How to Buy Your Audience

Business owners and marketing directors have been trying to find efficient ways to reach their audience for decades. When creating a media buy, there are specific steps you need to follow.

Determine Best Media Options

The first step to buying your audience is figuring out who your audience is. Research who your target demographic is and what media outlet is most likely to reach them. Once you’ve done your research and found some good media options to try, you should identify the best potential 3 to 5 media choices. Here are some examples of what you should consider.

• Which media provides the lowest cost to reach our target demo-graphic based on a cost per 1,000 basis?
• Does it provide acceptable Reach and Frequency levels based on that particular type of media?
• Does the medium have the right delivery means? In other words, do I need a media with visual to demonstrate? Would the limited message ability of a billboard work well? Is my audience outside, the home where the radio would be the best choice?
• Are we able to apply these only with known seasonal demand? For example, what if a swimming pool company had to pay for a billboard year-round?

There are many more questions you need to ask yourself. Advice from an unbiased media buyer would be greatly beneficial to help you determine and examine all these considerations.

Start With Single Media Placement

We strongly recommend you test one media at a time before building a multi-media campaign. If you use more than one at a time, you probably won’t be able to determine which performed best.

By isolating each media within the same market, with the same offer, in a similar time period, with the same budget, you’ll be able to see which tend to cause more engagement in post-placement evaluation.

Multi-Media Allocation

After you have tested all your best media options, you might want to consider a multi-media campaign. The odds of creating awareness increase dramatically when applied simultaneously across multiple traditional and digital media channels with a unified message.

A recent study by Ipsos demonstrated when one media form, such as television, is combined with other touch points, such as radio or print, ad recall can exponentially increase. Cross-promoting can make it seem like your product is everywhere, improving brand awareness and recall.

Spot Buy

Spot buys are when you select exactly where you want your ad to appear. It may be a particular television show, or only a cover position in a magazine or a certain section in the newspaper.

Spot buys are most often used in multi-demographic media. Since the viewing audience can change radically depending on the show, and different audiences prefer (and read) different sections of a newspaper, you need control to ensure your ad is in the right place at the right time to be seen by the right audience.

Rotation Buys

Rotation buys are when you allow the station to select where your ads run. This gives them flexibility and the chance to sell you unsold inventory. In exchange, they deeply discount the spots. Rotation buys are most often used in single demographic media and are a good tool to gain Frequency.

Rotation buys are usually packaged; many spots are sold as a group. You will normally get good spots and not so good spots. While it may look like you’re getting a ton of spots, you may be overpaying. You need to take a look at what you’re paying for effective reach.

If your rotation includes a lot of spots where nobody is watching or listening (low ratings), you should pay a deeply discounted price for the package.

There are many other media planning and buying strategies to consider. The best way to get a full run-down on media buying strategy is to contact an agency and get some advice on your specific situation.

We’re Here to Help

Advertising can be risky, but working in conjunction with a good brand, good online components, and an unbiased media buying agency can make it a effective and efficient way to buy your audience’s attention. Contact us here or call us at (417) 889-1658 to discuss your media buying and placement needs.