Media planning is one of the most essential and influential dimensions of a successful marketing campaign. With the emergence and reach of ever evolving online media channels, devising an effective media plan determines the potential impact of a marketing campaign.

Broadly speaking, the two basic processes in preparing a marketing campaign are:

1- Creation of a message.

2- Distribution of a message.

Media planning describes the processes of distribution of message by:

Defining the objectives of the message – (Direct response or Brand Awareness)

For direct response campaigns the main objectives are to get the customer to make a call for action. The implication of considering online media in the planning process has increased the achievement of these objectives. Online media enables organisations to design a creative and attractive direct response campaign which has a high success rates.

Similarly, in achieving the objectives of a brand awareness campaign online media can have a quicker success considering the viral nature of this media.

Identifying the media target – (Target Audience)

The next step is to select a target audience, which the media plan tends to influence through its different platforms, keeping in mind the objectives of the campaign. Considering online media in the plan makes it easily achievable to segment and identify the audience.

Analysing who is doing what – (Competitor Analysis)

It is essential to consider and evaluate the competitor’s performance and use it to your advantage before devising a successful media plan. Assessing and analysing this in the online world can be done by using one of the various online tools that provide marketing data for competitors.

Defining the reach of the campaign – (The number of people and the frequency)

Often the goals of a media plan are gauged by the reach of the campaign. In traditional media this is done by calculating the Gross Rating Points (GPR). It is a measure of the total exposure which is also used for media buying.

In online media the measure of reach is simplified and accurate. Tools like Google Analytics, Omniture SiteCatalyst and other web analytics platforms provide accurate and updated data.

Budgeting

Often campaigns have a pre-defined budget to work within but this is not always true. For online campaigns planning and estimating budgets can be done by running pilot campaigns and measuring the ROI on them.

From Media Planning to "Media-Neutral Planning"

Looking at the advantages of planning for online media, it is essential to acknowledge the fact that stand alone online marketing campaigns are not as effective as campaigns with Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). IMC is the co-ordination of all media channels for delivery or distribution of a clear and consistent message across all channels.

Media-neutral planning is a relatively new approach in planning integrated marketing campaigns.

It is a media planning approach that focuses on planning ad campaigns to maximise response across different media channels – both traditional and online. The main advantage of this approach is that it allows the distribution of the right message to the target audience at the right time and place and hence increasing the success of the campaign

In conclusion an effective media plan would take into consideration both traditional and online factors to determine an optimum spend across all media channels and gauge the effectiveness across different media channels seamlessly.