February 14, 2022

Even modestly-sized media plans are constantly changing, complicated schedules. Placements are constantly being added and removed from your plan. To further complicate matters, you may often have others working on the same media plan at the same time.

Agency owners rarely feel fully equipped for the task of creating and maintaining a nimble media plan. But success could be closer than it seems if you avoid a handful of common media planning mistakes. What are some of these mistakes and how can you avoid them?

Prioritizing Cost Over Effective Placement

While legitimate media placement deals and discounts are certainly out there, if a discount sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Rather than buying weak placement or in a poor media venue, resist the temptation to choose the cheapest option and instead, spend a little more on a buy that will get your message to the right customers.

Trusting the Media Owner

The loyalty of media sales reps lies with the owner, not you. Never rely on them for objective advice about ad placements, because you won’t get it. Don’t be lured in by enticements like hard goods or other ‘bonuses’ designed to mask the poor quality of placement. Develop a carefully crafted plan with a third-party media planner and stick to it.

Failing to Monitor Effectiveness

Neglecting to monitor the actual effectiveness of your advertising efforts is essentially throwing your money away. A large part of media planning is trial-and-error, and the info you gather about today’s campaign will greatly impact the success of the campaign you launch tomorrow.

Ignoring Your Competition

It’s very unlikely that you’re the only business competing for the attention of your audience and its buying power. Savvy marketers know where their competition advertises, and know that they should be placing there too.

Ignoring Your Target Audience

It can be tempting to place your message in front of the largest audience possible. But the people most likely to buy your client’s product or services are the driving force behind your media planning efforts. If your media buys fail to connect with them, your campaign has failed, regardless of how creative or persuasive your content is.

Media planning is a careful, intensive process. Whether you are crafting a media plan on your own or using an experienced third-party planning partner, avoiding these common mistakes will make all the difference in the world when it comes to the effectiveness of your next campaign.