Media Planning

As a marketer, I’m no stranger to ad managers like Google Ads and Meta Ads. However, I was interested to learn that there’s a third option for ad buying: demand-side platforms (DSP). What is a DSP, you ask? These tools are essentially an automated way to purchase and manage your online ads. If you’re like me and are curious about what a DSP is and how it can benefit your paid ad strategy, I want to cover how these platforms work, why you should use one, and the best platforms available. Table of Contents What is a DSP? Benefits of Using a DSP 7 DSP Advertising Tools With a DSP, you can purchase mobile ads on apps, banner ads on search engines, and video ads on Facebook, Instagram, Google, and even more platforms. Instead of using both Google Ads and Facebook Ads, for instance, you can purchase those ads in one place on a DSP. The purpose of this is to make ad buying faster, cheaper, and more efficient. Now, let’s dive into how DSP platforms work and why you should use them. How do DSPs work? DSPs work by using programmatic advertising, which is the buying and selling of ads in real time through an automated system. With real-time bidding, ad placements are auctioned off in milliseconds. When you get started with DSP advertising, you’ll need to begin strategizing how much you want to spend. Think about what an effective cost per click and cost per action might be. This will help you set up your online ads so the platform knows how much to spend in any given auction. The best DSP platforms will allow you to include multiple rich media ads, including video, images, and animation. What is DSP advertising? DSP advertising is the automated process of bidding on and buying ads through a programmatic advertising platform. According to a study published by Statista, the US was the largest programmatic advertising market worldwide, spending an estimated $264.66 billion in 2024. Marketers are increasingly using DSPs as a way of purchasing, managing, and tracking online advertising. Benefits of Using a DSP To understand why marketers choose to use a DSP for their paid advertising strategy over other platforms, I spoke to Sean Edwards, the Director of Programmatic and E-Commerce Media at Exverus Media. Seamless Ad Buying Experience One of the main reasons for using a DSP is that it makes your digital ad experience easier and more cost-effective. You can control, track, and maximize all your digital ads in one place. This means you can manage an entire ad campaign across sites on one dashboard. For example, you can show someone an ad on Google, then show them ads on Facebook, and then across other sites they visit — all in one campaign. “The DSP we use most often is The Trade Desk because it allows us to activate and measure media campaigns on many different channels from a single platform,” says Edwards. “This saves us and our clients time and money, while clarifying previously hard-to-see patterns in the complex customer journey.” Access to Premium inventory DSPs often have access to a wide range of ad inventory, including premium placements on popular websites and apps, according to Edwards. This means you can advertise on many networks, including all the major publishers. With an increased number of networks, you’ll have a more global reach. “This access allows advertisers to reach target audiences across a variety of channels with added visibility, control, and opportunity to optimize towards the most successful tactics and placements,” he says. More Control Over the Ad Experience Using a DSP also provides marketers with more control over the ad experience compared to traditional platforms. This is especially important when it comes to brand safety. “Programmatic platforms offer tools to ensure ads are displayed in brand-safe environments pre- and post-bid,” says Edwards. “These parameters can help protect a brand’s reputation by avoiding ad placement on inappropriate sites or within unsuitable content. High-quality media placements yield stronger results.” Precision Targeting Programmatic advertising allows you to target specific audiences based on various criteria such as demographics, interests, and behavior, says Edwards. “This precision targeting allows advertisers to reach the right people, at the right time, with the highest likelihood to complete the desired outcome, whether that’s purchase, video view, download, or subscription,” he says. Additionally, DSPs often partner with third-party data providers, giving you better tracking and reporting capabilities than a single network usually provides. And in the planning process, the targeting options are more personalized, meaning you can get better conversion rates. Now that you know more about DSP advertising and how it works, let’s discuss the platforms that can help you do it. When choosing a DSP to work with, I like to look at how many ad exchanges the DSP has access to because that affects how many people you can reach. I also like to consider cost, training (full-service or self-service), support, and ease of use. Here are some of the best DSP advertising tools to choose from: 1. Basis Technologies Source Best for: Large or enterprise-level companies Basis Technologies is an omnichannel DSP built to generate better outcomes for your ad campaigns. In my opinion, one of the best features is that it uses AI machine learning to automatically analyze data from numerous campaign parameters to optimize your ads. With this DSP, you can target hyper-local audiences across devices and multiple touchpoints. You‘ll also get access to the industry’s leading exchanges, along with 25,000+ audience segments across over 30 different data providers. Why I like it: Basis Technologies harnesses the power of machine learning to analyze data and automate processes. I also like how automated monitoring helps ensure brand reputation and safety. 2. Google Marketing Platform Source Best for: Small to large businesses or agencies Google Marketing Platform is Google’s unified advertising and analytics platform for smarter marketing and better results. This DSP has several products for both small businesses and enterprise companies,

