4 Steps to Improve Your Media Planning Now

4 Steps to

Improve Your Media Planning NowHow to maximize every dollar

https://www.quad.com/solutions/marketing-strategy/media-services

Make every media dollar matter

Because the media landscape is incredibly complex, marketers spend significant resources to plan their media mix.

But surprisingly, 65% of CMOs have no idea how their marketing is performing, according to a recent study conducted by Deloitte, Duke University and the American Marketing Association.

Modern marketers have to move fast, and their media plans must demonstrate that every dollar spent matters. A solid, data-based approach to research, modeling, testing and iterating will improve a media plan’s effectiveness, and deliver the insights needed to make better decisions.

To learn more from Quad’s media thought leaders, watch this on-demand webinar, “Save Yourselves: What marketing leaders need to know about media to keep their jobs.”

Research

Modeling

Testing

Iterating

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2831378/F0107ADD264550E0A15972B4B262E4E6?partnerref=MediaPlanningPDF



Quad ©2021 | 4 Steps to Improve Your Media Planning Now 3

Don’t waste your time and money on confirmative research.”

Earl Potter, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Media Analytics

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RESEARCH

Research with change in mindResearch intentionally.

It seems obvious enough. Yet, many marketing organizations go through the motions without intending to make any significant changes. Too often, research is designed to check a box or validate already held assumptions — a waste of time and resources that won’t impact the business’s trajectory.

A better way to conduct research is with the goal of doing something different because of the results.

Data gathering: Necessary for defining target audiences — age, city, household income, and basic demographics and purchase history.

Insights: A deeper understanding of target audiences — behaviors, values, attitudes, interaction preferences and lifestyle drivers.

Insights allow you to develop richer, omnichannel media plans that resonate with individuals and segments.

Research for better decision-making: It’s about insights, not data.


A more complete research regimen drives positive changes

Reexamine existing research

Expand consumer segments

Follow through on insights

Identify strategic opportunities

• When you ask an agency partner to look into something, ask:

– Was this research trying to validate a perspective? – Or was this research to facilitate change?

• If the answer is “validate,” look at the research again through the lens of change. Is there data that’s telling you something different than what you believe?

• Sometimes marketers are enamored with a particular segment (usually the largest) and lose sight of other customers (like the most engaged)

• Don’t sacrifice the universe of consumers for one target audience; gut-check your insights against multiple segments

• Research could reveal your target customer is heavily engaged with social media; the reaction would be to dump more money into social channels

• Think beyond reach – focus on connections; take time and money to send test messages first to better understand what specifically addresses your consumers’ needs

• Go beyond optimizing media buys; use insights to identify more offerings. For example, if research reveals your target customers are value-driven, test a loyalty rewards program instead of blanket offers to everyone.

RESEARCH MODELING TESTING ITERATING


Don’t shoehorn your questions into a tool that wasn’t designed to provide the answers you need.”

Earl Potter, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Media Analytics

“


MODELING

Use a full suite of modeling to answer all media-related questions Too often, budget drives the search for a single, one-size-fits-all modeling approach.

It doesn’t exist, so stop looking.

Instead, start by identifying the questions you want to answer. For example:

Strategic Mix Modeling

Provides insights into appropriate marketing and media spend, channel planning and forecasting. Make sure to factor in outside influences like major events or seasonality.

Use for: Informing annual media planning

Answers questions like:

• Is it more effective to place TV ads in 10 markets over 10 weeks? Or is it better to place more ads during a concentrated three-week period?

• Which channel(s) lead to more conversions in the Southeast region vs. the Northeast region?

You can’t answer all of these questions with a single model. But using a number of complementary tools will help fill the gaps to give you more complete information. Use this modeling hierarchy for both strategic allocation and tactical effectiveness.

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• Which TV stations are over/under invested?

• Which digital buys lead to the largest incremental sales increases?

• What channels deliver more conversions in a particular region?

• Which messages produce in-store vs. online sales?


Tactical Mix Modeling

Digital Response Modeling

Moves from high-level insights to the tactical information for monthly or seasonal optimization decisions. Combines both offline and online media data with offline and online sales or traffic data to provide the marketer a full picture of how their investments are performing.

Use for: Monthly planning check-ins; plan adjustments


• Which digital buys lead to the largest incremental sales increases?

• What geographies respond best to OOH investments?

• What offline messaging and tactics are driving online sales?

Useful for analyzing near real-time consumer-level reaction. Allows you to adjust digital strategies and increase engagement during campaigns.

Use for: Monitoring and fine-tuning digital campaign performance


• Which display ad is generating the most clicks?

• How many consumers who clicked made purchases?

