Definition
The strategic process of determining where, when, and how frequently to place advertising to reach target audiences effectively. It's like planning a military campaign, except the objective is getting people to buy laundry detergent.
Example Usage
Our media planning allocated 60% to digital and 40% to traditional channels, because apparently we still believe people watch commercials.
Origin
Advertising agency practice from the early-to-mid 20th century
Fun Fact
Traditional media planners once relied on Nielsen diaries where people manually recorded what TV shows they watched—a system with approximately the same accuracy as asking people what they ate last Tuesday.
Source: Advertising agency practice and methodology
Related Terms
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See “media planning” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.
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