I was shopping for dog treats recently. My dog has particular tastes, so I turned to Amazon to find what new treats might delight her. Amazon collects my browsing data and purchase history (aka, first-party data) and uses it to plan and deliver targeted ads while I’m on the platform. One of these ads led to me a good deal on some rawhide-free chewy rolls, which have now become her favorite. The retail media network (RMN) is what runs behind the scenes to enable that integrated experience. It’s how brands get their products in front of eager customers like me while not wasting too many ad dollars chasing cat owners instead. If you’re running advertising for a brand, you may have questions about RMNs. How do I get involved in RMNs? How much should I spend? What returns can I expect? Along with help from a few RMN experts, we’ll work through answers to these questions and more. Table of Contents What is a retail media network? The Benefits of Retail Media Networks How Retail Media Networks Work Top Retail Media Networks Tips for Using Retail Media Networks What is a retail media network? A retail media network is an advertising platform that runs within a store’s website or app. These networks allow other brands to advertise online to customers on sites like Amazon, Target and CVS.  Source From the CVS example above, you can see the sponsored tag in the bottom right corner of the Flonase ad. That’s a retail media network ad. The Benefits of Retail Media Networks What’s so great about RMNs? I asked several RMN experts to share their insights. A Clearer Performance Picture Knowing that roughly 41% of ad spend goes to waste, marketing teams are under serious financial pressure to perform. They need ads that work as efficiently as possible. And they need to tell that tale to executive leadership to stay invested in ads. Greg Brunk, Head of Product at MetaRouter, notes that RMNs have a unique ability to deliver on performance criteria and help tell the story of your ads to leadership. “One of the most overlooked advantages of Retail Media Networks (RMNs) is their ability to provide direct, real-time ad performance measurement beyond what traditional ad platforms offer,” Brunk said. “Many brands still operate in siloed reporting environments, making it difficult to understand the true impact of their media spend, especially across different networks. When properly implemented, RMNs can integrate ad performance data into existing analytics platforms, providing real-time visibility into impressions, clicks, and conversions.” That said, he also cautions teams to pay close attention to these metrics — even when deciding on which RMNs to use or keep. “This level of transparency is critical for optimizing ad spend and proving ROI, yet many brands fail to leverage RMNs to their full measurement potential,” Brunk said. “Instead, they often choose to spend more on all RMNs equally or invest in one network over another based purely on instinct.” (Psst: Subscribe to Masters in Marketing newsletter for weekly insights from top brands. Plus, for one week only, 100 readers can win our limited Kit!) Guaranteed Consumer Attention Consumer attention is fleeting: research shows that you have about eight seconds to catch a buyer’s eye and make your case. With such tight time expectations, marketers need every advantage they can get to capture consumer attention. Paul Brenner, SVP of Global Retail Media & Partnerships at Vibenomics, explains that RMNs offer a special advantage in that department — especially with digital ad displays running in-store. “Physical retail locations offer brands guaranteed consumer attention during purchase decisions — something digital channels can’t match. While most brands focus heavily on targeting and measurement capabilities, they often overlook the significant profit potential,” said Brenner. “Digital in-store advertising consistently delivers 70-90% margins, far outpacing traditional retail’s single-digit returns.” Personalized Benefits RMNs bring data and capabilities that enable better targeting and personalization. Personalized ads are table stakes these days. Consumers expect a personalized experience: Research presented in Content Marketing Institute found that 88% of consumers expect personalized recommendations based on history, and 85% expect personalized recommendations. Your ads need to fit those expectations. Randy Mercer, Chief Strategy Officer, 1WorldSync shares that RMNs and their ad delivery capabilities can personalize your message to reach people better than many other channels can manage. “There‘s the e-commerce advantage — when customers buy your product online, it shows up in their purchase history, which is often where they start their next shopping trip,” said Mercer. “Unlike a physical store where competitors’ products are right there on the shelf, your product stands alone in that history, making repeat purchases more likely.” (Randy) Pro tip: Detailed media planning can help you which benefits matter the most to you and your team. Smart planning helps maximize ad results. How Retail Media Networks Work Now that you see what RMNs can do, how do they actually deliver on those benefits? Gather first-party data. A RMN’s biggest boon is first-party data. Retailers gather information on their shoppers from things like customer surveys, customer service interactions, loyalty programs, social media, and digital interactions. Basically, anything a customer touches, a retailer tracks. That data gives advertisers a finely honed lens to examine their target audience. As you work with the team behind an RMN, you’ll find out what kinds of data they gather and if their audience fits your needs. Buy and sell ad space. Retailers then use their RMNs to sell advertising spots on their website, app, and other digital properties. Third-party brands (that’s you) buy these ad spaces. More RMNs are adding self-service options to let you build and buy ad space on your own. But, for larger campaigns, you’re typically working with the retailer’s team on a negotiated contract and bespoke pricing. Pro tip: As you start this process, use our paid media template to track your ad buying and management. Produce creative. Each RMN will have its style guidelines and expectations on details like sizes, resolutions, and

