The essential media planning guide for better ad targeting

In an already overcrowded space, creating ads that cut through the clutter and generate revenue is no easy task. Competitors are breathing down your neck. And unless you know exactly who your target audience is, the channels they use, and what drives them to buy, you’re throwing money into the wind. It’s a seriously expensive risk – research suggests nearly half of digital ad spend is wasted. 

For brands and agencies working together, lack of alignment on data (or even outdated sources) can lead to inaccurate targeting. So what’s the solution? 

To compete effectively in this saturated space, you need a single source of truth you can rely on. In other words, robust audience research to inform decision-making, and the ability to activate key market segments in relevant ad platforms to drive ROI at scale. 

Staying glued to your audience is increasingly crucial, especially as global media consumption trends continue to evolve:

Broadcast TV still has the biggest share of total TV time, but reach is dropping as connected TV (CTV) and free ad-supported streaming steps up

Gen Z prefer researching products on social media over traditional search engines, and are seeking more personalized results

With money tighter, more people want ads to offer discounts, and they’re caring less about ads featuring CSR efforts

Key challenges for ads teams

On the back of these trends, it’s critical to pivot your media planning strategy to reach your target audiences. Let’s touch on easy ways to tackle the challenges ads teams now face.

The attention economy

Media habits are fragmented. With consumers using multiple devices simultaneously and jumping between platforms, their attention is never in one place, so your only option is to stand out. By tactically placing media across the channels your target audience uses, in their preferred formats, you’ll boost your chances of cutting through the noise and leaving competitors in the dust.

New channels and formats

Let’s face it – there’s always going to be a hot new channel or format to contend with. Prioritize spending on the channels your target audience uses. It’s okay to experiment with a smaller portion of your budget to entice prospects on new platforms, but before you risk it, be sure to validate your next move with solid audience data.

Reaching quality audiences

Driving lead volume is great – but if you aren’t reaching niche, high-quality audiences who are actually likely to convert, you’re wasting spend. Use third-party consumer insights to build out more granular audiences and get closer to your target group. You’ll know exactly which types of media content will appeal to their interests, and where to push it to drive higher conversions. 

You’ve pinned down your goal and set measurable KPIs against it. Now it’s time to dig deep into consumer research. Specifically, you need to find out who your ideal target audience is, what they care about, and where they like to hang out (both online and offline). 

You probably have a hunch about what kind of ads will appeal to them. But why waste precious ad spend on guesswork? For brands and agencies with finite budgets, knowing is everything. Relying predominantly on platforms’ smart audiences or lookalike targeting might be a quick and easy tactic, but really getting to know your audience is how you drive better results.

So start by building out your audience with specific attributes or profiling criteria that would make them a relevant target for your brand or product. For example, you could look into: 

CTV under the lens

Globally, nearly half of all households own a smart TV (+24% since 2020) and a third use them to access the internet. Let’s explore this growing trend in more detail to see how media planners can capitalize on the streaming boom and target CTV audiences.

Live sports are booming right now, which makes it a lucrative area for media planners looking to win new customers or secure sponsorships. You just need to find the right overlaps with your brand. The nature of event-based viewing means mass audiences are watching at once, giving you perfect placement opportunities for timely or seasonal ads.

Let’s say you’re running a campaign aimed at sports fans in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), and you want a sponsorship deal to boost awareness of your brand. You need to know which leagues are popular, the platforms fans use, and which sponsorships are worth investing in.

Our data shows the English Premier League (EPL) is the most popular domestic sports league in the region, so soccer is a good focus here. EPL fans in APAC say the types of sponsorship they notice most are:

All three are great ways to get noticed, but they’re also pretty expensive. If sponsoring a club doesn’t fit your budget, you could look to social media for other opportunities, like player partnerships. Fans are also likely to be scrolling through their feeds at half time, so target them with timely, relevant ads to amplify your marketing efforts.

Relevance is everything

As we just explored, consumer research helps to steer your strategy in the right direction. Dip back into the audiences you created to identify the channels and platforms they actively use, the best media formats to reach them with, and marketing touchpoints to leverage for maximum impact.

Segmentation is key to relevance. Just because something’s blowing up in the wider media landscape, it doesn’t necessarily mean your audience cares. People are fickle, so always check whether the latest consumer trends and behaviors apply to your specific target audience. 

Use quality insights to decide your media mix

Keep your end goal in mind, and prioritize spending budget in your audience’s top hangout spots to minimize risk and drive ROI. Use any leftover budget for guilt-free testing on more niche or experimental platforms, which can help grow your audience. Over time, you can gradually up your spend on channels which prove fruitful to get more conversions and lower-funnel activity over the line.

Follow the funnel

There’s no point shouting about your latest client case study to a prospect who’s never heard of you before. Use quality research to target your audience with precision, with the right content for where they are in their buying journey. 

Let’s explore this in a little more detail to show you how consumer data can help your ads land with the right people at the right time.

Awareness (top of funnel)

When it comes to discovery, TV ads still strike a chord with most audiences, while social ads are ideal for reaching Gen Z. With a quarter of teen scrollers saying they mainly use social media to find things to buy, it’s likely Gen Alpha will have similar search preferences as they grow up. 

Consideration (middle of funnel)

More people are looking to social networks for brand and product research. Media content should help them along the way, sparking their curiosity and encouraging exploration. Consumer reviews are also very powerful at this stage, so feature them in ads to build trust. 

