Marketing Zone
Dynamic Listening
Sign In
Member
Benefits

Forgot your password?
Create New Account
FollowFacebookTwitterLinkedinPrinter-friendly version
Marketing How-to Guides
>
Advertising
>
Advertising Media Planning and Buying

Advertising Media Planning and Buying

for small business
Costs & Ways to SaveFast PassTools & ServicesResultsResources
How toWhat WorksWhat Doesn'tNew ApproachesTips for Beginners

Advertising Media Planning and Buying Overview

Buying ad media space is like buying real estate: The prices change frequently based on supply/demand, and media rates are always negotiable. Real estate in the best neighborhood/location demands the best price and, similarly, high-impact media properties with the best placement cost the most. Media buyers are like real estate agents, they know how to work the system and help you negotiate a good deal. 
 
With so many options to choose from, the best media planners are also very creative in recommending what media vehicles and combination of media types (TV, radio, print, online, search, outdoor) will work best for your advertising message, offer and target audience.

 

Tip

About media planning and buying

There are many different types of advertising you can buy media space for and pros/cons to each. This article has links to specific articles on how to create and buy ads for each of these types of ads (search, online, TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, movie theater, cell phone, outdoor billboards and yellow page ads).

  • Types of advertising.

 

  • Advertising costs
    • This article consolidates all the data about what advertising media costs to buy along with costs for creating ads for different types of media (TV, radio, online, magazines, newspapers, etc.).  Media costs should represent 80% or more of your total ad budget. 

 

A media brief is what you'll need to write as the client to clarify to a media planner who your target audience(s) are for your advertising campaign.

  • How to write a media brief.

 

Want to know what we think is the best way to determine your options, media mix, media plan and budget?

  • Media Scenario Planning

 

Want to see tips from professional media planners on the techniques they use to create media plans for their clients?

  • How media planners evaluate media alternatives

 

TIP:  Read the advice given by media planners to help you choose a freelance media planner or agency you want to hire to help you with your media planning and buying. 

What's involved to select and buy ad media space if you want to do this yourself?

  • How to select and buy media

 

A glossary of key industry terms you'll want to understand

  • Media terms

 

Know this
Know this about ad media buying:  Everything is negotiable.  Rate sheets, rate cards and the information from third party sources on advertising media costs are what companies hope to charge.  Most advertisers negotiate lower rates.  Major advertisers, through their media buying agencies, often negotiate rates 40 – 50% lower than published rates.  But it’s all a very secretive and supply-demand driven process.  And prices can increase 100% in one week. 

Media costs vary based on a number of variables:

  1. Where the ads are running (nationally, regionally, locally)
  2. Target audience (who you want to reach) and at what frequency
  3. What type of advertising you choose (TV, radio, online, search, print, etc.)
  4. How long your advertising will run
  5. Reach and frequency levels and GRPs (gross rating points) for TV, radio and print advertising.  Online, search and billboard advertising use different criteria. 
  6. Supply and demand from other advertisers
  7. How well you or your media buyer negotiate a deal

You can negotiate:

  1. Price
  2. Positioning
  3. Guarantees that the media seller will guarantee a certain number of people hear/see/view your ad (based on a third party auditing source measuring this) and the media seller will give you, the media buyer, make-goods (free ads) if they don’t meet their guarantees.
  4. Value-add - This is the ad agencies equivalent of “freebies.”  It can be a 1/3 page ad with the purchase of six full page ads; free merchandise; concert tickets; special promotions.  This is where you and the ad sales people can be very creative to come up with ideas. 

 

Know this
Know this:  There is no free source for all the media information you need to calculate reach/frequency and GRP levels.  Media planners and agencies pay thousands of dollars for third party sources and spend a lot of time calling media sellers to get up-to-date rates.