Nowadays, people are consuming marketing and media in more ways than one, which means that media planning tools are no longer optional for those who want to reach their audiences across a variety of channels. I’ve found that while traditional outlets like TV, publications, and radio can still be valuable for certain businesses, more media planning is needed across online platforms like email, social media, influencer, and search than ever before. That means comprehensive media planning software is important for staying on top of what you’re doing and determining how it works. But where do you start? To help, I’ve rounded up a list of the essential media planning tools, software, and templates to use this year to help grow your audience. 1. HubSpot Media Planning Template [Featured Resource] Source Price: Free HubSpot’s paid media template can help you track your spending on paid media, when your messages are going out, and how much revenue you’re generating from each source. With this media tool, you’ll have access to charts that automatically adjust when you add your spending and ROI information. This resource is free — get your copy now. Key Features Available in Google Sheets — no logins or apps required Allows full customization based on your needs Designed for easy tracking and reporting month-to-month What I like: You can use this template to compile monthly data from your media efforts. With this media planning tool, you’ll see which paid media channel works best for your company and produces the best results for your bottom line. Best for: Small teams and solopreneurs who want an easy-to-use document to plan and report on efforts. 2. Bionic Media Planning Software Price: $995/month for up to 5 users Bionic has some of the best media planning tools. They offer companies flowcharts, IOs and RFPs, trafficking, reporting, and dashboards about clients. With regular updates, agencies using the software are provided with up-to-date planning tools to run and organize their campaigns. Key Features All-inclusive pricing means you don’t have to pay for each feature Cloud-based platform Intuitive interface What I like: Bionic is a cloud-based media planning tool. You can be up and running with this tool in minutes with unlimited training, support, and data backups at no additional cost. Best for: Agencies and mid-sized organizations with complex advertising needs. 3. SRDS Media Planning Platform Price: Contact for pricing The most important tool in media planning is data, and SRDS offers companies some of the best data-gathering tools. Thanks to their top-notch data-gathering software, you can feel confident promoting your media on all platforms. I wasn’t able to demo this specifically, but it consistently receives high rankings. Key Features Ability to compare and evaluate advertising options Ability to connect directly with media reps Makes it easy to find media used by your target markets What I like: You’ll have access to extensive datasets that showcase audience statistics and demographics. This will help you choose the right platforms and messages to target specific audiences. Best for: Agencies and larger organizations who use lots of different ad placements and channels. 4. Media Plan HQ Source Price: 30-day free trial; $45/user per month (minimum of 3 users) Media Plan HQ is a great media planning tool that doesn’t rely on spreadsheets. A real-time interface tracks dates, placements, and budgets without relying on Excel. The organized interface will make it easy for you to manage projects, track your marketing ROI, and share all the data with your team and stakeholders. What’s more, it helps you break down your media buys by media, category, campaign, and stores/locations, which means that you can get the reporting and tracking you need with seamless insertion order development. Key Features Creative project management Marketing invoice validation Marketing request forms Unlimited media plans, organizations, and media vendors Unlimited creative storage, free upgrades, and free email support What I like: There’s a lot to like here. Coming from an agency world, I love that it’s a collaborative, all-in-one platform that combines project management with media buying. Because you can work alongside team members without all the back-and-forth communication in emails, the reduced complexity means the platform can grow with your needs and your team. Best for: Small creative teams or departments and agencies. 5. Mediatool Price: Contact for pricing. Mediatool is a collaborative marketing platform that can help companies plan media to target whoever they want to. You can leverage actionable insights, collaborate with your team members, and develop impactful ad campaigns to make you stand out. Key Features 20 integrations and counting Oversee campaign data and tracking Provides a platform you can use for a single source of media data Helps enhance productivity with efficient workflows Easy to customize and scale to your needs AI-integration provides media data insights instantaneously through a GPT-style chat What I like: The platform is efficient, easy to understand, and easier to use than other media software — it’s intuitive and provides a centralized place to manage media data. Best for: Mid-size companies with a variety of complex advertising needs. 6. Quantcast Source Price: 30-day trial; Contact for pricing When you use Quantcast, you’ll have insights with data from over 100 million websites. The tool uses AI so users can better predict how their media will influence their target audience. Due to the continuous bombardment of ads for products and services, this feature is essential. Getting started is easy — a credit card is not required to set up an account. Their intuitive platform walks you through the process step by step. Key Features Audience source location filtering Supports cookieless and omnichannel advertising Uses 3rd party data and AI to create real-time audience insights Easy to pinpoint new and existing audiences Insights into customer journey Intuitive interface and exceptional documentation What I like: Quantcast is fantastic for understanding your audience‘s behavior. It provides real-time insights based on your ads and media to your audience, which can help you better understand them and create ads they’ll appreciate. Best for: Marketing

