Media Buying 101

Face it…Media buying can be overwhelming.

Purchasing and placing media is more complicated than simply talking to a television or radio station and then asking them to place your advertising. It consists of everything from research and strategy to placement and contract negotiation. The following is a crash course “Media Buying 101” – tried and true tips to a successful experience.

Step 1: Getting Started

So, your boss has asked that you create a new marketing campaign for a new service, product, or initiative within your organization. Great! You know what you’ve got to do, so let’s get cracking.

Step 2: Do Your Background Research on your target audience.

As a marketing director, you already know the demographic you are serving, but determining the specific audience for your campaign means delving deeper into the demographic you serve and determining the subcategories for your particular marketing initiative. Some areas to review are:

• Age
• Gender
• Education
• Family dynamics
• Income
• Ethnicity

Step 3: Develop a Competitive Analysis

If you already work with a media representative, ask them to share with you the best performing ads, placements and trends for your competition. If you don’t know where to start, get a marketing consultant to help. Then, use this data to help determine the best time to run, media vendor(s) to use and the highest GPR, reach and frequency for your ad campaign.

Step 4: Determine Placement

Once you’ve determined where the best opportunity is to reach your demographic, it’s time to buy the placement. You can buy direct or work with an ad agency to buy your media. Agencies have pre-existing relationships with media outlets and offer the same pricing as direct buys, but with the advantage of experience.

You can also buy the media yourself, but remember the time constraints – you will need to monitor, pay and scale the media process. You need an SEM strategy. Make sure to allocate the time you need to do this.

Step 5: Negotiate Your Buy

Now that you’ve determined where you’re placing your ads (print, radio, television or online), it’s time to negotiate the buy. Talk to your media rep or agency about campaign ideas and ask what value-added placements they can offer with your campaign or contract.

Hopefully, this post has given you a better understanding on how to research and place your media placement experience. If you’re interested in learning more, contact us today for a free media placement consultation.