Media Planning Process

To be successful in advertising, you need to be good at Media Planning. But what is Media Planning? How does it work?

This article explains the 9-step process.

What is Media Planning?

In advertising, Media Planning is the process of determining where, when, and how often to run ads in order to maximize results while minimizing costs (i.e., getting the “biggest bang for the buck.”).

The key output of the media planning process is an approved Media Plan.

Who Does Media Planning?

The Media Planning process is traditionally performed by Media Planners. However, nowadays, Media Planning has also become the responsibility to Media Buyers, particularly in digital advertising.

As workflows evolve, others in the marketing organization may take on some or all of Media Planning responsibilities.

The 9 Steps of the Media Planning Process

The nine steps of the Media Planning process are:

  1. Review Media Brief
  2. Develop Media Strategy
  3. Conduct Research
  4. Send RFPs
  5. Formulate Media Plan
  6. Analyze Media Plan
  7. Prepare Media Authorization
  8. Request Media Authorization
  9. Approved Media Plan!

Each of these steps is detailed below.

Media Planning vs. Media Buying

Before covering the steps of Media Planning, it’s important to talk about the fading difference between Media Planning and Media Buying.

In the past, Media Planning was completely separate from Media Buying. One group did Media Planning, and a different group did Media Buying. And it used to be a two-stage process: Media Buying started when Media Planning ended. Media plans did not specify media placements because it was the job of the media buyer to choose stations and to negotiate prices.

Unified Process

This distinction between Media Planning and Media Buying has dissolved.

The lines have become so blurred that the terms “Media Planning” and “Media Buying” are effectively interchangeable.  In fact, digital advertising, it’s common for the same person to perform the functions of both Media Planning and Media Buying.

One-Stage Process

And it’s no longer a two-stage process where the Media Planning team throws the authorized Media Plan over the wall to the Media Buying team. Nowadays, Media Planning and Media Buying functions are performed concurrently on a Media Plan, with every placement on its own lifecycle.

In our breakdown of the Media Planning process below, please know that we are using the traditional definition of Media Planning to keep it simple. But really, Media Buying is fully integrated with Media Planning nowadays and should be viewed as one integrated process.

Now, let’s walk through the steps of the Media Planning process.

Review Media Brief

The first step of the Media Planning process is to review the Media Brief.

A good Media Brief is critical to effective Media Planning. It defines the goals and parameters of the media investment. It defines the purpose of the advertising. It specifies the target audience. It defines how success will be measured. It sets the budget.

Many start the Media Planning process without a Media Brief or with one that is hastily prepared. If this is the case, you should stop right here and develop your Media Brief.

It’s like building software. Everyone is anxious to start coding, but the project is doomed for failure if you don’t start with clear requirements that are consistently understood by the entire team. You want everyone pulling in the same direction – towards the goal of the project.

It’s important for the entire Media Planning team to review the brief together:

  • Are the requirements clear?
  • Are the goals clear and measurable?
  • Are the goals attainable?
  • Are the constraints – e.g., budget – well-defined?
  • Is the target audience well-defined?

The Media Brief review is your best opportunity to avoid wasting a lot of time because of misalignment on media goals. As the old saying goes, “a stitch in time saves nine.”

Although everyone is anxious to get started on the Media Plan, every hour spend on the Media Brief will save you many hours on the Media Plan.

Additional Resources:

Develop Media Strategy

Now that that your goals are clearly understood, the next step in the Media Planning process is to develop a high-level strategy.

What is the best way to reach the target audience? What are the best times to reach the target audience? What is the optimal media mix? These are the types of questions your media strategy should answer.

There’s no standard format for a media strategy. Like any strategy, you’ve lots of room for creativity. Just keep in mind the purpose of the media strategy is to augment the Media Brief and guide the creation of the Media Plan.

Additional Resources:

Conduct Media Research

With the Media Brief and media strategy in hand, the next step of the Media Planning process is to conduct media research.

For offline media, this often takes the form of market research. Tools like Nielsen will help you to understand the size and demographics of each market.

For digital media, there are myriad research tools available. Google, Facebook, and other platforms include market research tools in their interface. And there are tools specific for different techniques and channels. For example, there are many new tools available for influencer marketing.

Some Media Planning tools, such as Bionic Media Planning software, include the ability to research media options. At a basic level, this includes a searchable directory of media programs. At an advanced level, this could include advanced tools like an AI-powered media recommender that suggests media for consideration.

As you develop your consideration set, media kits and data cards will help you to delve into the details of each advertising program.

Additional Resources:

Send RFPs (Optional)

An optional phase of the Media Planning process is sending requests for proposals – RFPs – to media vendors.

To be honest, I’m not a fan of the RFP process. As Doug Weaver says, “it’s the fiesta nobody loves.” The RFP is a time-consuming, heavyweight process for both Media Planners and ad sales teams. The RFP can be eliminated with access to good research tools. These tools don’t eliminate the need for communication with the vendor; in fact, it should increase quality communication with media vendors.

That said, the fact is the RFP still serves a useful purpose to gather information. The RFP can also be used to “outsource ideation” to media vendors (i.e., source fresh ideas).

