Making Sense of the New Media Jungle
Wednesday, September 28th, 2011By Patricia Wilson, founder of BrandCottage
Gone are the glory days of Mad Men when ad campaigns consisted of a glossy television spot that ran on three networks, reaching 90 percent of U.S households. There are now many new devices and platforms. There are new consumer-controlled choices including time-shifting, downloading and sharing.
Everything about media planning and buying has changed dramatically. We have moved from:
- A passive ad market to an engaged ad market.
- A brand-controlled ad market to a consumer-controlled ad market.
- A few brand managers controlling the brand to a social universe controlling the brand.
The Multidimensional Brand Jungle
Remember when a brand media plan had just three mediums: TV, Print, Billboards?
Today’s media landscape is cluttered with thousands of choices, driven largely by technological innovations. And there is no sign of media proliferation slowing down.
Traditional media has evolved to multi-platform channels. TV is no longer just one screen, but now four (TV, computer, tablet and mobile). Print is no longer just print but tablets now offer fully interactive magazine experiences on mobile devices. Digital ad buying is much more than banner buys. Viable digital media options now include ad networks, rich media, video, behavorial targeting, retargeting, contextual, search, mobile, email and social media.
In addition to considering “where” strategies, media planners must also consider “how” strategies for complex ad technology solutions. In addition to knowing the right target segments for ads, marketers must also know how to deliver ads in the most meaningful ways to consumers.
Making Sense of the Jungle
More than ever, CMOs and marketers need experienced media strategists working on behalf of their brands. Media planning strategists must serve as valuable neutral parties who can filter, evaluate and recommend the right media tools. However, too many media planners fall into one of two camps: classically trained in traditional media with little knowledge of digital media capabilities or digital planners with little knowledge of integrating digital initiatives into the larger communications plan.
Successful media plans are best served by classically trained media strategists with proven media planning skills and plenty of experience across a range of clients and brands. Today’s best media planners have evolved into the digital space, especially in terms of the tools required to deliver and engage consumer targets. Proven media planners are well trained in gathering consumer insights, synthesizing business objectives and developing a fully integrated plan.
In short, the best media planners embrace a holistic planning approach with no bias for one media option over another. They analyze and develop the optimal media mix in which to achieve objectives against a given target audience.
Asking the Right Media Planning Questions
Here are some critical media planning questions that marketers must ask to develop a successful media plan:
- What is the objective of the media plan? Awareness? Web site traffic? E-mail capture? Social engagement. Word of Mouth generation? Customer data? Coupon redemption?
- How will the media plan success be measured?
- What is the budget?
- What is the geography to be served?
- Who is the target segment?
- Is there purchase seasonality? Times of heavier spend and greater opportunity?
- What are the creative considerations?
It is also important to ask the right questions to determine target segments. For example:
- Do affluent business travellers use FaceBook as much as Gen Y?
- What about mobile usage among moms?
- In mobile, is SMS as effective as mobile apps?
- What social networks index highest among heavy fast food eaters?
- In digital, who is really watching video?
Answers to these questions can often be found using syndicated research like MRI, MMR, comScore, Nielsen, proprietary customer insights and a variety of other tools.
Finally, it is essential to understanding the delivery of ads. This reguires a deep understanding of ad technology solutions, along with an understanding of how to integrate technology with data to drive efficiency and target reach. Critical areas to consider include:
- Dynamic creative delivery options.
- Publisher partnerships and sponsorships.
- Audience data warehousing.
- Demand-side platforms.
- Social Media technology.
- Video serving options.
Media and technology will continue to evolve. Return on media investment will continue to be driving forces for every brand’s C-suite, not just CMOs. Experienced, well-rounded media planners will be critical in helping companies navigate swiftly changing media jungles to carve out the best paths to brand success.
Patricia Wilson is the founder of BrandCottage, a media marketing company with offices in New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.