Purchase (bottom of funnel)

Regardless of who you’re targeting, there are two universal human truths you should know. One; people just don’t want to pay for delivery, and two; everybody loves a sale. If you’re able to offer these perks, include them in key messaging to get more prospects over the purchase line.

Buying on the right networks

Retail media ads can help you win across the marketing funnel – from driving brand awareness through banner ads, to scoring higher conversions and sales with sponsored product listings. But these ads only work if your chosen networks are the right fit, so ask yourself: 

Do they align with your campaign goals?
Do they align with audience interests/shopping behaviors?
Do they offer flexible ad placements that meet your needs?
Do they have a proven track record of delivering ROI?

Don’t be afraid to ask for proof on that last question. You want to work with retailers who will best support your ad campaign and help you achieve your goals. The ROI math needs to math.

Step 1: Research, research, research

One last time for the people at the back: invest time here, and the results will speak for themselves. Your investigations should include:

Audience research: Understanding consumer needs, preferences, and pain points will help you create ads that resonate with them – this emotional connection is key

Competitive analysis: Seek ad inspiration from a wide variety of industries to see what’s gaining traction – whether it’s B2B or B2C, we’re all selling to humans, right?  

Platform trend analysis: Assess which viral trends you could jump on across the platforms you’re investing in, as relevant and reactive content often performs well

Performance analysis: Measure previous ad efforts against your goals, KPIs, and any testing you’ve carried out to determine what works and what doesn’t – these learnings help you craft better ads 

Step 2: Use the 80/20 rule

Let’s be honest, sometimes there just isn’t time to come up with brand new, earth-shattering ad ideas. And that’s okay; starting from scratch on every campaign can be a risky strategy anyway. 80% of your efforts can be repurposing ads that inspire you, tapping into viral trends, or using past learnings to optimize existing ads and drive revenue at scale. 

With a quick-win suite of ads likely to perform well under your belt (based on the research and analysis you did in step 1, of course), you can safely commit the other 20% to testing out new ideas. Get your creative team together for regular brainstorms, making objectives clear and sharing strategic target audience insights upfront. 

Ad inspiration from the pros 

These brands understood the brief. ‘Nuff said.

Video: Asana

One of the shortest, clearest B2B ads we’ve seen – showing what the tool can do and ending with a clear call to action (CTA). Simply, it works.

OOH: Manchester City Council

A messaging masterclass in just three words. It’s straightforward, snappy, and memorable, with the pun adding a little creative flair.

Social: GWI

Social is a great playground for experimentation, and this ad sparked huge engagement (read: debate). Ask a provocative question if you dare.

Step 3: Tailor your messaging

Think customer-first – what’s in it for them? What do they care about? Use consumer research to craft a clear and compelling headline that grabs attention fast, and include a snappy, action verb-led CTA that tells your audience exactly what you want them to do next (e.g. “Learn more”, “Buy now”, etc). Urgency tactics or ad-exclusive offers can work especially well for driving conversions.

Personalize ads where possible for relevancy. Your friend AI can help with this, backed by more reliable sources of insight like web shopping analytics (from your website, or retail media networks) and third-party consumer research. Use quality data to make informed, strategic decisions. 

For instance, our data shows the groups most likely to discover products through personalized purchase recommendations on websites include:

Pay attention to specific consumer needs, as they’ll give you big hints about where personalized ads can work particularly well. 

Step 4: Go big on visuals (or go home)

Whichever ad format you choose, get creative and make your CTA stand out:

Image ads: Choose high-quality visuals that align with your brand and core message. Carousels can work especially well to engage viewers and break up longer messaging into more digestible chunks, offering more information in fewer words to win customers over. 

GIFs: Putting your spin on the meme of the month is one thing, but this format can do so much more. Shifting frames are a clever way to catch attention in busy feeds, so use GIFs to your advantage.

Videos: Snatch attention fast with snappy, engaging videos that autoplay in social media feeds. 53% of consumers say they’ve watched a short-form video (under 10 mins long) in the last week.

Step 5: Test, learn, repeat

Testing is the only way to learn what kind of ads work best for your specific audience. So whether you A/B test one specific variable, or want to run with an entirely new ad concept, work out what you want to know. 

That could be seeing if your audience is receptive to more humorous ad copy, useful imagery showing the benefits of your product or service, a promotional offer, or even a change to your usual ad formats – like the lesser-spotted long-form video.

Don’t be afraid to put spend behind new, riskier ads – it’s the only way to give your tests a fair chance and get robust data on what’s working, or isn’t. Review performance regularly, and combine audience insights with data from key ad platforms to measure effectiveness. More on that next.

Whether you’re tracking weekly or monthly performance, it’s always a good time to check in and assess how effective your ads are. Post-campaign performance analysis reveals real, actionable insights with the power to supercharge future advertising strategies. This should answer:

Which ads did your audience engage with most? 
Which trends did you tap into, and did they resonate?
Which ads didn’t land with your audience?
Do you need to adjust ad frequency?
Was the messaging clear and relevant?
Was the creative eye-catching?

Check in with your audience again, as it’s likely things have shifted in the market since you launched your campaign, and new trends may have emerged that you can use to your advantage. Changes in consumer attitudes or behaviors can easily impact how your ads land, so it’s worth reviewing and making adjustments with this in mind.

Tracking through the marketing funnel is crucial to proving ROI. Without that insight, your campaigns are essentially performing in the dark.

While there’s no iron-clad guarantee of success in media planning, deep data analysis helps inform your strategy and future decision-making. The more you do it, the more impactful future campaign content will be.