Posted In: Media by
Steph Feather,
May 15, 2024
Media planning keeps evolving as a discipline as consumer habits are increasingly everchanging. As planners, we’re accountable for the ‘how’, ‘where’ and ‘when’, and the champion of the ‘why’. We focus on the strategy behind the campaign and orchestrate the different elements that go into the process of selecting an optimal combination of media channels for ultimate campaign effectiveness.
If you’re new to the world of Media, either as a Planner or a Client, it’s important to understand everything from industry jargon to final campaign outputs.
We’ve summarised our top tips for effective Media planning and key strategies for success…
Understand your client’s audience. Data, data and more data. Data creates insights, which help form strategy. Whether it’s sales, audience profiles or market data, utilise and analyse all information to drive insight and strategy. Market tools can support strategy with researching and identifying trends to hit the brief.
Clarify and agree. Establishing campaign (and business) objectives is paramount to planning. Whether the goal is to drive traffic to site, increase brand awareness or improve ROI, you can’t measure campaign performance if you don’t know what success looks like. Set the objective and stick to it.
Consider all elements that can affect budget. Factors like seasonality, audience and regionality all play a part. Managing and dealing with budget restrictions whilst optimising investments can be a tricky task. Allocating budgets in the most cost-effective way is vital to campaign success. And don’t forget to negotiate!
Consider the multiplier effect of advertising. One channel can amplify another and add incremental reach to a campaign. Activating the voice over from a brand’s TVC into the Radio creative can encourage their halo effect. Hitting people at different touchpoints of their media day will reinforce awareness. But don’t slice too thinly – concentrate on getting the mix right and consider reach and frequency.
Build in time for trend analysis and evaluation. Regular monitoring will assist in measuring success, as well as identifying any necessary campaign alterations that need to be applied. A bit of trial and error (and the value of a media planners experience) can aid learnings and recommendations. Simple A/B testing can help planners optimise to KPIs and link into objectives.
The market can have a huge impact on campaign planning. Whether it’s a shift in wider global affairs or the economic climate, these can impact anything from revenue in market to adjusted consumer behaviour. Industry fluctuations in the media landscape (such as increased viewing figures during cultural / sporting events like The World Cup) can also influence channel choice. Market analysis is vital. (And remember to keep an eye on competitors!)
Want a Media strategy for success? We have decades of experience at Boutique when it comes to effective media planning (and buying!) so drop us a note hello@weareboutique.co.uk and we’ll tell you all about it.
Get in touch with us hello@weareboutique.co.uk
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