Media buying

Media Buying

Overview

Plan and execute paid media across programmatic, direct, and social channels. Optimize spend allocation, audience targeting, and cross-channel performance.

Instructions

Budget allocation framework

Allocate budget across channels based on funnel stage:

AWARENESS (top of funnel) — 30-40% of budget
├── Programmatic display (CPM $2-8)
├── YouTube/CTV (CPM $10-25)
├── Podcast sponsorships (CPM $15-30)
└── Influencer partnerships

CONSIDERATION (middle) — 30-40%
├── Paid social (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn)
├── Sponsored content / native ads
├── Retargeting display (CPM $3-12)
└── Search non-brand keywords

CONVERSION (bottom) — 20-30%
├── Search brand keywords (highest ROAS)
├── Retargeting (cart abandoners, high-intent)
├── Email/SMS (near-zero marginal cost)
└── Affiliate partnerships (CPA-based)

Media plan template

## Media Plan — Q2 2026
**Objective**: Generate 500 qualified leads at <$80 CAC
**Total Budget**: $40,000/month

| Channel | Monthly Budget | Model | Target CPA | Expected Volume |
|---------|---------------|-------|------------|-----------------|
| Google Search (brand) | $5,000 | CPC | $25 | 200 leads |
| Google Search (non-brand) | $8,000 | CPC | $65 | 123 leads |
| Meta Ads | $12,000 | CPA | $90 | 133 leads |
| LinkedIn Ads | $8,000 | CPC | $120 | 67 leads |
| Programmatic Display | $4,000 | CPM | N/A | 500K impressions |
| Content syndication | $3,000 | CPL | $75 | 40 leads |

Programmatic advertising (RTB)

1. User visits a webpage with ad space
2. Publisher's SSP sends bid request to ad exchange (10ms)
3. Ad exchange broadcasts to connected DSPs
4. DSPs evaluate user data + campaign rules → submit bid (50ms)
5. Highest bidder wins, ad is served (~100ms total)

Key players:
- DSP: Where advertisers buy (DV360, The Trade Desk, Amazon DSP)
- SSP: Where publishers sell (Google Ad Manager, Magnite)
- DMP: Audience data (Oracle, Lotame)

DSP campaign structure: Advertiser → Campaign → Insertion Order (by objective) → Line Item (by audience) → Creatives.

Targeting layers

AUDIENCE: First-party data, third-party (DMP), contextual, lookalike, intent signals
INVENTORY: Domain allowlists/blocklists, app vs web, viewability (>70%), ad position
ENVIRONMENTAL: Geography, device, dayparting, frequency caps, browser/OS

Buying models

CPM  (Cost Per 1000 impressions): Awareness/reach. Range: $2-50
CPC  (Cost Per Click): Consideration/traffic. Range: $0.50-15
CPA  (Cost Per Acquisition): Performance/conversion. Range: $10-500
CPV  (Cost Per View): Video campaigns. Range: $0.01-0.10
CPL  (Cost Per Lead): B2B lead gen. Range: $20-200

Brand safety

Pre-bid: Domain allow/blocklists, category exclusions, keyword blocklists,
         brand safety vendors (IAS, DoubleVerify, Oracle Moat)
Post-bid: Viewability measurement (>50% pixels, >1 sec), IVT detection,
          brand suitability scoring, placement reports

Cross-channel optimization

Attribution windows: Google 30-day click, Meta 7-day click / 1-day view, LinkedIn 30-day click / 7-day view, Programmatic 30-day click / 14-day view.

Budget reallocation: Review weekly. Move 10-20% from high-CPA to low-CPA channels, wait 7 days, remeasure. If CPA increases after budget increase, you've hit diminishing returns — pull back. Optimize for marginal CPA, not average CPA.

Negotiating direct deals

For premium placements (homepage takeovers, newsletter sponsorships, podcast ads): request rate card and negotiate 20-40% below, ask for added value (bonus impressions, social posts), request performance guarantees and historical data, negotiate cancellation terms, get makegood policy in writing.

Examples

Create a programmatic media plan

We're launching a B2B SaaS product targeting CTOs and VP Engineering at companies with 100-1000 employees. Budget is $25,000/month for programmatic display and video. Create a full media plan using DV360 — campaign structure, audience segments (first-party site visitors + third-party intent data), creative specs, frequency caps, and brand safety settings. Include a 4-week optimization timeline.

Optimize cross-channel budget allocation

We run ads across Google Search ($15K/mo), Meta ($20K/mo), LinkedIn ($10K/mo), and programmatic display ($5K/mo). Our blended CPA is $95 but varies wildly by channel. Analyze the marginal CPA for each channel at different spend levels and recommend a reallocation to reduce blended CPA by 20%. Include the data I need to collect and the rebalancing schedule.

Set up brand safety for programmatic campaigns

We're a financial services company running programmatic display across 500+ publisher sites. Set up comprehensive brand safety — domain allowlist of premium financial and business publishers, category exclusions, keyword blocklists specific to our industry, and viewability thresholds. Include a weekly audit process to catch new placement issues.

Guidelines

• Always set up brand safety (allowlists, blocklists, verification vendors) before launching programmatic campaigns
• Optimize for marginal CPA, not average CPA — the next dollar should go to the cheapest conversion
• Never reallocate more than 20% of a channel's budget in a single week to avoid resetting algorithmic learning
• Use frequency caps to prevent ad fatigue (typically 3-5 impressions per user per day for display)
• Always request historical performance data and makegood policies before signing direct deals
• Review placement reports weekly to catch brand safety issues early
• Include viewability thresholds (>70%) in all programmatic line items