The New Media Planner

Interestingly enough, I’ve chosen to write about my occupation. But as I sit here and contemplate the field I love, I keep returning to the question, “What the hell is New Media Planning?”

In the past, media planning was about as boring an occupation as you could find. It was (and still is, to some extent) filled with people who were clock-punchers. Spots and dots never changed, the formulas always spit out the same results, and the tools that were used were, well, pretty standard.

There was an unspoken agreement between media planning agencies that there wouldn’t be anything too out-of-the-ordinary when planning media. Sure, you’d see the occasional clever billboard or out-of-home spot, but not much more than that.

However, in May of 1995, when the National Science Foundation ceased their sponsorship of the web and it was officially open to ads, the game changed. Most people didn’t hear the old, stodgy door start closing, though. But it did start closing, whether they liked it or not.

Fast Forward 14 years, and you’re still not seeing a ton of innovating in the media planning space. The traditional media planners have insisted on keeping their inane processes. The slow move to change has been riddled with media directors more interested in curbing innovation. As for the technology, well, they’re waiting for it to become “proven”.

My path has lead me to this place, though. I’ve learned that many people aren’t just unwilling to change. They’re AFRAID to change. This gives me hope, because, for whatever reason, change is easy for me. As a matter of fact, the ADHD is a blessing, because I’m restless if things aren’t changing.

If you think about it, the tools that we now have to plan media are insanely more useful than Nielsen or SRDS ever was. Where research companies in the past made their money on static research findings (think MRI), technology now gives us the ability to collect our own data through impromptu panels. Services like Google’s Ad Planner, Compete.com and Quantcast give us insight in to websites that we previously had to pay thousands and thousands of dollars to access.

Technology, and subsequently new media planning, will be the saving grace of the advertising world. The holy grail (no advertising waste or complete advertising relevancy) is actually within grasp. And I’m glad to be mixed up in it.

And for the record, I’ve decided that my definition of new media planning is this: the process of planning media usingtechnology as a means to administer advertising and marketing messages to consumers through various media channels.