• What messaging is resonating with connected consumers?

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Combining these three techniques provides a fuller understanding for more effective media planning, adjustments and iterations.



Never run a test if you believe the results will be inconclusive.”

Gwen Maass, Vice President, Media Services

“


TESTING

Test boldly to improve campaign performanceMany marketers see testing as obligatory. What’s really needed is bold testing that yields definitive answers that will improve campaign performance.

There’s an assumption that bold tests are expensive. Therefore, some marketers pull back, opting for a watered-down test strategy. The result: Inconclusive results and wasted time, money and resources.

What is bold testing?

Tests that are frequent enough to inform multiple iterations of every campaign.

Tests that don’t leave you with inconclusive results.

Examples:

Examples:

• Results from Q1 tests can be implemented no sooner than Q3. Don’t wait. Make the most of time and conduct tests in Q2 as well, establishing a continuous test and iterate cycle.

• The first test looks into the big questions; you dig into more nuanced issues with subsequent tests

• Go dark with traditional marketing vehicles in one market segment, and move those resources to targeted digital. (You’ll know for sure which drives more sales — expect lots of pushback!)

• Change to entirely new creative rather than making minor image or content adjustments

• Direct 50% of your media spend to a targeted testing initiative rather than just 10%

When marketers apply a bold testing strategy, they get conclusive data to support ROI, without increasing spend.


Ask these questions to embolden your tests:

ConstructIs the design of the test appropriate for the questions you want to answer?

TIP: If a test won’t lead to a significant increase in sales or profitability, don’t test.

TIP: Don’t waste time on tests that are too meek to yield actionable insights.

TIP: Make sure the idea you’re testing can be operationalized. Get buy-in before testing.

Impact Only test what matters. Save time and money by asking this question first: If I get clear direction from the test, will the resulting change have a meaningful impact on my business?

Conclusiveness Is the design of your test going to yield solid results? Is the test set up with enough budget, scope and duration to uncover the information you need?

Practicality Assuming everything goes smoothly and the test delivers clear insights about what to change, can you implement those changes?



The goal: To become a learning organization


Data and insights generated by bold tests become even more valuable when applied in a layered method. Conduct overlapping tests in cycles so that you continually learn new things that can be implemented for the next campaign.

Testing follow-up questions transforms your team into a learning organization. Apply the findings of each test to improve future media mix and spend.


Iterating slowly can sometimes result in not learning anything at all. You need to get around the cycle faster.”

Gwen Maass, Vice President, Media Services

“


ITERATING

Iterate quickly and confidentlyMany marketers fall into a simple trap when it comes to iterating campaigns: They move too slowly. They want to limit risk and not change too much too quickly, afraid of breaking what’s already working.

The goal is to get more versions of campaigns into market and blow out what works. To do this, marketers need to iterate quickly.

The truth is: Being timid hampers results.

Reduce handoffs Optimize your creative production process to reduce handoffs. Multiple handoffs slow things down. Streamline by taking a content-first approach to creative development, and, if your agency portfolio is creating drag on the process, rely on fewer partners. Challenge your processes and eliminate loopbacks and other unnecessary steps.

Limit approvers Often, multiple stakeholders feel compelled to insert their POV and insist on being part of the approval loop. But too many approvers create time lags and unnecessary rework. Limit the number of people with input and approval power to get more iterations into market faster.



Perfect the media cycle

• Aim to produce change, not reinforce established beliefs

• Research all target segments, not just your ideal customer

• Reexamine existing research to see what insights can be gleaned

Research

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• Use a combination of models to get a complete understanding of media performance

• Fine-tune media planning by focusing on big-picture strategic modeling, offline/online tactical insights and more granular attribution models

Modeling

• Be decisive: make changes informed by testing data immediately

• Streamline the creative process: too many handoffs slow things down

• Limit the number of approvers to get iterations into market faster

Iterating• Test boldly, for actionable

results & insights

• Don’t let too many stakeholders muddy the test with off-point questions

• Stagger testing: waiting for results means downtime, so continually test to inform future tests

Testing

Thorough research yields

better inputs for modeling

Multiple models frame a stronger

testing plan

Faster iteration, better decision- making within

marketing cycles

Use test results to guide each new iteration

The bottom line

Great media plans treat each campaign as a work in progress moving toward an ultimate goal. By changing strategies in four key areas — research, modeling, testing and iterating — you will develop a complete planning operation that maximizes data, technology, people and experience. You’ll be able to act faster, test bolder and increase efficiency, leading to better results.

For more ways to strengthen your media planning efforts, visit Quad.com.

Research

Modeling

Testing

Iterating



Documents

4 Steps to Improve Your Media Planning Now