If you’re going to run an RFP, it’s best to have an RFP management system in place. Running an RFP through email with Excel spreadsheets can be an administrative nightmare:

  • Finding vendor email addresses
  • Sending multiple emails
  • Tracking responses and pinging non-responders
  • Gathering, evaluating, and compiling proposals
  • Importing proposals into your Media Plan

A good Media Planning software, like Bionic, will include a solid RFP management tool that automates your RFP workflow.

Note that RFPs can also be used in the Media Buying process. However, in Media Buying, the RFP is more about price negotiation and less about information gathering.

Formulate Media Plan

Now for the best part of the Media Planning process – formulating your Media Plan!

The Media Plan is the cornerstone of Media Planning. Your Media Plan will rigorously specify the audience, location, timing, reach, frequency, cost, and goals of your media placements for your advertising campaign

The Media Plan is a complex, but somewhat standard layout.

No special tools are required to create a Media Plan. You can create a Media Plan in Excel, as many do. However, you’ll find that Excel breaks down with scale or complexity:

  • Scale problems come when you have many clients, many media planners, or many campaigns – all good things that happen when you grow.
  • Complexity problems come with sophistication – when your placements are complex (e.g., packaging, flighting, weekparting), when you’re itemizing costs for fee transparency, when you’re estimating KPI goals for media accountability, etc.

When you reach scale or complexity, you’ll want to replace excel with a real Media Planning system, like Bionic.

Additional Resources:

Analyze Media Plan

With your Media Plan drafted, the next step in the process is to analyze your Media Plan.

The purpose of the analysis is to ensure your Media Plan meets the requirements of your Media Brief and your media strategy.

You’ll want to ensure each of your placements and the Media Plan as a whole meets your goals. Because you established a good Media Brief up-front, you already have a concrete set of efficiency goals. For example:

  • Delivery efficiency that is measured in cost per thousand impressions (CPM) or cost per point (CPP).
  • Engagement efficiency that is measured with KPIs like cost per click and cost per conversion.
  • Engagement effectiveness that is measured with KPIs like clickthrough rate and conversion rate.
  • Results effectiveness that is measured with KPIs like Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI).
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Goals that are measured with a DEI scorecard.

You’ll want to compare the spending to your budgets. You’ll want to compare the KPIs in your Media Plan to the goals set in your Media Brief and strategy. You’ll use your DEI scorecard to see if you’re in compliance with your corporate objectives.

You’ll also want to run various pivot reports to analyze your media spending patterns. You want to ensure you’ve put the right media investment into each of your channels, markets, creatives, and other categories. These reports are known as “Allocation Charts.”

You can analyze your Media Plan manually using Excel. However, good Media Planning software will automate your analysis.

Don’t be alarmed when you find problems during your analysis. This is perfectly normal. In fact, it’s rare to “nail it” on the first draft. You should expect to go through a number of iterations of your Media Plan before everything looks good.

With your carefully analyzed Media Plan in place, you’re ready for the next step in the Media Planning process – preparing for Media Authorization.

Additional Resources:

  • Read How to Analyze a Media Plan

Prepare Media Authorization

The purpose of the Media Authorization is to get formal sign-off on the Media Plan. By that, I mean an actual signature from the budget holder (which these days is an electronic signature).

If you’ve all agreed on the Media Brief and the Media Plan aligns with the brief, the Media Authorization should be smooth. However, as with any big expenditure, you’ll need to create a formal presentation, which includes:

  • Media Brief
  • Media Strategy
  • Relevant Research
  • Advertising Flowchart
  • Media Plan
  • Media Authorization form

You’ll want to summarize the above in a PowerPoint presentation.

A good Media Planning tool will automate the process of generating all the documents supporting your Media Authorization. An advanced tool like Bionic will even generate your PowerPoint presentation!

Additional Resources:

  • Read What Is a Media Authorization?

Request Media Authorization

Call in Don Draper – it’s showtime!

The (hopefully) final step of the Media Planning process is the Media Authorization.

Strive for Instant Approval

The Media Plan is typically presented in a meeting – either in person or online – with the budget holders. The lead Media Planner reminds everybody of the previously agreed upon Media Brief, then walks through the media strategy, media research, and Media Plan.

Then – after a dramatic pause for effect – the lead Media Planner slides the Media Authorization form across the table, hands the budget holder a pen, points to the dotted line, and says, “now, just sign here and we’ll get started.”

In a perfect world, the media budget holder smiles, says “thank you,” and signs.

But Expect Requests for Changes

In the not-so-perfect world, the budget holder will ask for changes to the plan. Sometimes these changes are warranted because you missed the mark. Sometimes these changes come from new ideas generated during your presentation (a good thing!). And sometimes these changes come from the budget holder “moving the goalposts” by changing the requirements.

Regardless the source of the change requests, this means that you have to go back to the step of formulating the Media Plan to create a new version.

Don’t worry if you get sent back to the drawing board. This happens to even the best Media Planners. You should build time in your schedule to accommodate one or two revisions at this stage.

Signature = Done!

When you get that signature, congratulations! You’ve officially completed the Media Planning process.

Next Steps: Media Buying

With the signed Media Authorization, you got the green light to start placing orders and spending money. In other words, it’s time to execute your Media Plan and to start Media Buying.

For next steps, see What Is Media Buying?

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About the Author

Joe Pych is the CEO of Bionic Advertising Systems, which provides advertising agencies and advertisers with software that automates media planning and media buying workflows. You can reach Joe on LinkedIn.
Last Updated: March 19th, 2023