Media planning and buying 101

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What is media planning?

The strategic selection of communication channels to deliver your message to your target audience.

What are the different channels?

  • Print:

    • Magazines

    • Newspapers

  • Digital:

    • Social media

    • Search engine marketing or SEM

    • Display ads (ads placed on websites and apps)

    • Email

    • Influencer

  • Television:

    • Linear TV (traditional broadcast and cable with scheduled programming like ABC7 and KTLA)

    • Connected TV or CTV (streaming services and internet-connected devices like Spectrum and Samsung smart TVs)

  • Radio:

    • AM/FM radio

    • Podcasts

  • Out of Home (OOH):

    • Billboards

    • Transit (e.g., buses, trains)

    • Furniture (e.g., benches, kiosks, shopping malls)

  • Direct Mail:

    • Flyers and postcards

    • Catalogs (e.g., BestBuysGuide, Remodeling 101 Guide, TheHomeMag)

Once you’ve identified the most relevant channels for your audience, the next step is media buying.

What is media buying?

Negotiating and purchasing advertising space on your chosen channels.

How is media buying done?

There are two forms of media buying: direct and programmatic.

  • Direct media buying involves purchasing ad inventory directly from publishers or media companies. Given the manual nature of the work (identifying ad spaces, finding and building relationships with sales reps, negotiating deals and discounts, processing purchases and ad placements, etc.), many businesses either hire large teams to make direct buys or outsource to advertising agencies.

  • Programmatic media buying uses automated technology and algorithms to purchase ad inventory in real-time through digital ad exchanges. Advertisers use demand-side platforms (DSPs) to access and bid on ad inventory from multiple publishers and ad networks. Given the highly technical nature of the work, many businesses either hire specialized teams to make programmatic buys or outsource to advertising agencies.

What does Ants & Aphids help small business owners with?

We make direct media buying much easier to do yourself. We have collected advertising opportunities from all over LA, OC and Ventura into a single database that is easy to search and filter based on your particular needs and objectives. Once you’ve identified the opportunities that are interesting to you, you can contact the sellers on our platform. It’s just like shopping online.

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