Using Antony Young’s book, Brand Media Strategy, as a guide I have outlined the decisions planners make as they move through the process of media planning.

1. What Happens in
Media Planning

2. INSPIRATION
2
NEEDSTOBE
Brand Media Strategy:
Integrated Communications Planning in the Digital Era
by Antony Young
Read by every media executive and every media planner
ANDSHOULDBE
Kept nearby, at all times, as it is the “new
media playbook” and will guide you in
developing the strategies that answer “why are
we advertising?”

3. INSPIRATION
3
“Peopledon’tbuywhatyoudo,theybuywhyyoudoit”
The Concepts of “The Golden Circle” and “Start With Why”
by Simon Sinek
Everysingleorganizationfunctionsonthreelevels:
Whatwedo,HowwedoitandWhywedoit.
https://www.startwithwhy.com

4. INSPIRATION
4
Therestoftheseslideswalkyouthroughthe
“how”and“what”mediaplannersdo.
But let’s first cover the “Why” . . .
Webelievethatmediaplanningstartswithunderstandingtheconsumer.
Wewanttodevelopmediastrategiesthatarerelevantandwillresonatewithconsumers
despitetheexpandedchoiceofmediathathasdilutedtheirattention.
!
Wearededicatedtogrowingandbuildingbrandswithcommunicationsplansthatdrive
businessgoals.
The Concepts of “The Golden Circle” and “Start With Why”
by Simon Sinek

5. Step One: Briefing

6. STEPONE
6
Plannersmeetwithclienttogatherinformationregarding
planningparameterssuchasbudget,mediamix,timing,
product/branddetail,targetaudience&objectives.
BRIEFING
Ask smart questions!
Such as “where will most of the business growth come from?”
!
Not “what are your objectives?”.

7. STEPONE
7
whichstageoftheConsumerPathway
thebrandshouldinfluence.
PLANNERSDEFINE

8. STEPONE
8
pickone!
Awareness
Involvement
Active Consideration
Purchase
Consumption
Relationship Building
Advocacy

9. STEPONE
9
Launchaproduct,communicateabenefit,ortellofaneventor
offer. Thisobjectivecentersonvisibilityandrecognition. Itis
themostexpensivetoachieveinmediadollars.
CONSUMERPATHWAY
AWARENESSSTAGE

10. STEPONE
10
Increaseemotionalengagementbeforepurchase. Alsoknownas
the“justlooking”stage. Atthispointconsumerneeds
experiencesandinformationabouttheproduct.
CONSUMERPATHWAY
INVOLVEMENTSTAGE

11. STEPONE
11
Shiftuptheorderofconsiderationbyfacilitatingfavorable
comparison. Onceengaged,consumersneedtoknowmoreand
thisstageisallaboutgettingthebrandontheshortlist;
increasingpreferenceandpurchaseintent.
CONSUMERPATHWAY
ACTIVECONSIDERATIONSTAGE

12. STEPONE
12
Convertintentintoactionatthepointofpurchase.
CONSUMERPATHWAY
PURCHASESTAGE

13. STEPONE
13
Improvetheuserexperience.Thisisthepointatwhich
consumersdiscoverwhethertheproductorservicedelivers
whatitpromisedandthey’redecidingwhethertheylikeit.
CONSUMERPATHWAY
CONSUMPTIONSTAGE

14. STEPONE
14
Makethecustomerfeelspecialtoimprovepercapitavalue. Itis
aboutformingabondwithconsumersandreaffirmingthat
theymadetherightchoice.
CONSUMERPATHWAY
RELATIONSHIPBUILDINGSTAGE

15. STEPONE
15
Increaserecommendations. Itisthecreatingandenablingof
wordofmouthandrecommendation.
CONSUMERPATHWAY
ADVOCACYSTAGE

16. Step Two: Discovery

17. STEPTWO
17
Usingresearchtools,plannerslearneverythingtheycanabout
theclient,competitivelandscapeandpotentialtarget
audience(s)includingsizeandtheirdemographics,
psychographics,mediaconsumption,socialinterestsand
behaviors.
DISCOVERY

18. STEPTWO
18
consumerinsightsandchosewhicharethemostimportantas
theyrelatetoanunderstandingofhowconsumerswillreceive
andrespondtothecommunicationefforts.
PLANNERSUNEARTH
Ask “which target do we focus on? A current or heavy user? A
potential user or an influential user? A purchaser or a gatekeeper?”

