Media Planning is Like Running the Bulls

Let’s assume consumption follows that of television (feel free to do your own scenarios). I wind up with this (Figure 4):

It might change somewhat, but if TV viewership patterns are a guide to behavior (and people do spend a lot of time on television), the top “surfers” spend about six hours per day while the lightest users only spend slightly more than half an hour per day.

With almost any plan, we need to begin equalizing its frequency distribution, that is, removing impressions from one quintile, putting them into another quintile and making sure we achieve the flattest curve possible so that, then, we can then start to really plan by consumption.

No Silver Bullets

There are no simplistic answers to media planning—no silver bullets. If you have a budget that is important to you or your client (and which budget is not?) you must go through this exercise to make sure your plan is not only efficient, but also effective.

Next week we’ll address how to tie the entire thing together.

Marcelo Salup‘s 30-plus-year career in advertising covers a wide range of everything. A wide range of roles–he began his career on the creative side, won two Addies, changed to media, included strategic planning and consumer insight and has been an agency owner several times. A wide range of venues: Spain, Latin America, international and the U.S. A wide range of clients that range from automotive to banking to electronics to fast food to soft drinks and much more. But can be summed up in four words “Only Performance is Real.” Today he is “Left Brain” at Montaño + Salup Communications