Media planning is a crucial component of any political campaign that aims to persuade voters and increase awareness. In this blog, we will define media planning, discuss some of its inherent challenges, and share the solution we created to optimize your media planning.
What is media planning?
A political, programmatic media plan involves crafting a strategic framework to effectively reach, mobilize, and persuade voters. Think of it as your roadmap, outlining key objectives, strategies, and tactics tailored to reach specific voters and resonate with their interests and concerns. It’s about finding the most impactful ways to speak directly to the people you’re trying to reach.
The Audience
The foundation of any media plan lies in understanding the target audience. Who are they (age, gender, race)? Where are they? With this knowledge, campaigns can tailor their messaging and targeting strategies to mobilize voters and maximize impact. For political advertisers without direct access to voter file data, at DSPolitical, we have maintained ready-to-use audience segments from Catalist and provide users the option to upload their custom lists securely.
The Channels
Determining where the target audience lives online and the mix of channels and strategies is necessary to engage and persuade them effectively. Ad tech, such as programmatic, offers extensive reach and targeting capabilities, making it an invaluable tool for reaching voters where they consume information. Considering the campaign’s goals—whether persuading voters, increasing turnout, or raising awareness—helps determine which channels will be most effective.
Budget & Timing
Setting a budget before delivering content is crucial. You don’t want to start formulating a campaign that you can’t afford down the road. Timing is everything, especially during close races. Given the rapid changes in media consumption patterns, it’s increasingly beneficial to have the right technology and timing to connect with carefully cultivated audiences repeatedly.
Media planning demands attention to detail and thorough research, making it inherently time-intensive. Campaigns require a unique solution to streamline the process. Our solution makes it easier than ever to create a robust media plan or allocate last-minute spend.
Our Innovative Solution
In response to these pain points, we’ve pioneered an innovative solution for our clients: The Deploy Media Planner.
The Deploy Media Planner helps refine strategies by providing personalized, intelligent feedback, from decreasing audience size to specific, real-time budget suggestions instantly. The Deploy Media Planner isn’t just your average tool – it’s backed by real intelligence and over a decade of data from Randomized Control Trials (RCTs). Alongside the combined expertise of our political strategists, this tool empowers campaigns to make data-driven, informed decisions and helps secure wins. By providing our clients with tailored recommendations, we make media planning easier and increase digital campaign efficiency for our clients.
Want a demo of the Deploy Media Planner? Click here to schedule one.