Media planning decides where, when, and how often your audience sees your message. Good plans balance reach, frequency, and cost efficiency while aligning with how your category actually converts.
Start with audience insight
Map where your buyers spend time—search, social, video, podcasts, out-of-home—and prioritize channels that match their path to purchase. B2B committees may need LinkedIn and search; DTC beauty lives on Instagram and TikTok.
Budget allocation frameworks
Split spend across prospecting and retargeting, brand and performance, and test budgets for new channels. Reallocate monthly based on incremental ROAS, not platform-reported last-click credit alone.
Reach vs. frequency tradeoffs
Under-frequenced campaigns fail to register; over-frequenced campaigns waste budget and annoy audiences. Use reach curves and frequency caps tuned by funnel stage.
Integrated flighting
Coordinate launches so messaging builds across channels. A search spike without supporting social proof often wastes high-intent clicks. Flight calendars should show channel overlap visually.
Scenario planning
Model best, base, and conservative spend scenarios before committing annual budgets. Flex reserves for opportunistic moments—viral trends, competitor gaps, seasonal spikes.
Reporting rhythm
Weekly tactical reviews and monthly strategic reviews keep plans alive. Static annual plans rarely survive contact with market reality.
