What is Media Planning and Buying?
What is media planning and buying? Although the roles are separate, they work closely together to address the client’s needs and to set and achieve its goals. To get a better understanding of each role, let’s use an analogy of building a home.
Media planners are like architects – they build the “blueprint” of the ad campaign. Media planners determine the media strategy, define the primary audience, set campaign parameters with partners and platforms, and outline measurable goals that can be monitored throughout the campaign.
Media buyers are like contractors – they build and execute the “blueprint” that has been presented to them. Media buyers are responsible for delivering the ad to the primary audience according to the media mix and budget that have been outlined in the media plan. In short, media buyers ensure the campaign is activated to deliver ads at the right place at the right time.
Defining Your Primary Audience
An integral piece of the advertising pie is accurately defining and delivering ads to the most relevant audience. Getting the primary audience right is critical to the success of the campaign strategy. Advertisers need to understand their client’s product offering and the people who would be most likely to purchase the product. The primary audience will heavily influence the media mix, partner selection, and ad formats.
The primary audience groups also need to receive messaging that is appropriate and appealing to them. The identified audiences may have different needs and might not all respond to a single, holistic ad. For example, an auto brand might not deliver the same content for a new vehicle model to new parents and retirees. Similarly, in the media mix, different methods of delivery will need to be considered for each primary audience and those people’s needs. A younger audience might be receptive to ads on social media, while an older audience might rely on television ads for content.
Confirming Media Objectives
Before embarking on a campaign, it is critical to define media objectives. The media planning team needs to set quantifiable goals. The key performance indicators (KPI) of the campaign will set the foundation for the entire ad campaign strategy. What is the measure of success for the campaign? This can vary depending on which part of the sales funnel the prospect is in. That understanding will set the tone for much of the media objectives for a campaign.
For example, for an awareness campaign, the KPI might be the number of impressions served. The data strategy will also be broader for upper-funnel campaigns. As the campaign strategy moves further down the sales funnel, campaign success will be measured through actionable results. The data strategy for lower-funnel campaigns will also be more specific, like product purchases.
Thinking Strategically About Media Buying
Once the primary audience is defined and campaign goals are set, media buyers will execute the media plan, which will list budget objectives, partner selection, campaign timeline, and KPI goals. Media buying is a strategic process, balancing the need for scale and precision within strict budget parameters. Media buyers will need to ensure the campaign performs well, often optimizing their plans to deliver success. Media buyers are also responsible for ensuring that budgets are not exceeded. For paid advertising, it is critical to understand the pros and cons each channel can bring to the campaign. Traditional marketing channels and emergent digital channels each have unique values they can add to advertising campaigns. Most importantly, the channels of choice need to be best suited to reach the primary audience.
Maximizing ROI From Media Campaigns
Advertisers want to ensure their marketing dollars aren’t wasted. To maximize ROI, media planning and buying teams must find the right fit for their campaign’s media mix. It should also be understood that experimentation should be encouraged as the campaign runs. Learning how much and where to spend will deliver insights on ROI for future investment. The media planning and buying teams should collaborate to track the success of campaigns based on KPIs that are set in the strategic planning process. If a media outlet is underperforming, the teams should work together to pivot budget dollars to an alternative outlet. Ultimately, collaboration, creativity, and experimentation will be the keys to meeting expectations and aligning with the overall strategy.
Do you need help defining your primary audience or establishing a data strategy for your digital campaign? DataGuru is Acxiom’s team of seasoned data experts who can assist with your audience needs. Reach out to Data Guru for more information.
