Three key differences between media and search planning

September 8th, 2007 Jackie

I think the most appropriate definition of the term media, as it relates to advertising, is defined by the Miriam Webster dictionary as “a channel or system of communication, information, or entertainment.”

A media planner’s spin on this definition would probably read more like, “The ads that run on a channel or system of communication, information, or entertainment.”
So, with this clarification in mind, “are search ads media?” Yes and no.
From a budgeting perspective, search is media. After all, you must allocate a percentage of your total advertising budget to pay for search ads. The distinction blurs at the planning level because planning search is a lot different than planning other types of media, even online media.

Media Planning 101

During the typical media planning process, we consider many things about the media property (or vendor) we select to place our ads. Here are some examples of vendors, by channel.

Let’s say we’re looking at NationalGeographic.com for a travel camapign, we’d review a list of criteria associated with this Web site such as target audience, volume of traffic, available inventory (e.g., number of ad impressions we can secure), the types of ads available, pricing structure and conversion potential. We ultimately decide whether or not to include the site in our plan based on a combination of the above, plus the attractiveness of the vendor’s proposal.

But none the standard criteria for selecting or eliminating a media vendor applies to search planning because…

Key Difference #1: Search planners already know where the media is going to run.

If you’re a search planner then Google, Yahoo and MSN which together hold over 85% of the total share of searches in the U.S. (according to comScore in July of 2006) are going to be in your plan, and that’s pretty much it. These three Web sites hold the key to nearly all the search ad inventory available online - that’s like saying there are only three t.v. stations available where all advertisers in the U.S. can place ads. That would make it impossible for nearly all but the most lucrative advertisers and agencies to secure coveted ad space on television. So how come search planning takes so much time? Well, because of…

Key Difference #2: Search planning is about selecting keywords, not vendors

Here’s where media planners who don’t know much about online planning (or online planners who don’t know much about search ) choke . With search we’re actually planning keywords, not vendors. Thus, there is an unlimited number of media placements available (A placement in search is equivalent to “ad space” or “time slot”).

When every single term listed in the dictionary translates to an ad placement, the possibilities are limitless. Every keyword and keyword combination becomes a possible ad placement. Applying tactical targeting to your keywords opens up even more inventory (e.g., broad match vs. phrase match, ad scheduling, geo-targeting, demo-targeting). All keywords must be managed, just as all vendors in a traditional plan must be managed. Imagine a media plan that had over 10,000 vendors in it…that’d be quite a bear to manage.

Most offline media is limited by the hours in the day or the physical space available to run an ad (e.g. a page in a magazine). Even online media that take up real estate on a web page or a newsletter is limited by frequency and available space. Not so with search. Which brings me to…

Key Difference #3: Search ads are simultaneous

Since search ads are tied to keyword, user location and, to some extent, user search behavior instead of time slot or available space, search engines can utilize the same exact ad space for multiple advertisers at the exact same point in time. So if I do a search for “kid’s pajamas” on Google at 8:00 a.m. in New York, and my mother searches for “bird food” on Google.com at 8:00 a.m. in New Jersey, our search results will both be populated with ads from very different advertisers which appear on the exact same Web site at the exact same point in time. Of course the pages we are looking at are different pages - dynamically created to match our search queries.

Other key differences

I don’t know many online or offline media planners who regularly change ad copy, landing page text and move media dollars around on a near-daily basis. But search planners do routinely during the course of a campaign. We cap keywords that are overspending, reallocate the spend across categories, engines and keywords and routinely introduce new ad copy to the campaign. Imagine if you had to write new banner copy every two weeks?

Advertisers take note

When your agency takes a chunk of your media budget and allocates it to “search” this often means they are handing it over to a search agency who then manages the money across the top three search vendors. The problem with this is that you’re already paying the agency a percentage of the media budget, then the search agency also gets a cut so by the time your keyword ads are launched, the search budget is greatly reduced.

My advice? Consider working directly with a search agency rather than going through your main advertising or media agency, or work with agencies that have in-house search capabilities. If you do decide to go with your media agency of record, make sure you understand the pricing structure of their search management services before you hand over your search budget to them.

Entry Filed under: E-Marketing Advice