Omnichannel marketing requires omnichannel media planning. Here’s how to create an omnichannel media plan using the Bionic for Agencies media planning tool.

The Challenge with Omnichannel Media Planning

Omnichannel marketing involves coordinating and integrating across all media channels – online and offline – to deliver a consistent, seamless, and unified customer experience.

Omnichannel media planning is a new form of media planning that integrates all placements across all media channels into a single, cohesive media plan.

The biggest challenges of omnichannel media planning include:

  • Data Integration
  • Technology Integration
  • Consistent messaging and branding
  • Resource allocation
  • Attribution and measurement

Overcoming these challenges is critical to the success of your omnichannel marketing efforts.

Every Media Channel is Unique

One of the biggest challenges to creating a truly omnichannel media plan is every media channel has its own unique set of attributes, such as:

  • Television and Radio: measured by ratings and GRPs, purchased as spots, priced in gross, KPIs include average quarter hour listeners and viewers.
  • Magazines: measured in fractions of pages, purchased by month, priced in gross, materials due dates, KPIs include circulation.
  • Newspapers: measured in column inches, purchased by week, priced in gross, KPIs include circulation.
  • Billboards: measured in board feet, purchased by 4-week period, priced in gross, KPIs include traffic.
  • Online Display: measured in impressions, purchased by CPM, priced in net, KPIs include clicks and conversions.
  • Social: measured in impressions, purchased by CPM, priced in net, KPIs include likes and engagements.
  • Digital video: measured in impressions, purchased by CPM, priced in net, KPIs include viewing metrics.

This is just a small sample of the nuances you will need to handle when omnichannel media planning.

Most Media Planning Tools Are Siloed

The problem with most media planning tools is they are siloed by media channel. They tend to specialize to handle the unique characteristics of the channel upon which they focus.

For example:

  • Broadcast TV and radio media planning tool
  • Print media planning tool
  • Billboard media planning tool
  • Digital media planning tool
  • Social media planning tool

Because each of these media planning tools is channel locked, none of these tools can deliver an omnichannel media plan.

DSP Media Planning

A DSP, or Demand Side Platform, is a special case of a siloed media planning tool. While powerful for advertising, it’s important to understand the limitations of DSPs for media planning:

  • Channel limitations: They are limited to digital advertising, sometimes only certain forms of digital like display and video.
  • Inventory limitations: Only a portion of inventory is available to DSPs. Typically, this is the remnant inventory that is not yet sold at the time of ad delivery.
  • Buying limitations: DSPs are often limited to buying inventory in an auction format.

As a result, you typically see DSP-powered media buys as line items in a media plan. For a holistic media plan, you need another tool to combine DSP buying with the rest of your media buying.

Modular Media Planning

Some media planning tools handle multiple media channels, but they separate each channel into a its own module. So, you have separate modules for broadcast, cable, print, digital, programmatic, social, etc.

As a result, there’s no clean way to create a unified media plan. Rollup reporting is the dirtiest way to claim omnichannel.

True Omnichannel Media Planning

Bionic for Agencies is perhaps the only true omnichannel media planning tool.

Unlike other media planning tools, Bionic was built from the ground up for omnichannel media planning. It would have been easier to build separate modules for each of the media channels as others have. But we took the hard road because we know you expect a modern media planning tool to handle omnichannel media planning.

Here are examples of Bionic features that enable omnichannel marketing.

Omnichannel Media Plan

screenshot of an omnichannel media plan

Bionic enables you to mix media channels in your media plans. So, you can have TV on line 1, Social on line 2, billboard on line 3, programmatic on line 4, … you get the picture.

Omnichannel Media Channels

screenshot of omnichannel media channels

It’s table stakes for omnichannel media planning to support all media channels in your media planning interface. Bionic gives you access to every media channel through a single user interface.

Omnichannel Ad Units

screenshot of omnichannel ad units

Your list of ad units will automatically conform to the standard ad units of the media channel of each line item. Note: you’re not limited to these standard ad units.

Omnichannel Media Pricing

screenshot of omnichannel media pricing

Bionic supports all media pricing methods, both in gross and net. You can even do top-down costing for programmatic placements where you have to account for all the technology taxes before you can determine your net media budget.

You can vary your pricing model line by line in your media plan.

Omnichannel Dayparting

screenshot of omnichannel dayparting

Dayparting schemes vary by channel and by region. Bionic automatically adapts to the correct dayparting scheme.

Omnichannel KPIs

screenshot of omnichannel marketing KPIs

Bionic supports all the KPIs across all media channels in a single user interface. This enables you to see all your KPIs in one place, which gives you better transparency and accountability. It also enables omnichannel media optimization.

Polymorphic Ad Placements

screenshot of polymorphic ad placements

Bionic doesn’t achieve omnichannel media planning by simplifying media placements to their least common denominator. Instead, Bionic utilizes “Polymorphic Ad Placements” that customizes to the media channel and retains the unique characteristics of each media channel.

For example, if you price a placement in spots, Bionic will automatically add a spots by week section to your media plan. This is not relevant with other media, but critical when buying TV or radio spots.

Get Omnichannel Media Planning

If you’re using Bionic, you already have true omnichannel media planning at your fingertips. For help getting the most from Bionic, contact our Customer Success Team.

If you’re not yet on Bionic, you can learn more, see a demo, or start a trial on our website.