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Online Campaign Planning for Digital Media Part 4: The Media Planning Process in Action
- theo5416
- Sep 10
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 19
In the first three parts of this series, we explored the shift to digital media, the key metrics every marketer must know, and the digital campaign framework that connects objectives to the marketing funnel. Now it is time to bring all of these ideas together into a practical process for building your own media plan.
The media planning process is about moving from high-level objectives to concrete tactics, budgets, and campaigns. Following these steps ensures your media investment is aligned with your business goals and customer journey.
Step 1: Define Objectives
Every campaign should begin with clear goals. Are you trying to build awareness, drive engagement, or generate conversions? Each objective requires different media strategies and success metrics.
For example:
Awareness objective: maximize reach and recall.
Engagement objective: maximize interactions, clicks, or time spent.
Conversion objective: maximize sales or sign-ups at the lowest CPA.
Without defining objectives up front, it is impossible to measure success later.
Step 2: Build Customer Personas
Next, identify who you want to reach. A customer persona is a detailed profile that includes demographics, psychographics, and behaviors.
For example:
Persona 1: 25-year-old office worker, uses Line and Instagram daily, commutes by BTS, shops online weekly.
Persona 2: 40-year-old parent, family oriented, searches for deals on Google, responds well to coupons.
Each persona will shape where and how you run your ads.
Step 3: Select Media Channels and Platforms
With objectives and personas defined, the next step is to match channels to the funnel stage:
Awareness: YouTube, Facebook Video, display networks.
Engagement: Instagram, TikTok, contests, interactive formats.
Conversion: Google Search, Facebook conversion campaigns, remarketing.
Repeat Purchase: email, app push notifications, Line messaging.
Each channel should serve a clear role in moving customers through the funnel.
Step 4: Allocate Budgets
Budget allocation is where planning becomes concrete. Determine how much you can spend on each stage of the funnel and each channel.
Start by prioritizing search campaigns with strong ROI potential.
Use Facebook and Instagram for conversion ads to capture interest.
Balance awareness spend with engagement and remarketing to keep the funnel healthy.
Costs vary widely by platform. For example, email may cost just 0.015 THB per user reached, while Facebook retargeting can range from 0.03–0.50 THB depending on competition. By comparing CPR, CPC, and CPA, you can distribute funds to maximize efficiency.
Step 5: Put It All Together — Example
Consider this simplified brief:
Brand: The Pizza Company
Objective: Drive sales of the new Cheesy Lava Pizza online while also building brand awareness.
Budget: 1 million THB
Target audience: Pizza lovers aged 15–45 nationwide
A balanced plan might look like this:
30% of budget on YouTube and Facebook video for awareness
25% on Instagram contests and TikTok for engagement
30% on Google Search and Facebook conversion ads for sales
15% on remarketing via Line and email to drive repeat orders
By linking objectives, personas, channels, and budgets, the plan creates a full journey from awareness to loyalty.
Final Thoughts
The media planning process is where strategy meets execution. By defining objectives, building personas, selecting the right channels, and allocating budgets carefully, businesses can create campaigns that deliver both immediate results and long-term growth.
This completes our four-part series on online campaign planning. Together, these posts provide a framework to help businesses navigate the shift to digital, master essential metrics, align with the marketing funnel, and build actionable media plans.
If you would like to dive deeper into this session, you can watch the full lecture here:
Want to see how your own media planning process could be improved? Click below to request a free Insight Audit from AIQ and discover opportunities to strengthen your digital campaigns.
