Media Placement
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Sun Tzu
Media Buying vs. Media Management …
What’s the difference?
Effective media plans don’t happen by accident. The best media plans come from employing a disciplined approach to the entire media placement process. This process includes exhaustive media planning, negotiating low rates and “added-value”, thoroughly auditing both the plans’ execution and results and then reevaluating the media strategy to address opportunities for improvement. We refer to that process as Media Management. While it includes “media buying”, Media Management is a far more comprehensive approach to placing client advertising.
Unfortunately, not all advertising agencies are equipped to provide this type of Media Management. While some ad agencies might produce great ads, they are limited in the experience or resources they have to commit to developing media plans that can maximize ROI. Moreover, while in-house media buyers may do an adequate job of negotiating rates and placing a schedule, they often have neither the planning experience nor the analytic tools necessary to be truly effective at measuring and optimizing the buys. As such, the media placement doesn’t deliver the results it should. That’s where MPG can help!
Media Management, as practiced at MPG, involves four distinct steps. MPG’s experience over the past 25 years is that employing this type of comprehensive approach lowers media costs and improves media results. Placing a media buy might sound simple, but creating and executing a media plan that will reach the greatest number of target consumers… in the most effective way… and generating the most effective response… at the lowest possible cost takes hard work… much of which comes well after the media runs.
Media Planning
Media Planning is the critical first step in designing effective media buys. It involves utilizing a vast array of media research to enable the creation of a specific and measurable Media Strategy that defines the “who”, “how”, “when” and “where” of the media buy. It also establishes the specific targets against which the media buyers will negotiate the media rates.
Media Buying
Media Buying involves the negotiating, purchase and placement of the media plan. Based on the Media Strategy, MPG buyers will negotiate with various media outlets for the best rates and placements of the media plan. At the same time, MPG media buyers will be working with the media reps to identify opportunities for “added-value”, like no-cost sponsorships, and radio remotes, which will increase your media exposure, enhance your marketing message and create additional value from your media buys. Frequently, these promotions can be negotiated into a buy a little or no additional cost, but can improve the effectiveness of the advertising.
Media Analysis
Let’s face it … the purpose of your advertising is to drive your business. Understanding how well each element in your marketing and media plans achieves this objective is critical to maximizing advertising ROI. And, you also want to ensure you’re always getting the most bang for your buck. Thorough invoice reconciliation and audits of actual ad placements often turn up substantial cost savings and opportunities to improve advertising performance. Through robust measurement and tracking, you won’t just think your marketing is working, you’ll know it.
See how measuring advertising results can improve your bottom line…
Let’s start a conversation and begin building your business! Call Marketing Performance Group today at 561.988.2181, or contact us online for more information about our traditional media marketing services.
Media Placement