Media Planning 2

Media Planning rev.2002
(Part 2 of 5)

Fundamental changes

With the ascendancy of "smarter", not just cheaper, media planning has taken on the mystique previously reserved for network television buyers and Hollywood legends. The star planner is a strategist, no longer just specializing in print or broadcast. The planner now specializes in curiosity and creativity. Watch for the Creative Media Director, not as a reputational label, but as a title. They are expected to not just write a plan that leads to a media buy, but one that creatively generates sales and can be held accountable.

Plans are written from a point of view. The old way was t look at consumers as groups of people and to describe them from the outside in (as with using demographics). The new way is just the reverse; the new POV is the consumer's, each person one at a time, not as a group. . We now describe them from the inside out, as individuals. The inside out starting point allows us to understand the nature of the consumer and what motivates them to buy the product. It gives us insights into how their mind works and it gives us insights into how a brand appeals to the individual. In other words, we are in a position to understand the nature of the process.

Changing our business from the inside

In an effort to emphasize that planners are now becoming strategic business decision-makers, some agencies are reorganizing from the inside out. In some agencies the research budget is sacrosanct. Before, it was the first line item to go. Groups in the media department get new names, divisions for insights, investments, strategy, and of course new media are formed. All of this activity demonstrates that we are sensitive to what is going on and recognizes that we must adjust accordingly.

The modern media planner is part strategist, part researcher, part marketer, salesperson, investment counselor and whatever else it takes to devise a plan that will "work". The term "work" was only attributed to creative enterprises to describe a vague notion that a program or a commercial would be a success. Don't get too used to it though in media planning circles, because we are about to embark upon the age of accountability.

Accountability

The other fundamental shift in our business has to do with accountability. Most of what we have addressed up to this point refers to insights into building a better plan. However, having built one, the client is now demanding that it works, it sells. Clients want to hold the planning agent accountable.

Media planning is moving ever closer to a DR model. CPM exposure is giving way to CPM sales. Clients are demanding and paying for more science in accountability measurement and rely less on feel and verbal reassurance. Three little letters, ROI, have never loomed so large and they will continue to grow.

We are now able to bring together measures of completely different marketing tools and compare them against a common baseline, sales. We can see if the baseline is dependent upon any one or more critical moves in any of the marketing elements. We are not just selecting dayparts that will sell more product, we are discussing fundamental decisions regarding the levels of investment in advertising, production, pr, sales promotion, pricing, the weather and a host of other measurable factors.

Size still matters

Many smaller agencies and media services are not able to fund these explorations. They still do much of it by feel. The big secret is that most large agents don't fund these things either (there are a few notable exceptions) their clients pay. For the most part they watch from the sidelines and interpret data when called upon.

This might explain a recent poll conducted for Adweek. When asked what is the single most important thing clients want from their agents, they say strategic planning. Even among media services, this is roughly 50% more important to clients that buying efficiently. However, when asked where they actually go for strategic direction, over 90% say they go to their agencies. Clients are even twice as likely to go to consultants before going to their media service for strategic direction. Perhaps this is because clients include creative direction within the realm of strategic direction. No matter, we have more to prove.