[az_column_text]”Media Plan” has a different meaning for different folks. I consider a media plan to be a detailed calendar of the year that tells me all of the events, seasons, trends, campaigns and milestones that need to happen in order for me to achieve my established year-end objectives.

I know, that’s a mouthful, and it does require a monster planning session, but the satisfaction of standing back and looking at the masterpiece of a properly prepared media plan is worth the sweat. I promise.

Below I share my effective 5-step Media Plan Exercise which I use when workshopping with companies around the world. I recently carried this exercise out with my client, Eminence Organic Skin Care, and our inspired day proved to be culture-shifting for this already-amazing organization.[/az_column_text][az_blank_divider][az_gallery_images images_gallery=”6738,6736,6721,6733,6723,6737,6727,6725,6735,6732,6722,6990″ gallery_columns_count=”4clm” gallery_wall=”yes”][az_blank_divider][az_column_text]

You will need:

A large wall you can tape paper onto
Roll of art paper (36″ by 10 yards)
Blue painting tape (so it won’t take pain off walls)
Masking tape
Colored pens
About 6 different colors of sticky notes
Stickers, candy, a good sense of humor & a fresh pot of coffee

Instructions:

1. On the wall, mount the paper and mask out 12 equal blocks with the blue painting tape, so you can clearly view 12 months of the year. This will be the media plan calendar.

2. Using the sticky notes, create a color legend designating one color per category. For example, blue sticky notes will be for holidays, pink for trips & travel, etc.

3. On the media plan calendar, let’s get to work:

• Phase 1: Collection Process – Gather Calendar Items
  • Collect every director’s, partner’s, and department’s schedule in detail.
  • Collect all events, all holidays, all trips, all expos/tradeshows, all media events, any and all significant dates.
  • Collect all seasonal trends, holidays, existing peaks in sales, etc.
  • Collect all product launches (or any planned product changes, including planned website changes).

• Phase 2: Place Existing Events Onto Calendar
  • Add all items from Phase 1 onto calendar, creating a detailed map of “what’s already happening.”
  • Pause when done, step back and study what we see.
  • Do we like what we see? Are we missing any opportunities? Note if there is anything we’d like to change.

• Phase 3: Declare Company Objectives – What do we want to achieve?
  • How many (#) social audience fans? SEO goals (keywords, post or page ranking)? Any shows, events or tradeshows we’d like to attend? Celebrities we’d like to target?
  • Individual contribution (connected to KPIs): What does progress mean for the company as a whole? Do we know declaratively what leadership wants for the company? How can each of us contribute to that goal(s)?
  • Are there any additional objectives or goals we’d like to create today? *specificity is essential

• Phase 4: Attach dates to objectives
  • Place our objectives from Phase 3 onto the calendar.
  • Take into consideration all existing events. When could we achieve our goals? Are we being realistic? Do our goals need adjustment?

• Phase 5: Plan strategic digital content to support objectives
  • Working backwards from milestoned objectives, create call to actions (CTAs), themes and campaigns that make sense and support objectives.
  • Create a task list (how many blog posts, live events, etc.). Delegate who will be in charge of each component. This may involve creating mini-teams, consolidating action items, delegating & compromise. Assign due dates for planning items
  • Begin the task of creating outlines, assigning interviews, coordinating assets, photo shoots, writing 140 character tweets.
  • Assign a series of evergreen content for each product or service that can be adjusted last minute for multiple purposes.

If you are feeling overwhelmed at this point… congratulations!

You’re doing the exercise perfectly. At this point in the day, it is natural to feel overwhelmed but excited, and have our brains firing in a million directions with possibilities and ideas.

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