Media buying is the process of purchasing advertising space or time on various forms of media such as television, radio, print, or digital platforms. The goal of media buying is to find the most cost-effective ways to reach the target audience with a specific advertising message.
There are different ways to buy media, including direct buying, programmatic buying, and real-time bidding.
Direct buying is the traditional method of buying media, where a buyer manually contacts a media outlet or publisher to negotiate rates and purchase advertising space or time. This method typically involves a long-term commitment, such as a monthly ad buy or a multi-year contract.
Programmatic buying, on the other hand, uses software to automate the buying process, which allows advertisers to purchase advertising inventory in real-time, across multiple websites and platforms. This method can be more efficient and cost-effective than direct buying, as it allows for more targeted advertising.
Real-time bidding (RTB) is a subcategory of programmatic buying, it’s an auction-based process where media buying happens in real-time, and the advertising inventory is purchased based on a bid for the current user session.
Media buyers also decide which media platforms to buy on by analyzing data on audience demographics, target audience behavior and other statistics. Once a media platform is chosen, the buyer will negotiate the cost of the ad space or airtime, and also plan out ad campaign schedule, and create the appropriate budget, then execute it.
In summary, media buying is a process of purchasing advertising space or time on various forms of media with the goal of reaching a target audience in a cost-effective way. Media buyers use direct buying, programmatic buying and real-time bidding to purchase media, and analyze data to decide which media platforms to use, to negotiate cost and plan out the campaign schedule.