The Internet, among its many benefits, has transformed culture into a do-it-yourself
society. Tasks that once required hiring companies, picking up the phone, mailing
a letter or driving across town can now be accomplished from the comfort and convenience
of home.
For example, it is now commonplace, perhaps even the norm, to pay bills online.
Most major, and many smaller brick and mortar retailers sell—or at the very least
provide information online about—their products and services. Many retailers, such
as Amazon, do business solely on the web. Customers can open and close bank accounts,
do their taxes, book flights, download music and complete a myriad of other duties
with any device that can access the Internet.
Online Media Planning
The media buying and planning industry has also begun to throw its hat into the
ring of the Internet Marketplace to enable anyone to become an online media planner.
Traditionally, businesses would have to contact and research all the players in
the media industry, a daunting effort considering the virtually incalculable number
of networks within each media channel—television, radio, out of home, newspapers
and Internet.
The only other option for businesses has been to hire an agency to handle their
buying and planning. This can certainly save time, but not necessarily money. Media
buying agencies charge various fees and take a percentage of the buy to cover expenses.
Benefits of Online Media Planning
Using media planning tools such as those offered online by media companies present
several advantages to traditional methods:
1. Time: Media buyers have access to media kit information such as contacts, rate
cards and demographics. The data can be custom-filtered and searched, enabling buyers
to build a campaign based on budget, keywords or a number of other factors.
2. Money: Internet media planning systems allows users to research media with limited,
if any, assistance from the company offering the system. This allows the companies
to give users access to online media planning tools at no cost. Additionally, media
companies are privy to discounts through relationships with advertisers. Since the
media planning tools also enable media buys, these discounts are passed along to
users, allowing them to research, plan and buy media at a fraction of the cost of
traditional methods.
3. Convenience: From managing bank accounts to booking flights, consumers are increasingly
growing accustomed to taking care of business from the comforts of home. With Online media planning, consumers need neither
their car keys nor their phone. Everything from researching to uploading creative
to online media buying is handled in one place with one process.