I’ve worked in digital marketing for over ten years and always look for ways to improve my marketing analysis and reporting. Having worked in leading digital agencies and my own multi-channel agency, media mix modeling (MMM) is paramount in my work. I co-founded an SEO and PPC agency with Leigh Buttrey, and we are dedicated to multi-channel marketing. She runs PPC, I run SEO, and we both know our work impacts the other. We also work closely with internal teams who have many other channels within their marketing media kit. When it comes to marketing, I’m sure we can all agree that an omnichannel approach is best. The challenge? Well, that’s in the analysis. We all know buyers rarely convert thanks to one media, but which media drives results? Well, that’s where media mix modeling comes into play. In this article, I explore media mix modeling (MMM), starting with its definition, framework, and examples of MMM in action. I reached out to marketers, sales professionals, and business owners using MMM in their marketing analyses. They share real-life anecdotes and tips to help you feel confident about MMM. Let’s get started. Table of Contents What is media mix modeling? Media Mix Modeling in Marketing Media Mix Modeling Framework Media Mix Modeling Examples Tips for Using Media Mix Modeling If you understand how your channels are “playing” together and how impactful each channel is, you can optimize your media planning. For example, you will better understand which channels to invest more heavily in and for what purpose. Stay tuned — later, I’ll share some real-life examples of how MMM has transformed a business’s approach to marketing. Media Mix Modeling in Marketing Source Media mix modeling is a marketer’s best friend — though it’s no small feat to set up. You want a lot of clean data, ideally spanning years. MMM uses historical data to identify and quantify the relationship between marketing channels and their impact on business objectives like conversion or revenue. This is where it differs greatly from other models. Last-touch attribution models, for example, only consider the last marketing channel that resulted in a sale, while first-touch attribution does the opposite. I feel that most marketers are happy to say that sales rarely come from one channel alone, and each media plays a role. With media mix modeling, marketers can predict future performance, which helps them make marketing decisions such as allocating budgets. With MMM, markers can: Gather historical data on things like marketing spend, sales, trends, etc. Develop a statistical model that explains the relationship between marketing activities and business outcomes. Interpret results to understand the effectiveness of each marketing channel. Use insights to reallocate budget and resources for maximum ROI. Predict future performance based on different marketing scenarios. In my opinion, the primary value of MMM lies in the data. Instead of making decisions based on gut feelings, you can quantify a channel’s role in marketing. Also, you will move away from siloed channel metrics to help make wider data-driven decisions with the complete picture of marketing’s performance. Media Mix Modeling Framework Source The media mix model framework consists of six steps. Data collection relies on high-quality, longitudinal data from various sources and marketing channels. As pictured above, this could include sales, marketing spend, consumers, product, economic, and competitor data. Data hygiene is as straightforward as it sounds, but it is time-consuming and a highly important step. It includes cleaning and pulling the data into a unified dataset ready for analysis. If you don’t get this right, you won’t get accurate data output. Spend your time here. Model development generally depends on machine learning models to help you understand the relationship between marketing inputs and business outcomes. Analysis is best done with some human intervention. AI can do a lot of analysis and is amazing for analyzing large data sets, but marketing is very nuanced, and a human overview of AI findings is essential. Optimization varies largely on the insights gained, but with your new data-driven insights, you can optimize your marketing and budget allocation for future campaigns. Forecasting is as it sounds. Now that you have data, you can predict the potential outcomes of different marketing scenarios, create hypotheses, test them, and reiterate them until your marketing leads precisely to your desired outcome. Media Mix Modeling Examples The best way to hear about MMM and its impact is through real-life examples. I was thrilled with the amazing insights received from the marketers below. Spot Synergies Between Channels Aaron Whittaker is the vice president of demand generation at Thrive Internet Marketing. When asked about the value of MMM, Whittaker said it had “transformed how we allocate marketing budgets and measure cross-channel impact.” One particularly valuable application Whittaker found was spotting synergies between channels. In this solid use case, Whittaker explains, “When analyzing a retail client’s holiday campaign performance, instead of looking at channels in isolation, our MMM revealed unexpected synergies between radio advertising and social media. We discovered that radio ads during morning commute times amplified social media engagement by 25% in the following hours – an insight that wouldn’t have been visible through traditional attribution models.” What I like about this: Marketing attribution is a massive challenge for any business, and without MMM, it’s very easy to miss the value that, in this case, radio added. It would be easy to assume that social media visits, follows, engagement, etc., were up. What often happens is that efforts are completely attributed to social media, but the reality is that radio has a role to play here. With this information, you can better rationalize why radio is a part of the media mix. Better, you can target the radio media at the right time (in the morning, when it’s proving effective). Pro tip: If you’re working on your ads, struggling to get the results you want, or have proof (thanks to MMM!) that ads are working for you, then take a look at HubSpot’s paid media template. It

