the market in every place can be a strategy if it’s right for your brand, but more often than not, your brand does not need to be doing everything everywhere all at once. Leave that to Michelle Yeoh. Instead, look at your brand and plan to appear in the right place for you. For example, if you are a lawn and hardscaping company, you don’t need to be on podcasts about ancient Greek history. You may be better off allocating that budget toward a billboard or vehicle wrap – as they have increased brand recall.
Sticking to a few tried-and-tested tactics with a budget to explore new tactics is ideal. New tactics come online all the time, and trying them out can yield success, but putting all your eggs in one basket or one egg in every basket isn’t a good way to save eggs.
We are huge fans of the test-and-learn approach. Our media planners know what works but are eager to try something new and provide feedback. Tell us more about your needs, and we can create a custom plan just for you.
3. Get ahead of peak buying seasons.
The holiday season. The Olympics. Election season. They said that two things are certain in life: death and taxes, but they forgot high CPM Costs and limited inventory during these three seasons. Whether limited by legislation that mandates airtime for candidates or inventory that gets swallowed up quickly, we urge our clients to get ahead with peak season planning. This way, we can secure the lowest CPM costs for digital tactics while ensuring enough inventory for traditional tactics.
The Takeaway.
Like most things in marketing, successful media planning is about balance. Planners work to ensure the right message is delivered in the right place at the right time. That requires consideration of the frequency at which you’re sending a message, what types of tactics jive with your brand, and when you are sending the message. Finding this balance can be difficult. It requires lots of outreach to vendors and coordinating lots of schedules. Luckily, DDL has over 25 years of media planning experience and is here to help you through it.