19. Step Three: Strategy

20. STEPTHREE
20
Basedonaudienceinsightsgathered,plannersrecommenda
mediastrategyincludingcommunicationgoals,volumeof
mediarequiredtoachievemediaobjectivessuchasreach&
frequencyornumberofimpressions,andtheyhighlighttactics
thatwillensureobjectivesaremet.
STRATEGY

21. STEPTHREE
21
twoimportantquestions:wheretoplayandhowtowin.
!
Plannerscombinemediaideas,initiativesandtacticsintoa
biggerandmorecomplexplatformoridea.
PLANNERSADDRESS

22. STEPTHREE
22
whatnottodoandmaketrade-offs.
Decisionsregardingwhereandhowtoadvertisearemade
beforedeterminingwhattosayandwhattacticswilltake
thatmessagetothetargetconsumer.
PLANNERSDECIDE
Don’t give into the temptation to jump into specific
solutions and move to the tactical too soon.

23. STEPTHREE
23
insimpleterms,howthecommunicationswilldirectly
translatetothemarketingorbusinessgoal.
PLANNERSCOMMUNICATE

24. Step Four: The Work

25. STEPFOUR
25
Usingmoreresearchtools,plannersidentifypublishersand
placementstomoveforwardwiththatbestmeettheset
campaigngoals.
THEWORK

26. STEPFOUR
26
howandwheremediacanhelptoachievesetgoalswith
decisionsontouch-points.
PLANNERSIDENTIFY
Decisions must be made with the consumer in mind!

27. STEPFOUR
27
notonlyifamediatacticreachestherightpeopleattheright
timebutalsoifthetacticwillinfluencethosepeople.
!
Thisistermed“mediareceptivity”.
PLANNERSCONSIDER

28. STEPFOUR
28
mediareceptivitytacticstohelpclientsstandoutfromthe
competition.
PLANNERSEXPLOIT
”It is not about food product ads in the cooking
section of women's magazines or auto ads on
edmunds.com - these are valid places to advertise but
are established venues - the competition is here which
makes it difficult to compete for attention.”

29. STEPFOUR
29
Contextualplanning:
advertisingatthepointofneed
!
Situationaladvertising:
leveragingtherightoccasionortherighttimeperiodfora
messagetoconnectmosteffectively
MEDIARECEPTIVITYTACTICS

30. STEPFOUR
30
Leveragingoftargetpassionpoints:
creatinganidentityforabrandbyassociationwithcertain
lifestyleactivities
!
Brandinginsidecontent:
productplacement,productintegrationandprogram
sponsorshipor"brandedentertainment"
MEDIARECEPTIVITYTACTICS

31. STEPFOUR
31
Tappingintoconsumers'relationshipwithmedia:
increasingtherelevanceofthebrandbytappingintothe
crossroadsofmediaandculturetodeliverhighlyrelevant
brandcommunications
!
MEDIARECEPTIVITYTACTICS

32. STEPFOUR
32
themostrelevantplatformsandpartnerstoapproachwitha
RequestforProposal(RFP).
!
PLANNERSSELECT

33. STEPFOUR
33
RFPsonthebasisof ofhowwelltheproposedtactical
programmeetstheobjective(s)incomparisontocompetitive
submissions,howcostefficienttheprogramis,iftheprogram
presentsanopportunitytodosomethingfortheclient/brand
thathasn’tbeendonebefore,howwelltheprogramfitsinto
themediamixandhowtheprogramcancontributetothe
overallstrategyandgoals.
PLANNERSEVALUATE

34. STEPFOUR
34
threeinputsoftouch-pointselection:data,consumerinsights
andcommunicationneeds.
!
Thesethreefactorsprovidecomplementaryorcontradictory
forcesinmakingselectiondecisions.
PLANNERSBALANCE

