Media buying is performed by seasoned advertising professionals, well-schooled in all areas of advertising and marketing options, methods and processes. The process of buying media involves many considerations, but the real issues come down to determining the purpose the advertising will serve, and understanding which media is right based on the client’s needs, budget and timeline.

Advertising may be purchased for many reasons other than as a part of the business’ start-up. An advertising campaign may be implemented when the client wants to create more sales for their product line, or jump start sales during a slow period. Advertising can introduce new or improved products to the market, or offer seasonal products. An advertiser may have a new offer, host a sale or introduce a change to their product.

These are just a few of the reasons why an advertiser may decide to start a new marketing campaign, but certainly are not all of the reasons. The media buyer, in their research, must determine the best approach to meet the client’s needs, which may involve multiple mediums and the placement of ads locally, nationally and internationally.

Some of the factors to consider in buying media are:

The client’s budget and timeline to implementation. Advertisements can range from the very inexpensive to the extremely expensive, depending on the medium chosen, the timeline to implementation, the creative process and the staff required and the geographic area in which the promotion will be purchased. Local advertising is less expensive than national advertising and can be bought relatively inexpensively.

The marketing approach for the project. This includes the copy, artwork, and appeal of the ad to reach the right buyer.
The media available for the job. For every marketing problem, there are solutions. Sometimes local media can be utilized in an effective marketing campaign; sometimes national or international media are required. It depends on the product, the buyer and the budget allocated.

There is no exact formula to what will work best in all circumstances because all media can be used effectively to accomplish the client’s goals. Sometimes the best approach is a multi-tiered advertising campaign. It’s up to the media buyer to convince the client, through market research, demographics and other proof, that the plan proposed is the best approach to move the product off the shelves.

If a low-priced product is going to be sold nationally, as opposed to just locally, the media buy will be bigger because the potential for sales exists on a broader level. If a product will only be sold to the local market, then the options become much simpler, and are limited to local media choices only.

The media buyer must determine the best media to purchase to accomplish the client’s goals, and which of the available media will best suit the campaign. If radio and magazine advertising are selected as the best fit, which local stations and magazines best reach the market segment the advertiser is trying to influence to buy his product? If television, newspapers and radio will be used, what time of day will best reach the desired market, and what size ad will be required to get the desired response?

Media buying takes all these factors, and more, into account before recommending a marketing solution to their client.