PLANNING DIRTY
MEDIA
RELATIONSHIP
DNA, TIMING, LANGUAGE
CREATED BY
MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN
JULIAN COLE
DAVIS BALLARD
is a comms strategist and media agency diplomat at McCann NY
is a strategy consultant who works with brands and agencies to create world class integrated campaigns.
is a freelance strategist who worked his magic on the deck design.
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PLANNING DIRTY
PLANNING DIRTY
MEDIA / CREATIVE
RELATIONSHIP
CONTEXT
Mastering the creative / media relationship is key to creating impactful work.
We’ve put together a guide for creative agencies to get the most out of your media partnerships.
DNA
TIMING
LANGUAGE
Specific ambitions, strengths and the makeup of the media agency dictate your relationship.
Recognising an agency’s DNA will determine that nature of your relationship and how and when you work with them
The moments you engage your media agency in the creative process
Identifying when to leverage an agency partner leads to an effective and efficient partnership
The common language and terms used between the agencies
Setting a common language confirms you are working towards the same goals
PLANNING DIRTY
MEDIA DNA
The four types of media agencies you’ll work with
LARGE
CREATIVE
INNOVATIVE
PARTNERSHIP
While all media agencies buy media, they offer different specific strengths. These are the four commons types.
LARGE MEDIA AGENCIES
Large established processes
Key factor
Creating the most efficient plan
Advantages
Access to innovation investment, vendor priorities and great talent
Drawback
Less flexibility with media plans than smaller shops
Examples
UM, OMD, Starcom
https://www.umww.com/works/johnson-johnson/
CREATIVE MEDIA AGENCIES
Use qualitative insights and strategic narrative to drive process
Key factor
Impact over impressions
Advantages
Flexible as they seek unique ways to amplify creative
Drawback
Maintaining creative control is the challenge as roles can overlap
Examples
Noble People, Initiative
https://www.braintreepayments.com/blog/whats-code-for-coffee/
INNOVATIVE MEDIA AGENCIES
Focused on adapting new technologies
Key factor
Campaign is led by the tech
Advantages
Exciting work in new areas. Great award show potential too
Drawback
Often adapt creative to serve the tech, not the other way around
Examples
Mindshare, 360i
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2dF46IHlGM&feature=youtu.be
PARTNERSHIP DRIVEN MEDIA AGENCIES
Agencies that favour partnership activations over media units
Key factor
Bring brand experiences to life with impact
Advantages
Clear briefs can lead to amazing extensions to your campaign
Drawback
Control you will have over their activations will be fairly limited
Examples
Giant Spoon
PLANNING DIRTY
TIMING
The best times to leverage the relationship
ROLES ACROSS CAMPAIGN MILESTONES
LARGE
Large agences shine up front, providing clear direction on what is in the plan. They are also your main partner in the IMC process. Also good at the end of the process with access to new platforms and using their weight to bring different partners on board.
WHERE DIFFERENT AGENCIES SHINE
LARGE
CREATIVE
WHERE DIFFERENT AGENCIES SHINE
Once an idea is established creative agencies are great in bringing it to life with a creative approach to media planning that mirrors your creative platform in media choices
LARGE
CREATIVE
PARTNERSHIP
INNOVATIVE
WHERE DIFFERENT AGENCIES SHINE
When you’re extending the creative platform partnership and innovation agencies can find the right partners and technologies to extend it in ways you didn’t think about
PLANNING DIRTY
LANGUAGE
Understand their language and set a common language
ROSETTA STONE
One of the keys to success is setting up a shared language between you and the media agency.
Your Rosetta Stone, a glossary that both agency and client agree on.
MEDIA LANGUAGE
There are a lot of unfamiliar terms in the media world. Here’s your cheatsheet
Source: https://blueonionmedia.com/glossary/
MEDIA LANGUAGE
Advertising Impressions The audience delivery of media vehicles, programs or schedules. Usually expressed as thousands (000).
Advertising Weight The level of advertising support over a period of time, expressed in gross rating points, impressions, target audience reached, etc.
Aided Recall A research technique where the respondent is given aid to help remember all or parts of advertising.
Average Frequency The number of times the average person or household is exposed to an advertising schedule. It is always derived from Gross Rating Points and Reach
BDI (Brand Development Index) A measure of the strength of a brand’s sales in a particular geographic area indexed to the national sales average.
CDI (Category Development Index) A measurement of a brand’s sales potential using sales of all brands within a category in a specific market indexed to national sales average.
Cost Per Rating Point (Cost Per Point, CPP, Cost Per GRP) The cost to reach one percent of the universe, households or individuals, in a given market or geographic area.
Cost Per Thousand (CPM) The cost to reach 1,000 units of audience, households or individuals, for advertising. Used as a measure of efficiency among media and media schedules.