35. STEPFOUR
35
touchpointselection.
!
Withthegrowinglistoftouchpointsavailable,plannersmust
becarefulnottoincorporatetoomanywithinaplan.
!
Spreadingacampaignthinlyacrossmediamakesitharderto
cutthroughandreducesfrequency,whichisimportantfor
effectiveness.
PLANNERSPINPOINT

36. STEPFOUR
36
mediametricssuchasreach(coverage),frequency,
impressions,GRPsandcostperresponseasaguideforthe
effectivenessofpricingterms.
!
PLANNERSUSE

37. Step Five: Implementation / Activation

38. STEPFIVE
38
Plannersnegotiateratesandaddedvalue;createflowcharts&
insertionorders,trafficcreativeandimplementtrackingpixels.
IMPLEMENTATION/ACTIVATION

39. STEPFIVE
39
bycreatingflowchartsthatdetailthefinalmedia
recommendationsincludingscheduledplacementsby
vendor,mediatype,placementdescription,adsizes,
impressions,andtotalclientcost.
!
PLANNERSORGANIZE

40. STEPFIVE
40
inventorybycreatingandissuinginsertionorders(IOs)to
mediavendorrepresentativesforanyandallmediatheyplace.
!
IOsdetailtheplacementdates,targeting,adsizes,numberof
impressions,etc.aswellasthenegotiated/approvedrates.
PLANNERSSECURE

41. STEPFIVE
41
creative.
!
Fordigitalmediaplacements,plannersutilizethirdpartyad
servingtechnology,whichisaprogrambywhichadsare
placedonwebsites. Theadserverstores,maintainsand
serves(uploads)advertisingbannersforoneormore
websites.
PLANNERSTRAFFIC

42. STEPFIVE
42
trackingpixels(codeusedtotrackwebsitesviews,
transactions,conversionetc.)byworkingwithclient
webmastersanddigitalmediavendors.
!
PLANNERSIMPLEMENT

43. Step Six: Analysis & Refinement

44. STEPSIX
44
Plannersprovideongoingreportingandmanageoptimization
ofthecampaignswhereapplicable.
ANALYSISANDREFINEMENT

45. STEPSIX
45
campaignsuccessofmediathroughanunderstandingof
whereandhowtheelementsoftheplanactuallydrovethe
finaloutcome.
!
PLANNERSMEASURE
“The planner needs to keep in mind that measurement
isn't about reporting and justification. It is about
making better decisions and adjustments that steer the
strategy and tactics.”

46. STEPSIX
46
measurementstotheobjectivessetforthemediastrategy.
!
Measurementcanincludeconsumertrackingorcustomer
attitudeandusagestudiestomeasureforawareness,brand
equityoractiveconsideration.
!
Plannersinterestedinincreasingcommunicationsinfluence
andinvolvementarestudyingengagementmetrics.
PLANNERSMATCH

47. STEPSIX
47
onlinedatasuchasimpressions&pacing,clicksandclick-
throughrates(CTRs),adplacement/adsize/adcreative
performance,etc.
!
Plannersusethisinformationtomakemanualoptimizations
towardsplacementsthatprovetobemorecostefficientand
effective.
PLANNERSANALYZE

48. STEPSIX
48
onadnetworksfortheirproprietarytechnologycapabilities
thatusealgorithmscombinedwithbillionsofdatapointsto
optimizethecampaignonmultiplefactors.
!
Factorsmayincludeadvertiserbudget,availableinventory,
demographics,geography,userbehaviorandmore.
Theseoptimizationsresultinreducedwasteandenablead
placementstodeliverthebestpossibleperformance.
PLANNERSRELY

49. STEPSIX
49
detailedreportingwhichcanbedaily,weekly,monthlyetc.
dependingonthecampaignparametersandwhatisbeing
monitored.
PLANNERSDELIVER

50. 50
JUSTFORFUN
Courtesy of Centro http://www.centro.net/impact-digital-explosion-and-life-media-planner