Media Buying Service
Media buying refers to purchasing advertising in a media venue such as radio, newspaper, cable TV, prime time TV, satellite TV and the Internet. Selecting which media to buy is not an easy task. The product or service being sold, the target market, how the market is reached in a cost effective manner are all questions that don’t always have easy answers. Can the average business owner run a profitable ad campaign including buying media and planning? Maybe. But understanding the strengths and weaknesses of all media venues that could lead to profitable outcomes is highly unlikely. That is why a media buying service can develop a customized plan to balance the media mix among other important factors in creating a successful ad campaign. This article will discuss what a media buying service is, what they do and what you should look for when hiring one.
A media buying service will manage the planning, research, buying media space for their clients. Media venues could be print newspapers, magazines, radio, television, outdoor advertising, direct mail or the Internet. In addition, it provides extensive assistance with the media plan to ensure a profitable advertising campaign. A workable plan may look something like the following:
- Define the objectives- in order to buy the appropriate media, the objectives for the business, target audience, and the accomplishments and desired results for the ad campaign needs to determined.
- Develop a strategy- based on the objectives, a media buying service professional along with input from the company, will work out a feasible plan and determine how to direct the media research.
- Conduct Research-using the plan that was developed in the strategy phase. Each strategy phase will be analyzed and Internet, television, print media and radio will be scrutinized by the media buying service and the media or media mix that is relevant to the strategy will be chosen.
- Negotiation and Implementation- media buying experts negotiate the best possible deal and start implementing the ad campaign.
- Track and Analyze-after the ad campaign starts, constant tracking and analyzing its performance is crucial to the campaign’s success. Additions, deletions, and general adjustments may be necessary to optimize performance.
In order to provide you with an executable plan that ensures a successful ad campaign, a media buying service should have access to market information and media information from Arbitron, Nielsen, SRDS and have network connections and contacts around the country, or even better, around the world. A good service will have the latest technology to efficiently perform all tasks required to plan, research, negotiate, implement and analyze your ad campaign and have access to market specific research studies that will help to create target market profiles, define the target consumer, and design media schedules to reach that consumer.
Tool and resources provide a source of accuracy and relevant updated information. They do not guarantee a top-notch media buying service. Finding a service that promptly attends to the customer’s needs, provides extraordinary customer service, and follows the rule that media buying begins and ends with customer; sounds to me like a great media buying service.