As a marketing leader with experience at several different tech companies, I’ve become an expert at real-time bidding (RTB) for programmatic ads. This process is often one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to purchase ad inventory online. But, even for experienced marketers, real-time bidding can be confusing. That’s why I wrote this article: to break down what RTB is, how it works, and the pros and cons of using it — in plain, jargon-free English. Table of Contents What is real-time bidding? Real-Time Bidding Terms to Know How does real-time bidding work? How much does real-time bidding cost? How to Measure the Success of Real-Time Bidding Ads Real-Time Bidding Platforms Real-Time Bidding Pros Real-Time Bidding Cons Let’s get started. In a traditional media buying process, the marketer has to buy ads manually. Let’s say I find a magazine that serves my buyer persona. I ask the magazine publisher for their media kit, I choose the ad dimensions that fit my budget, and then I buy an ad for a certain amount of time. Once the time runs out, the ad is taken down. Real-time bidding eliminates most of that work. With RTB, you can get space in that magazine — and hundreds of others — by letting a Demand-Side Platform (DSP) automatically choose the best publishers and ad spaces, and then bid on them for you. You just set targeting parameters, such as maximum bid price and target audience. Then, the DSP uses these parameters to automatically determine where your ads are placed. If you place the highest bid, the publisher accepts your ad automatically. Real-time bidding does all the bidding for you, so you don’t have to take any additional steps. As Mandar Ambekar, founder and managing director of blueShepherd GmbH, explains, “The Real-Time Bidding process is like an auction, but it happens in the time it takes for a webpage to load. Advertisers compete to display their ads to a specific audience based on criteria like age, interests, or browsing behavior. The highest bidder wins, and their ad appears on the user’s screen.” Real-time bidding is the driving force behind most programmatic advertising campaigns. Advertisers can buy ad inventory, place those ads online, and ensure that they get a certain number of impressions with their programmatic advertising campaigns. Still confused? No worries. I’ll break down the concept of RTB and programmatic advertising further below. Real-Time Bidding Terms to Know There are several pieces involved in the real-time bidding process. Before we put them all together, let’s take a look at each piece one-by-one. Advertiser: The advertiser is the company or brand that wants to place an ad online. Demand-Side Platform (DSP): The Demand-Side Platform is the service that advertisers use to launch their ad campaigns. Publisher: The publisher is the website or online property that wants to sell ad space, often referred to as “ad inventory.” Supply-Side Platform (SSP): The Supply-Side Platform is the service that publishers use to make their ad inventory available. SSPs use ad exchanges to run auctions where ad spaces are instantly purchased by the highest bidder. Ad Exchanges: The ad exchange connects companies who want to advertise with publishers who want to sell ad space. Ad exchanges carry out the bidding transaction automatically in real time by connecting Demand-Side Platforms and Supply-Side Platforms. Impressions: Impressions refer to the number of times an ad is seen or scrolled past. In the real-time bidding process, advertisers pay per thousand impressions. This cost is known as the cost per mille, or CPM, of a campaign. How does real-time bidding work? Below, I’ll share what this looks like in action, explaining how real-time bidding works from both the advertiser’s side and the publisher’s side. Setting Up an Ad Campaign as an Advertiser On the advertiser side, marketers use DSPs, or Demand-Side Platforms, to set up ad campaigns and track their performance. To determine what ad inventory to bid on, advertisers will set targeting parameters. For instance, a brand may only want to target users who are in a specific region or who have visited their website recently. Importantly, there are many tools that today’s marketers can use to help them develop effective ads. For example, HubSpot’s AI Video Ad Creator makes it possible to quickly and easily produce video advertisements, while its Free AI Headline Generator tool can create tailored headlines for any target audience. Then, once the ad is crafted and the campaign is set up, the advertiser’s DSP will evaluate ad potential in real time. The DSP can then decide whether or not to place a bid, and how much to bid, on a given ad space. Listing Ad Inventory As a Publisher Publishers, on the other hand, use Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) to list their ad inventory and the prices they charge. When creating these listings, they’ll want to include key information that DSPs will be looking for to evaluate whether a specific ad space is a good fit for their target market. That includes the type of content on their webpage and the types of ad space available. Meeting in the Middle at the Ad Exchange Next, the advertiser and publisher will meet in the middle at the ad exchange: the marketplace where the real-time bidding actually takes place. Advertisers set their bid through their Demand-Side Platform, while the publisher’s Supply-Side Platform either accepts or rejects the bid. The prices are negotiated based on cost per thousand impressions, or CPM, so the advertiser isn’t paying based on uptime or even ad dimensions. Instead, they’re paying for the number of times, in thousands, that their ad is seen. Still confused? Don’t worry — this can be tricky to wrap your head around. Let’s go through a real-world example to illustrate what real-time bidding can look like in action. Real-Time Bidding Example Let’s say I’m the marketing manager for Silk, a UK-based beauty brand that just launched a new brow line and is running a marketing campaign to promote it. I set up

