It's undeniable: COVID19 has a major impact on advertisers' advertising investments. However, the traditional advertising market is experiencing far fewer cancellations than during the first lockdown. Indeed, advertisers have realized that it is necessary, and even imperative, to communicate: as soon as they interrupt their communication, it becomes more difficult to regain their previous level of notoriety.
“Every time an advertiser cancels 1 euro of television communication, he loses 5 euros of sales. And, when an advertiser stops communicating, he must invest 50% more to return to his level of notoriety before he stopped.”
David Larramendy, president of SNPTV – Les Echos Published on Nov. 11, 2020
Under these conditions, it seems essential to continue communicating. But when every euro counts, how can you optimize your media plan and make future communication campaigns as profitable as possible?
In this article, we will detail the essential steps for developing a media plan in 2021 on the one hand and the mistakes to avoid on the other.
Build your media plan in 2021
#1: Set the objectives of your media plan
Before any action, it is essential to establish the objective of your communication:
- The image
- Notoriety
- The increase in sales
Your communication objectives make it possible to respond to the marketing and commercial challenges of your company or that of your customers. In this sense, they are necessary in order to make the various strategic choices subsequently and to select media or non-media supports.
Whether to launch a new product, improve its image or increase its notoriety, each campaign serves a different objective. Therefore, it requires a unique media plan with media that will vary depending on your objective.
#2: Define the target
Impossible to communicate effectively without having established or reminded your target beforehand. If you have already defined your buyer personas, now is the time to use them to remind you of your target. If this is not yet the case, do not hesitate to create one with your sales and marketing team.
To develop your media plan, knowing your target precisely (centers of interest, gender, age, socio-professional category, location, etc.) will promote the success of your communication plan.
To find out a list of the most relevant media for your campaign, you can consult audience studies for each media and use media planning software like Medialand .
#3: Determine your campaign dates
What are your campaign dates? Over what period do you plan to communicate your advertising message?
The seasonality and temporality of your campaign will contribute to the success of your media plan. Communicating in the middle of winter is not the most opportune time for a swimsuit brand.
#4: Set your budget
The price of advertising space varies significantly from one media to another. Thus, evaluating the overall budget of your campaign will allow you to make an appropriate choice.
#5: Indicate the format and sector
What are the media brand sectors in which you want to communicate? The sectors and formats selected will depend on your media strategy.
#6: Choose your communication channels
Indeed, after this fifth step, it is time to choose your communication channels. As stated previously, this may involve communication in media such as the press, radio or television, on social networks or outside media such as email campaigns, print or digital catalogs, etc.
#7: Analyze the results
It is indeed necessary to analyze the key performance indicators (KPIs) of your marketing operations. This will allow you to check that the results obtained are consistent with your initial objectives and therefore adjust your next actions. You will be able to reconcile certain sales data with advertising investment . If you would like more information on this subject, you can consult our white paper available for free here .
Finally, realizing certain errors or, on the contrary, the success of some of your campaigns, will help you learn best practices and focus more on what works best for your business in terms of ROI.
Now that you know the steps necessary to create an effective media plan in 2021, discover some pitfalls to avoid when developing your media planning.
Mistakes to avoid when developing your media plan
Neglecting new communication media
Always be on the lookout for the latest advertising trends, with a good message, it's the key to standing out from your competitors.
Sponsoring a Twitch streamer (even Samuel Etienne got involved) or a new podcast, TV sponsorship and launching an advertising spot on segmented TV: everything can become a communication medium if you give yourself the right to do so. means.
As long as these new communication media are read, listened to or viewed by your target, your next campaign will be powerful, unique and will set you apart from your competitor.
Setting unattainable goals
To achieve your objectives, it is imperative to check whether they are suitable for your project. To do this, use the SMART method:
- Specific: “Specific”
- Measurable: “Measurable”
- Achievable: “Acceptable”
- Realistic
- Temporally defined: “Time bound”
Clearly defining your objectives will allow you to stay focused and motivated but also to have a vision of the efforts to be deployed subsequently.
Omitting your upstream communication strategy
It is essential to think about your strategy beforehand in order to analyze all aspects. By structuring and coordinating the different actions and supports that will be used, you will have a global vision of the communication levers and will be able to master their ins and outs.
Forgetting to analyze the situation and its results
By analyzing the results of your campaign, you will be able to adapt your strategy according to the situation and key performance factors.
We hope all these best practices and tips will help you get started with your next advertising campaign.
Do you want to know more about media planning and get personalized advice based on your needs?
Request a demo of Medialand's media planning software , our teams will be happy to answer your questions and present you with the effective solution for developing your next media plan.
