April 11, 2022

An effective media strategy isn’t entirely different from a military strategy. In each case, two or more competitors are battling to capture a territory. The side with the smartest strategy is the side that wins. In business, it’s a fight that often has to be won over and over, making your media strategy a constantly adapting action plan.

What are a few of the main elements and principles that shouldn’t be forgotten when crafting a media strategy?

Discovery

A successful media strategy is founded on a thorough survey of the environment. Even if you’re targeting the same audience with a similar message that you’ve been promoting for years, it’s never a bad time for an honest evaluation of the challenges and opportunities available to you.

Discovering less-obvious opportunities requires knowledge of the market environment, the marketplace, the competition, your customers, and even the competition’s customers. Developing this knowledge (or partnering with someone who has it already) will enable you to forecast the most efficient, effective strategy for reaching your audience.

Technology

The complexity caused by multiplying numbers of platforms and placement opportunities is largely balanced by evolving technology that makes it easier to manage and automate buying and placement. Using techniques like programmatic advertising allows brands and agencies to plan and place ads in multiple places across different platforms that automatically adjust things like costs and frequency based on response. Technology also enables dynamic measurement functions that can provide invaluable performance data that will help inform your next strategy, or even guide you to modify your current strategy as it progresses.

Traditional Platforms

It’s easy to get caught up in the newest digital and streaming placement opportunities and lose focus on some of the older marketing mediums like broadcast TV, radio, newspaper, and even direct mail. Traditional media is definitely not dead and will continue to play a vital role in today’s marketing mix. Combining traditional and digital marketing efforts gives your media strategy the best of both worlds, and enables you to reach a wider audience. With more buyers straying away from traditional advertising, more opportunities are opening to leverage these platforms in your media buys.

Retention

Don’t forget that your ads aren’t just introducing your (or your client’s) brand to the audience, but also reaching existing customers. Maintaining communication with these current customers and keeping them happy will make them your most valuable brand ambassadors, fueling word-of-mouth messaging and multiplying your marketing efforts. This principle should not only inform your content style, but also the methods you use to place and promote your message.

A complete media strategy consists of a lot of moving parts. Multiple components and systems working in tandem to effectively reach a target audience with a compelling message. The above elements and principles are just a few of the ideas a smart media planner should keep in mind when crafting a successful media strategy.