When I think back to the marketing of my childhood (print media, billboards, TV commercials), I can’t believe the marketing power that we have sitting at our fingertips today. Instead of broad-stroke campaigns based on geography, brands are now able to target consumers in unique segments and offer genuinely personalized experiences (with minimal money spent). The success of this comes down to your audience profile. This easy-to-overlook step in consumer research allows you to personalize your campaign’s messaging to reach those most likely to convert. You can then limit the amount of spend wasted on underperforming ads. Below, I’ll share best practices for building an audience profile and go over examples that can light the way. Let’s go! Table of Contents:  What is an audience profile? Why is audience profiling important? Benefits of Audience Profiling The Audience Profiling Process What information should I include in an audience profile? Audience Profile Examples How to Write an Audience Profile Audience Profiling Best Practices Media Audience Profile What is an audience profile? An audience profile details important information related to a hypothetical, but representative, buyer you’ve decided to target for a specific marketing or advertising campaign. An audience profile isn’t a broad, general group. Instead, it’s one fictitious person who you want to take action. Remember, an audience profile isn’t the same as a target market and buyer persona. Your target market includes every single prospective buyer for your product or service. For instance, perhaps you sell software that can be used for different use cases in different industries. In this case, a target market includes the prospects in each industry who could benefit from your product — all with different needs, goals, and challenges. Meanwhile, a buyer persona is the final person who will ultimately purchase your product or service. In many cases, you‘ll want to market to anyone who can influence the final buyer. For instance, your audience profile might be a social media manager, even though the buyer persona is a company’s CMO, because she’ll have the final sign-off. The audience profile is modeled after your business’ target audience and is meant to help you create a more personalized, higher-converting campaign. Why is audience profiling important? There’s a big difference between knowing your audience and assuming you know your audience. When you truly know your audience, you can create effective campaigns that speak to (or solve) their challenges, goals, and pain points. This is a superpower for your marketing efforts. Through audience profiling, you can: Optimize your strategies. Your marketing strategies should evolve with your customers‘ changing needs, preferences, and behaviors. Audience profiling ensures that you’re meeting the right audience at the right time through the right channels. Drive more loyalty. By building targeted and relevant campaigns, marketers can create meaningful experiences for their customers. When you do this consistently, your customers will trust that you can meet their expectations, resulting in greater brand loyalty. Gain a competitive advantage. By knowing your customers better than your competitors do, you can tailor your products, services, and marketing strategies to meet customer needs and stand out from the crowd. Benefits of Audience Profiling So, what exact benefits await teams that prioritize audience profiling? Personalization The ability to create personalized campaigns is the most obvious benefit of audience profiling, but do you understand just how beneficial it is? Statistic: 94% of marketers say that personalization increases sales. Sometimes, personalization makes viewers feel like a company just “gets them” and understands their interests. Like this ad from Chase — I could‘ve been shown an ad about getting a home loan, but I’m a full-time digital nomad. Instead, they showed me an ad showcasing travel perks. I feel like they put time and energy into courting my business; it got my attention in the right way. In the same scroll on Facebook, I was shown ads from Unbound Merino. I‘ve engaged with many of this company’s ads over the years — always browsing the women‘s section wondering if it’s time to give merino wool a try. But in this ad, I was shown men‘s clothing (which I’ve never browsed before). As a consumer, it doesn’t make me think less of the brand, but it is a swing and a miss. Modern consumers want (and expect) personalized experiences with brands. Through audience profiling, you can build personalized campaigns that deliver relevant content, offers, and recommendations to specific customer segments. Team Cohesion We’ve all sat around at a marketing meeting and felt that everyone was on different pages. Lack of cohesion is the fastest way to squander marketing efforts (and spirits). Audience profiles are needed to unify the marketing team behind a common goal. Even more importantly, your profiles will unify your marketing and sales team. Statistic: Only 23% of sales professionals feel that sales and marketing are strongly aligned. Accurate profiles bring everyone onto the same page, create a common language, and remove confusion. Instead of fumbling around saying, “It just doesn’t seem targeted enough for our audience members interested in fitness,” you can say, “We need to focus this more on Athletic Andy.” You’ll meet Athletic Andy in a minute! Shift away from third-party data. Let’s not beat around the cookie jar: targeting specific audience segments was easier with cookies and third-party data. But cookies are so 2021, and now companies must find new techniques for audience analysis. Statistic. 47% of marketers report that their companies are making a plan to approach cookie-free targeting. A deep understanding of demographic details, qualitative research, and robust tracking of passive data will fill the holes in your strategy. The Audience Profiling Process I‘ll share the step-by-step guide for writing your profile in a minute, but first let’s zoom out and look at the big-picture. Align with sales. Remember how only 23% of sales professionals feel well-aligned with marketing? Being a part of that 23% is step one. The most common measurement of content marketing’s success is total sales. Set your marketing efforts up for success by aligning

