.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} It’s human nature. We just assume that everyone is like us. Which, in the grand scheme of things, is probably pretty true. But when it comes to buying media, not so much.

Be very wary when you hear yourself say, “Well, I never listen to the radio. I only listen to CDs,” or “if it’s not on A&E, I don’t see it.” Because one of those sentences is almost always followed by “So I would never buy radio advertising; no one listens anymore.” Or, “That’s why I’d never put my TV spot on NBC. No one’s watching the networks anymore.”

You might be right. There are probably plenty of people whose lifestyles and preferences mirror yours, and their media habits may as well. But there are a greater number of people whose media preferences will not.

We all have very different media habits, and it’s a dangerous fallacy to buy media based on your own gut instincts about what the target audience’s habit might be. Even if you fit the profile of the target audience.

Once you have identified your target audience, you simply need to follow the numbers. Find out what media mix will give you the reach and frequency you need. That’s the foundation of a good media plan. Maybe it’s a radio, TV and outdoor schedule. Or perhaps newspaper, magazine and Google Adwords?

It’s almost always more effective to include more than one type of media in the plan. But whatever you do, let the numbers dictate the plan, not your gut.

Is there more to media planning and buying than that? Heck yes. But you can’t build anything without a sturdy foundation.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2007 Drew McLellan