Media planning is an important part of any process of product promotion on the market, whether it is a new and unknown product or a popular brand.

The essence of advertising campaign planning

Fundamentals of media planning imply a literate approach to the creation, placement and promotion of advertising messages through the classical media and other
distribution channels. In other words, this is a set of measures that allows to distribute the advertising budget in such a way as to achieve maximum benefit in accordance with the main goals underlying the advertising campaign. In addition, media planning is one of the stages in the overall organization of the activities of any company, but at the same time it is not only the process of choosing the most optimal means of placing an advertising message, but also a multifaceted activity for the psychological and economic reinforcement of all campaigns conducted. Only when these rules are observed can we expect maximum efficiency.

The very concept of media planning consists in drawing up a media plan that takes into account the placement of advertising in the media, taking into account the achievement of its maximum effectiveness.

Stages of media planning

Before you start planning an advertisingcampaign, it is necessary to determine the main and secondary goals. Traditionally, the main is the promotion of a service or product on the market, stimulating sales growth, increasing recognition or consumer loyalty to a product or brand, forming a product, company or person image. Goals are expressed in specific indicators (numerical or percentage), which can be characterized by the level of sales, loyalty or awareness of the target audience, as well as the response from potential customers. After formulating tasks, you can start writing the media plan itself.

Drawing up a media plan

The media plan consists of the following items:

- Full description of the chosen type of advertising.

As a rule, this item is the most extensive. Here the approach to the solution of the advertising problem is chosen (whether the advertisement is rational or emotional), the nature of the planning of the promotion (media, non-media, complex), the advertisement (soft or hard forms), the degree of use of the image of the advertising product (direct, indirect, hidden) etc.

All these parameters are determined by the life cycle of the product and the awareness of the main part of the target audience about the product or service, the desired end result and financial capabilities.

Also in this paragraph the type of advertising is describedbased on which distribution channel will be used to implement the plan. It can be printed products, video or audio clips, exhibition or PR-action.

In the same paragraph, all the particular characteristics are specified, including the parameters of the target audience, the nature of the object of advertising, its geographical distribution and the intensity of the impact on the consumer.

- Definition of the channel or distribution channels.

Classical media, advertising on the Internet, BTL, etc.

- Determining the timing of placement.

In addition to the total duration of all activities, thisThe item implies drawing up a schedule for broadcasting an ad on TV or radio, specifying the date of publication of the message in printed form, the timing of participation in exhibitions and other temporary characteristics of the campaign.

- Determine the cost of an advertising campaign.

In this part of the media plan, all the financial costs of creating, posting and promoting a message are signed.

- Determination of payment methods.

You can pay for advertising space in a batch way, one-time, barter, on the basis of sponsorship, etc.

Efficiency.

The effectiveness of an advertising campaign is determined by the indicator of achievement of the set goals.

What are the tasks of media planning?

The tasks of media planning include the following:

- analytical activities (definition of all parameters of the target audience, market situation, competitors, marketing opportunities, etc.);

- formulation of the goals of the advertising campaign;

- planning stages and setting time frames for their implementation;

- Definition of channels of distribution of the advertising message;

- determination of the desired efficiency based on the main indicators of media planning;

- budget allocation.

Media Planning Options

Media planning in advertising can betheoretical and practical. The theoretical part includes calculating the effectiveness of the advertising campaign, collecting the necessary data and processing all secondary parameters based on modern statistical methods.

The practical part implies alreadydirect work with client companies, implementation and maintenance of all planned activities within the advertising campaign. A qualitative approach to practical media planning helps to save the budget, while achieving all the goals set. Thanks to these studies, advertising messages are categorized by the length of campaigns, product groups, display time, which in the future provides the most competent approach to creating the media plan itself.

Key indicators of media planning

- Rating or the value of TVR is the percentage of the whole target audience that saw the unit of the media event at a certain moment, to the one that could see it.

- Reach & Cover (coverage and coverage) - an indicator of the total number of people who could see or hear an advertising message within the same campaign.

- TRP - the total rating calculated for this target category.

- OTS is an indicator of the potential number of times that a given message could be seen.

- GRP - the sum of the ratings of all outputs of the advertising message in all media during one advertising campaign.

- Frequency (the purity of contacts) - the number of advertising messages with which each person from the intended target audience will be contacted.

- Index T / U (index of compliance) - percentage ratio of the audience of the publication from the target group to the general audience of the publication.

- CPP - the cost of the item rating, the cost of its achievement.

CPT is an indicator of the cost of thousands of contacts.

A new trend in media planning

One of the newer elements of media planningis advertising on the Internet. In this context, the Internet can be considered as one of the sites for placing an advertising message. With its popularization and extensive penetration into our daily life, it has become almost one of the key points included in media planning. Examples of the use of this distribution channel are diverse. It can be as contextual advertising, and placing of banners, pop-up and many other things. Media planning is a complex of events of an advertising nature, a meaningful approach to which is the fundamental component of successful product promotion.

What does media planning look like in action?

Media planning is an important part of anyadvertising activities. And a properly composed media plan is the key to the success of achieving the set goals. How does media planning look like in action? For example, let's plan the placement of an advertising message about an upcoming event on the radio. We need to inform the public about the opening of a supermarket. Before we can decide which radio station will be our site for placement, we need to analyze its target audience and understand how it meets our criteria.

As a rule, the opening of a supermarket is moreinterested in family people of any age. More such advertising is designed for a female audience. Hence, based on this, we are interested in radio stations that are aimed at women. This audience will be divided into two segments: housewives and working ladies. Both of them listen to the radio during the day, while they are engaged in work in the office or at home, so it is useless to spend money on more expensive time in prime time. Here, more efficiency can be achieved due to the frequency of repetitions. To save money, you can also refuse advertising on weekends or minimize the number of repetitions.

Traditionally, it's better not to start advertising on radioless than two weeks before the official event. In the media plan, this item is mandatory, because it is the number of days multiplied by the number of repetitions during one of them that determines the amount of the basic expenses. In the cost item, you also need to specify the costs of creating the ad.

To optimize advertising costscampaign, it is also possible to offer radio stations a full or partial barter. For example, you can offer them a broadcast in your supermarket for a certain period of time. In turn, they can agree to reduce the cost of a single spot (aired) for your audio or place your ad for free.

After conducting an advertising campaign, its effectiveness is determined in accordance with the goals set and the level of their achievement.