I’ve realized that to truly connect with customers, it’s essential to be everywhere they are — whether that’s on social media, email, websites, or even traditional outlets like TV and radio. This is where a solid media mix comes into play. By using multiple channels strategically, I can deliver messages more effectively, ensuring they reach the right people at the right time. But how does this help you plan better campaigns? And why has it become such a critical part of modern marketing strategies? I’ll break down how a strong media mix works, share some compelling stats, and highlight an example of a brand that is nailing it to take their campaigns to the next level. Table of Contents What is a media mix? Media Mix Example Media Mix Stats in 2025 Media Mix Optimization Media Mix Modeling Tips for Optimizing Your Media Mix A media mix is another term for an overview of the channels businesses choose to execute their marketing strategies on. Ultimately, media mix optimization is the process of analyzing the performance of those channels. Think about the last campaign you saw from one of your favorite brands. What did they do differently that really clicked with you? By incorporating a media mix into your yearly planning, you can narrow down what resonates with your audience. Media Mix Example Theory is great and all, but it’s important to see this approach in action. I immediately think of makeup brand The Lip Bar’s recent campaign introducing their limited edition HBCU lip gloss collection. To build anticipation and drive demand for this limited product line, The Lip Bar launched a multi-channel campaign that reached audiences both online and offline. First up, website. Source When you land on the brand’s homepage, you’ll see an image of the CEO with the following sentence “Introducing HBCU lip gloss collection. Limited edition sheer lip glosses inspired by our HBCU girlies.” Upon clicking on the image, you’ll arrive at a landing page that displays the full collection of lip glosses and explains the concept behind this limited edition. The second digital channel the brand leveraged for this campaign is YouTube, publishing a 59-second video celebrating HBCU culture paired with the lip gloss. Source Moving offline, I love how the brand also showed up at FAMU’s homecoming and set up a pop-up shop. They advertised on Instagram to get people to their in-person event. Source So, what’s the conclusion to draw here? The benefit of using a media mix is to leverage different strategies to see which tactics work and lead to better conversions. I think The Lip Bar’s recent campaign is a great example of how any brand can leverage channels differently to reach the same marketing goal. Media Mix Stats in 2025 Things have changed significantly in the last couple of years, especially due to the advent of AI. So, how are marketers tackling different channels and campaigns? The situation is evolving, so I’ll share the latest. 60% of brands plan to increase their media budgets, a significant rise from last year’s 29%. 35% of brands are shifting focus towards brand advertising over performance advertising. 56% of brands are reducing spend on linear TV, while 85% are increasing investments in Connected/Advanced TV, and 83% in Digital Video. 86% of U.S. B2C marketing executives are prioritizing finding better ways to reach Gen Zers and Millennials. 73% of marketers face pressure to achieve more with less, with 64% reporting insufficient budgets for their strategies. Likewise, our extensive in-house research reveals the following: 81% of video marketers use social media as their primary channel for sharing or hosting marketing videos. 67% of marketers report that sharing marketing videos on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok yields the highest ROI. 43% of marketers use social media as a marketing channel, with Facebook and Instagram providing the best ROI. 50% of marketers leverage video in their marketing strategy, closely followed by images at 47%. 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, highlighting its dominance in the marketing industry. Media Mix Optimization Now that you know what a media mix is, how do you find the right mix for your brand and product? That’s where media mix optimization comes in. Based on data from your previous campaigns and audience research, you will be able to identify the best channels to reach your audience — and then send your message across those various media. I think optimizing your media mix is important because it will allow you to invest more time and money into marketing strategies that are best suited for your audiences. When you optimize a marketing media mix, this means looking at the analytics and ROI of various marketing strategies. This can be anything from engagement data of social media platforms to views on the newest commercial. Enter media mix modeling. If media mix optimization is the “what,” modeling is the “how.” Every model can (and should) look different, depending on your marketing and broader business goal. Media mix models can be used to analyze the relationship between a dependent variable and an independent variable. For instance, let’s say my business has a question like, “How did paying for a sponsored tweet affect overall blog traffic?” My business’s media mix model should then accurately depict how a dependent variable — like overall blog traffic — relates to an independent variable, such as investing in X. For businesses still deciding if a media mix optimization is a good idea for them, I’ve put together key tips to guide you when creating a media mix model. Let’s explore those next. Tips for Optimizing Your Media Mix 1. Collect personal-level data. Here, you need to find and focus on analytics that will help provide an accurate picture of how customers engage with your media mix. Analytics software is expansive and offers an array of tools for use. If you ask me, there’s no reason to rely on anything other than the HubSpot Marketing Hub. I would

