Average Media Planning Time Falls By 45%, Pre-/-Post Pandemic


In what could be an anathema for the 2020-21 upfront and other long-term media-buying decisions, U.S. ad execs say the average lead time for their media plans has been cut nearly in half since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The average amount of time for U.S. media plans has fallen to …

1 comment about "Average Media Planning Time Falls By 45%, Pre-/-Post Pandemic".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, July 15, 2020 at 7:35 a.m.

    Joe, assuming that the data is correct and represents all advertisers, I would interpret this as  evidence that a lot of plans were abruptly altered---with new ones substituted---because of the pandemic---hence the short lead time. If a typical marketer operates on a 12-month planning cycle, it's hard to see how most plans will be developed on only a few months notice in a more normal future as many of the buys will take place during the year, not all at once. As for the TV upfront, many advertisers require their brands to state their national TV " needs" well before a formal plan for the brand is even developed---thus locking  their brands into national TV and the corporate upfront buy in advance of the annual sales push by the networks. The brands have little say in the matter and certainly no flexibility regarding when they can state their GRP and other "needs". . This is one of the weaknesses of the upfront system ---but I don't see it changing anytime soon---once we return to normal.

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