Significance Of An Integrated Media Plan
“Did you know that 90% of customers expect brands to consistently interact with them across all channels? Or that 87% of retailers believe an omnichannel marketing strategy is crucial for their success?”
What does this mean for any future marketer?
Simply that an integrated media plan is a must-have for every marketing strategy to be successful.
To define the same, an integrated media plan includes various media platforms to be used in a marketing campaign. This can utilise a combination of traditional as well as digital platforms – think billboards, television ads, social media networks and more. Why is this important? To reach the target audience at as many consumer touchpoints, of course!
“So where do you start?”
To begin, ask yourself two questions: who is the target audience for our brand and how will we reach this audience? This will help you determine your goal, and begin the process of understanding your consumer needs and behaviours. For example, if the target audience includes millennials then it’s a no-brainer that they must be reached on Instagram, Tik Tok or Snapchat. However, to reach an older generation, Facebook and TV ads might work best. The key is figuring out how you can utilise a multi-channel approach to meet your audience at the right place and at the right time. By conducting research such as competitor analysis, creating buyer personas, going through reviews and social listening, you’ll be able to paint a clear picture of your audience.
The next step is considering what kind of media you wish to choose – paid (e.g. Google ads), organic (e.g. your social media posts), or earned media e.g. (news coverage), followed by determining the time and frequency of content exposure for your audience. Knowing when your audience is online on social media networks, or watching TV in their living rooms, or listening to the radio on their morning commute is crucial to deciding the right moment to deliver your brand’s messaging.
Once you’ve established the audience and media platforms, the logical next step is to produce your creative. Think copy, graphics, pictures, videos – whatever creative elements you need to tell your story and deliver the desired marketing message. A tip is to create versions that work well across multiple channels so you can test as you go.
Once this has all been implemented onto your various marketing channels, it’s time you ask yourself what worked best, and what improvements can be made for next time. It’s crucial to learn from successes as well as failures to determine the most effective marketing strategy for your brand.
To conclude, think of your ultimate marketing campaign success as the grandest building you can imagine, and your integrated media plan as the blueprint to get there.
By following the 5 steps listed below, you’ll be off to a great start with the blueprint you need for your successful integrated media plan:
- Determine your goals
- Establish your target audience
- Finalise the media platforms for your campaigns
- Produce the creative and media
- Implement and analyse
Remember to continually review and modify your plan with time, take your learnings and implement them for future campaigns. Good luck!
