When it comes to media planning, some simple optimisation rules can have a large effect on the likely outcome from a campaign, according to an industry expert.

Any media planner or manager can create an improved schedule across video formats to a set budget, says Chris Sloane, senior partner at marketing effectiveness consultancy Gain Theory.

In the September issue of Admap (topic: smarter video planning), he outlines the key drivers of video neutral planning and how to maximise the impact across demographics through a simple framework.

Much digital video can generate good reach, he notes, but marketers need to equivalise across platforms and ensure they are comparing like-with-like – and here he offers up five main areas to consider:
  1. What scale can each media channel achieve and why is this important?
  2. How much does it cost to achieve that scale?
  3. How do video channels combine to generate reach?
  4. What is the impact / effect per point of reach?
  5. What segments of the target audience does each media channel perform against?
To illustrate what he means, Sloane offers the example of an alcohol brand looking to target a broad audience aged 18+, with a consumption pattern roughly in line with the numbers of people within five standard age brackets (18-24, 25-39, 40-54, 55-64 and 65+), but which sees a skew away from 65+ to the younger audience.

Initially the brand was spending 67% of the monthly screens budget on TV, 27% on BVOD and the remaining on OLV. Overall 63.3% reach was bought, but the youngest age group only received 49.8% reach with the eldest two (55-64 and 65+) receiving 69.6% and 71.0% reach, respectively.

In a subsequent month an optimisation was run resulting in a spend percentage and targeting change. TV moved from 67% to 60% and BVOD from 27% to 23%, with the difference going into OLV.

This shift, combined with a change in targeting had a big impact on the reach profile, he reports, moving away from the older population segment, which consumes less of the brand, and towards the younger and middle-aged who consume more. (For more details, read the article in full: Video-neutral planning: How to inspire excellent media strategies.)

“While the overall changes in reach and effective reach from this (small) move away from linear TV and BVOD to OLV aren’t large, it is the flattening of the reach profile that has the biggest potential gain,” he states.

This issue of Admap on smarter video planning features articles by thought leaders from across the globe. WARC subscribers can access a deck which summarises the expert advice from contributors and key considerations on the topic.

Sourced from Admap