Making Media Planning Easier in 2018

Making Media Planning Easier in 2018

While the world of publishing continues to change, creating pain points for media companies, some old inefficient habits die hard. For many publishers, media planning is still handled the “old school” way, through disparate systems that can be difficult to manage. The very point of media planning is to create a clear and valuable path of reaching an audience.

Shouldn’t the media planning process be just as clear and valuable?
​
Media Planning Old School
Media companies are planning copy and editorial through discordant systems such as Excel spreadsheets and email. Freelancers, art directors, editors, and photographers are communicating in silos, duplicating efforts and, unfortunately, know no other way of managing their processes. With so many touch points throughout media planning, these disconnected systems could lead to missed deadlines or production runs. Editors must work harder to manage, and even micromanage, the flow of information and planning.

Brand Marketing Challenges
Brands want media companies to help them find new ways to reach fans. They seek to work with media companies that have their fingers on the pulse of trends and diverse channels to capture the attention of a more discerning audience. The best way for a publisher to offer this to clients is to overcome the breaking points within their own management system. Between the creative side and the technology side of media planning, there is a centralized place where strategic intention and organization exists.

Centralize Media Planning
The solution to these challenges is to centralize media planning. From a single interface, editorial and production is available at any time to those given proper access. LaunchPad Media Management offers editors the ability to:

• See the ratio of ads to editorial
• Check the status of or drill into a story to make changes
• Link stories to accounts
• Set up pages and instruct production
• Add notes to instruct others working on the assignment
• Add supporting files, photos, documents and more
• Review stories

Editors also have the ability to clone stories or media types to easily create a new story. Assignments are initiated through the LaunchPad portal and editors can review work from anyone assigned. Assignment deadlines show up as notifications on associated dashboards and customizable reports can also be generated.

Centralizing the tasks associated with media planning bridges the gaps associated with the old school way of media planning. With new technology, publishers are able to move into the fast-paced world of digital agencies and create campaigns to help brands meet their audience’s ever-changing demands.

To request a demo of the LaunchPad Media Management tool, click here.