In short: A media plan says where a marketing budget will be spent, over what period, in what proportions, and what each part should produce. Before approving one, read the objective, the expected outcomes and the cost basis, and ask what it assumes, what happens when a channel fails, and who owns the data afterwards.
Key points
- A good plan states its objective as an observable outcome at a cost per outcome and a volume, not 'awareness' or 'reach'.
- A plan that spends evenly across every channel for every week has not made any decisions.
- The columns to interrogate are expected outcomes and the cost basis, because their assumptions are the plan's real content.
- Ask what the plan looks like at half the budget to reveal which channels the planner believes in.
- For restricted companies, start from the band map, test cheaply on open channels, and forecast nothing against pending approvals.
A media plan is the document that says where a marketing budget will be spent, over what period, in what proportions, and what each part is expected to produce. It is the point at which strategy turns into money, and it is usually approved by people who have not been told how to read one.
What a good plan contains
The objective, in one sentence, stated as an outcome the company can observe: funded accounts, qualified leads, activated users, at a cost per outcome and a volume. A plan whose objective is "awareness" or "reach" should say what awareness is expected to lead to and how anyone will know.
The audience, defined precisely enough that a channel can be chosen for it. Who, where, what they are doing when they might be reached, and what they need to believe.
The channel mix, listed with the share of budget for each and the reason each is there. The reason should connect to the audience and the objective, not to the channel's availability.
The flighting: when each channel runs, at what weight, over the plan period. A plan that spends evenly across every channel for every week has not made any decisions.
The expected results, by channel: the volume of outcomes, the cost per outcome, and the assumptions behind each. Where the assumption is a guess, it should say so.
The measurement approach: how each channel's outcomes will be tracked, in whose systems, and how the plan will be adjusted when the numbers arrive.
The band map, for companies in reviewed categories: which channels are open, which require approvals the plan is not counting on, and which are closed.
The columns and what they mean
Most plans are a table. The columns are usually channel, placement or partner, format, audience, dates, impressions or reach, cost, CPM or CPC or CPA, expected outcomes, and share of budget.
The two columns to interrogate are expected outcomes and the cost basis. Expected outcomes are the plan's promise; ask where each number came from. The cost basis tells you what the channel is being bought on; a channel bought on CPM with an expected number of customers attached has done a conversion calculation somewhere, and the assumptions in that calculation are the plan's real content.
The questions to ask before approving
Which of these channels has this company, or this partner, run for this category before, and what happened?
If one channel fails in the first two weeks, where does its budget go, and who decides?
Which lines assume an approval that has not arrived?
What does the plan look like at half the budget? The answer reveals which channels the planner actually believes in.
Who owns the accounts, the tracking, and the data when the plan ends?
What is the fee, in dollars, and what makes it go up?
The plan for a company that cannot buy the usual channels
For a company the ad platforms restrict, a conventional media plan is mostly lines that will not run. The plan that works starts from the band map, allocates the first weeks to cheap measurement across the open-band channels, commits the bulk of the budget only after something reads, and files the restricted-band approvals with nothing forecast against them.
That plan looks less complete than a spreadsheet with every channel filled in. It is also the only one with numbers anyone should believe.
lowob takeaway: A media plan is where strategy becomes money. Read the objective, the expected outcomes, and the cost basis; ask what the plan assumes, what happens when a channel fails, and who owns the data at the end.
Common questions
What should a good media plan include?
A one-sentence observable objective, a precise audience, the channel mix with budget shares and reasons, flighting, expected results by channel with assumptions, a measurement approach, and for reviewed categories a band map of open, restricted and closed channels.
What questions should I ask before approving a media plan?
Which channels have been run for this category before and what happened; where a failing channel's budget goes and who decides; which lines assume an approval that has not arrived; what the plan looks like at half the budget; who owns the accounts and data at the end; and what the fee is and what makes it go up.
Which columns in a media plan matter most?
Expected outcomes and the cost basis. A channel bought on CPM with an expected number of customers attached has done a conversion calculation somewhere, and those assumptions are the plan's real content.