How do you compare media options for cost and performance?

1 Define your objectives

Before you compare media options, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish with your campaign. Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, drive sales, or achieve some other outcome? Depending on your objectives, you will need to select the most relevant metrics to measure your performance, such as reach, frequency, impressions, clicks, conversions, or return on ad spend (ROAS).

2 Identify your audience

Next, you need to understand who your target audience is and where they consume media. You can use market research, customer data, or third-party tools to create buyer personas and segment your audience by demographics, psychographics, behavior, or interests. Then, you can map out their media habits and preferences, such as which channels, platforms, formats, or devices they use, when they use them, and how they respond to different types of messages.

3 Evaluate your options

Once you have your objectives and audience defined, you can start comparing media options based on their cost and performance. To assess the potential of each media option, you can use various sources of data and information, such as media kits which provide information about the media outlet, media planning tools like Nielsen Media Impact, Kantar Media, or Google Ads to plan and optimize campaigns, and media audits to evaluate performance and efficiency. Media audits can also help to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in your media strategy.

4 Calculate your costs

When comparing media options, cost is an essential factor to consider. You need to know how much you will spend on each media option and how it will affect your overall budget. There are various ways to calculate media costs, depending on the type of media and the pricing model. Cost per thousand (CPM) is used for print, broadcast, or online media and is the cost of reaching 1,000 people or households with your message. Cost per point (CPP) is used for broadcast media and is the cost of buying one rating point, which is the percentage of your target audience that is exposed to your message. Additionally, cost per click (CPC) is used for online media and is the cost of getting one click on your ad, while cost per action (CPA) is used for online media and measures the cost of getting one desired action from your audience, such as a lead, a sale, or a subscription.

5 Estimate your performance

When comparing media options, it's important to consider their performance. You need to know how well each media option will help you achieve your objectives and how it will affect your key performance indicators (KPIs). There are various ways to measure media performance, depending on the type of media and the metric. Reach is the number or percentage of your target audience exposed to your message at least once; you can use media kits, media planning tools, or media audits to estimate reach. Frequency is the number of times your target audience is exposed to your message within a given period; you can use media planning tools or media audits to estimate frequency. Impressions are the number of times your ad is displayed or served; you can use media planning tools, media audits, or ad platforms to estimate impressions. Clicks are the number of times your audience clicks on your ad; you can use ad platforms, media audits, or analytics tools to estimate clicks. Conversions are the number of times your audience completes a desired action after clicking on your ad; you can use ad platforms, media audits, or analytics tools to estimate conversions. Lastly, ROAS is the ratio of revenue generated by your ad to the cost of your ad; you can use ad platforms, media audits, or analytics tools to estimate ROAS.

6 Compare and optimize

Finally, you need to compare media options based on their cost and performance and choose the ones that offer the best value for your budget and goals. You can use media planning tools, media audits, or spreadsheets to create media mix models, which are mathematical formulas that show how different media combinations affect your outcomes. You can also use media optimization techniques, such as testing, experimenting, or adjusting your media variables, to improve your results and efficiency.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?