Cume (Cumulative Audience) Another way of expressing reach. The total number of different people or households exposed to advertising at least once during the media schedule
Duplication The number or percent of the target audience in one media vehicle also exposed to another vehicle.
MEDIA LANGUAGE
Efficiency The ratio of cost to size of audience used to compare media vehicles, plans or schedules
Fixed Position An advertising position which remains fixed over time, such as the inside cover of a magazine.
Gross Impressions The combined audiences of several media vehicles or several announcements within a vehicle, leaving in the duplication among the audiences.
Gross Rating Points (GRP’s) The sum of individual ratings in a media plan.
Heavy-up An increase in advertising activity for a limited period of time.
Makegood Comparable unit of advertising offered at no charge when the original spot or ad did not run or ran incorrectly.
Mediamark Research Inc. (MRI) A syndicated research source measuring print and broadcast media audiences and product/brand usage profiles.
Per Inquiry (P.I.) Agreement between a media owner and an advertiser where the advertiser pays the owner for advertising on the basis of the number of inquiries or completed sales from the advertising.
Quintile The division of the audience or sample into five equal groups ranging from heaviest to lightest amount of exposure to any medium.
Rating An estimate of the size of an audience expressed as one percent of the total population.
Reach The unduplicated percent of a potential audience exposed to advertising one or more times during a given period.
Share of Voice (SOV) A brand’s percent of the total advertising weight in its product category.
TV LANGUAGE
Adjacency An advertising pod positioned next to a particular TV or radio program. Also called commercial break positions.
Daypart One of the time segments into which the day is divided by broadcast media, determined by type of programming and who provides it (network or local).
Designated Market Area (DMA) Nielsen’s term for geographical areas made up of exclusive counties based on which home market stations receive the predominant share of viewing.
Drive Time The dayparts used in radio to signify primary listening being done in cars. Generally considered to be Monday-Friday 6- 10 a.m. and 3-7 p.m. HUT-(Households Using Television) – a broadcast research term indicating the percent of homes with sets on during a specific time period.
Piggyback Back-to-back scheduling of two or more brand commercials of one advertiser in network or spot positions.
Roadblocking A scheduling technique where a brand’s commercial airs at approximately the same time on all three networks or on all stations in a given market.
R.O.S. (Run Of Schedule or Run Of Station) a broadcast schedule, similar to R.O.P. where specific programs and air times have not been requested by the advertiser.
Sweeps The 4-week periods when all TV markets are measured by Nielsen and Arbitron for station viewing and demographic information. Sweep months are February, May, July and November.
SHARED LANGUAGE
An important part of the process is establishing shared understanding.
Creating a glossary of terms ensures everyone is on the same page. The following is an example of a shared glossary.
EXAMPLE GLOSSARY
Barrier What is standing in the way of the consumer from coming closer to the desired state outlined in the consumer journey
Brand Role The brand’s ‘north star’; its reason for existing, its view of the world and its key belief
Brand Context What’s the brand situation? Who are their competitors, what’s the brand about, what’s it’s positioning, who is the brands audience?
Campaign Rollout A illustration/visual depiction of the potential shape of the campaign, showing the production budget for the different activity
Communications Ecosystem An illustration/visual depiction of all the media touch points in a campaign
Communication Platform Is an action orientated statement that helps guide all parties for what type of actions the brand is going to take, this statement is used to brief all agency partners
Media Neutral Brief The idea is media agnostic
Media Specific Brief The idea must live specifically in a channel or platform (i.e., the channel is dictated in the brief)
Creative Idea/Platform The creative articulation and consumer facing interpretation of the brand purpose
Communications Plan The layout of all the communication elements you will use to deliver your campaign and achieve your goals
EXAMPLE GLOSSARY
Communications Tactics The individual tactics that communicate your message
Communications Task The specific solution for the major barrier at that stage of the consumer journey
Consumer Journey The steps that the consumer goes through to reach a specific goal that is related to the brand problem
Day in the life journey The day in the life journey looks at what are the steps that the target consumer takes each day, this is used for low involvement/feeling products
Human Journey Looking at the steps in a major event in the consumer's life that the brand has some relationship with, this is used on high involvement/feeling products
Path to purchase A type of consumer journey that has the end goal of the consumer purchasing the product, it is usually used on high involvement/thinking types of products
KPI’s Key Performance Indicators: The specific goals or metrics we must achieve
PLANNING DIRTY
CASE STUDIES
Resources to show how it’s been done best
LARGE MEDIA AGENCIES
CREATIVE MEDIA AGENCIES
INNOVATIVE MEDIA AGENCIES
PARTNERSHIP DRIVEN MEDIA AGENCIES
Agencies that favour partnership activations over media units: Westworld activation by Giant Spoon
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