Media buying was once a world of direct deals and closed negotiations. But with the rise of digital media and platforms to buy and sell, media buying isn’t only for the biggest brands anymore. If you’ve been looking for new ways to get your ads in front of your target audience, I’m going to walk you through how to do just that — from how media buying works to the processes for carrying it out. Then, I’ll take you through the best platforms to get you started, with tips and advice from marketing experts along the way. Ready? Grab your free media plan template, and let’s dive in. Table of Contents What is media buying? Media Buying vs. Media Planning Types of Media Buying How Digital Media Buying Works The Media Buying Process Media Buying Tips Best Digital Media Buying Platforms Exactly what is a media buyer, then? Whether they’re watching a TV show or scrolling through a website, media buyers are the ones who get brands in front of their target market. They’re also responsible for negotiating with publishers for ad inventory, managing budgets, and optimizing ads to improve campaign performance. As an outbound strategy, media buying requires a well-thought-out plan. Rex Gelb, senior director of paid advertising and affiliate marketing at HubSpot, says one of the biggest mistakes brands make is not thinking through their marketing goals. “Some ad placements might be good for one set of goals, but bad for another. Let’s say you’re an airline and your focus is impressions and awareness, rather than an immediate sale, you can buy a placement that is known to get cheap impressions,” he says. Gelb continues, “Now, let’s say you’re a CEO who wants to promote a ‘letter to our customers.’ In this instance, what you’ll care about is cheap clicks. Buying cheap impressions, which made sense in the previous example, no longer helps you accomplish your goal.” That’s why media planning is such an important step, as it helps you get the most out of your ads. Media Buying vs. Media Planning Media buying and media planning have separate but connected roles in an ad campaign. Media planners outline the campaign’s goals, focusing on overall strategy, and then media buyers carry out those goals. The planning phase determines what media will be most effective to reach a particular audience. And the buying phase picks up from there with deal negotiations and budget management. It‘s also important to note that media planning isn’t solely for advertising — it’s for any media a brand puts out there. However, in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), the job may be done by the same person or team. Types of Media Buying Media buying falls into two broad categories: direct and programmatic. I’ll explain them below. Direct Buying In this case, ad space is purchased directly from a publisher. It involves direct negotiations and relationships rather than using automation or intermediaries. The benefits of this type of buying are that you can guarantee ad placement in a specific location (say, a newspaper that your target audience reads), customize agreements, and foster ongoing relationships. Best for: Direct buying works best when you’re trying to build trust with local or niche communities and small markets. Programmatic Buying This type of buying entered the sphere with digital media and it automates the buying and selling process. Using algorithms to place ads, exchanges happen in real-time. The benefits of programmatic buying are that it allows precision targeting, makes it possible to participate in many exchanges at once, and can lower the cost of placing ads. Best for: With the ability to micro-focus the target audience, this type works well for limited budgets who want to reduce ad spending. The types of media buying have to do with how you go about purchasing ad space. But a related concept is channels. There are also two channel types: digital (online), which can include websites, social media, and search engines, e.g., and traditional (offline), which may be TV, print, radio, billboards, etc. While traditional channels necessitate direct deals, digital channels can operate programmatically or directly. How Digital Media Buying Works There are three components in the programmatic buying structure: Demand-side platforms (DSP). This is where advertisers and ad agencies – that is, media buyers – set up their campaigns, bid on ad inventory, and optimize their ads. It’s one-half of the automated exchange marketplace and allows media buying from multiple sources in real time. Supply-side platforms (SSP). This is the other half of the exchange marketplace. It’s where publishers sell their ad inventory. Ad exchanges. These are virtual marketplaces that connect the DSPs to the SSPs, so that advertisers and publishers can buy and sell ad inventory through real-time bidding (RTB). Marketplaces can be open, meaning anyone can join, or private, where publishers limit who can participate in the auction. You may have also heard of ad networks, which could be considered a fourth component in this media-buying ecosystem. These platforms aggregate ad inventory from various sources and match it to advertisers’ needs, serving as intermediaries in the process. Think Google Adsense or Meta Audience Network. But, as a quick note, programmatic buying also allows direct deals. This is known as programmatic direct buying, which sounds pretty confusing since these are usually two opposing types. The key difference is that ad inventory is sold at a fixed cost per thousand impressions (CPM), with no bidding. As programmatic buying continues to shift in new directions along with the tech landscape, media buying will also shift. A recent example of how quickly these shifts can occur came with the rollout of Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) in 2021. At the time, it wasn’t clear how opting out of tracking would impact targeting and conversions. Now, we know it contributed to significant declines in ad revenue. Still, programmatic buying isn’t going anywhere and many businesses — especially SMBs — are finding success by combining media types and channels. Successful media buying requires “multi-channel precision