Media planning involves
researching the media consumption habits of a client's target
audience, be it TV, radio, print or online. The next step in the
media planning process is to devise a relevant advertising strategy
across that media, ensuring that the client's advertising will be
seen most frequently by the intended audiences with a minimum
amount of wastage.
Another way to
describe media planning is the act of
establishing the best media real estate, or in laymen's terms, the
best advertising opportunities within the media to place a client's
advertising or communications message.
The typical
types evaluated in the media planning process
include: radio, TV, print including newspapers and magazines, the
internet, outdoor (such as billboards), promotional gifts like
bags, pencils, etc and direct mail.
The two most
important elements of a successful media planning programme are
'reach' and 'frequency'. Reach means the projected number of people
that will see the client's advertising. Frequency means the number
of times a consumer will see the advertising message.