From our experience
From our experience:  It’s a very time-consuming process to gather up-to-date information on ad rates if you do this yourself because you need to contact each individual media seller. If you're planning a national ad campaign or local advertising using multiple media types, we'd suggest you hire a media planning agency or freelance media planner with access to the third party tools to gather and consolidate this information. They can be paid by the media space sellers (TV and radio stations, etc.) through buying media at wholesale and then marking it up 15% to you the advertiser. Or you can negotiate a per-project rate.
 
 
What do you have to say?
Share your comments below or give advice about advertising media selection and buying that will be helpful to small businesses.
Please tell your friends and colleagues about MarketingZone
Share |
Comment on This Article

Premium Member Articles

These articles are available to Premium Members who pay for full access.

  • Typical Advertising Response Rates
  • Advertising Cost information is summarized here
  • How to Determine Your Advertising Budget
  • Search Advertising
    • How to Create an Effective PPC Search Campaign - search ads work most effectively when they are part of an overall program
    • How to Write and Optimize Your Search Ads - search ads are just a few lines of text.  Learn how to make your ads more effective. An effective PPC program is optimized in three ways: By selecting the right keywords to purchase, writing an effective ad, and creating landing pages that convert people who click to paying customers.  Learn what to do to select, write and optimize your PPC ads.
    • How to Buy Search PPC Ads - Search PPC ads are a popular and effective form of advertising. What's more, it's easier than ever for you to set up and manage your own PPC campaign using the free tools provided by the search engines. We'll show you how.
  • Online banner ads
    • How to Buy Online Banner Ads
    • How to Choose the Best Online Ad
    • How to Save Money Creating Online Ads
    • Facebook Advertising
    • LinkedIn Advertising - how to select and buy
  • Newspaper Advertising
    • Ways to Save Money Creating Newspaper Ads gives tips on the least expensive ways to create newspaper ads, what they typically cost to produce, and cautions.  
    • How to Buy Newspaper Advertising explains how to buy newspaper ad space and gives tips on how to save money and negotiate the best rates.
  • Magazine Advertising
    • Ways to Save Money Creating Magazine Ads gives tips on the least expensive ways to create magazine ads, what they typically cost to produce and cautions.
    • How to Buy Magazine Advertising explains how to buy magazine ad space (media) and gives tips on how to save money and negotiate the best rates.
  • Television Advertising
    • Ways to Save Money Creating TV Ads gives tips on the least expensive ways to create TV commercials, what they typically cost to produce and cautions.  TV advertising is seen by a lot of people and a "cheap looking" TV ad may harm your company or brand reputation. 
    • How to Buy TV Advertising explains how to buy TV media and gives tips on how to save money and negotiate the best rates.
    • Infomercials - how to create and buy
  • Radio Advertising
    • Ways to Save Money Creating Radio Ads gives tips on the least expensive ways to create radio commercials, what they typically cost to produce and cautions.  
    • How to Buy Radio Advertising explains how to buy radio media and gives tips on how to save money and negotiate the best rates.
  • Outdoor Billboard Advertising
    • Ways to Save Money Creating Outdoor Billboard Ads 
    • How to Buy Outdoor Advertising explains how to buy outdoor ad space (media) and gives tips on how to save money and negotiate the best rates.
  • Movie Theater Advertising - how to create, select, save and buy
  • Mobile Cell Phone Advertising - how to create, select, save and buy
  • Yellow Page Advertising - how to create, select, save and buy
  • See more Premium Member Articles

Gain immediate access to all these articles with MarketingZone Premium Membership.  Learn moreGO

Home|How-to Guides|Find Experts to Hire|Get & Give Advice|Premium Advice|My Account
About Us|Contact|Content Licensing|Member Benefits|Site Map|Terms of Use|Privacy

Copyright © 2009 - 2012 by MarketingZone™ Inc.  All rights reserved.

No part of this work, including design, content, and underlying technology on all pages, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, screen capture, and recording or by an information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations referenced with full attribution. Pages may be printed for the sole use of the person printing them. MarketingZone content is available via content license. Address inquiries to licensing@marketingzone.com.

MarketingZone™ is a trademark of MarketingZone, Inc.