‘Moments’ in media planning

The concept of ‘Moments’ within a media planning strategy is rooted in the contextual understanding of where (and when), your audience is in the right frame of mind to absorb the messages you’re looking to get across.

This approach is woven into existing strategic models based on demographics, and with it a 360-degree picture of the consumer. Using data to reach a target audience is essential to success, but alone it is not enough. Combining demographic data with a confident understanding of the context – or Moment – the audience is likely to benefit most from the advertisement.

So how do you, as a media buyer, advertising strategist, or media planner, bring the client on the journey to adopting such a context-driven approach, and create strategies that improve returns – reducing ad wastage in the process?

First and foremost, the client needs to put themselves in their audience’s shoes. Ask the client to imagine themselves at 8 a.m. that morning, and then at 8 p.m. that evening, and think about who they are as a person at each of those points. Then, ask if they think they’re the same ‘them’ at all of these points.

The answer will be an unequivocal ‘no’.

Demonstrating this to the client begins with their understanding of where the brand ‘sits’ in the audience’s lives – and as such, where the advertising needs to sit in order to resonate when the time is right, and the consumer is in the right frame of mind. Sure, the brand belongs in the audience’s day, but it doesn’t belong throughout it.

These Moments might be on a commute (whatever shape that takes right now), during a break at work, going out for a walk, browsing for a gift online while on that same commute, or relaxing in front of the biggest screen in the house in the evening. These are all Moments.

You only need to look as far as Rakuten Viki to see this in action. The 27 million fans across the world all want to look like the stars they’re watching on screen and have the same products. For a lifestyle brand, this is an opportunity to resonate when the audience is super receptive, while travel brands showcasing the best of the Asian continent can literally appear against it during shows.

From a demographic perspective, a gaming company took advantage of Viki’s female-led Millennial and Gen Z user base to connect in the Moment with a new target audience. By utilizing a Moment of indulgence to engage the women who make up 40% of gamers worldwide, the brand secured a 97% viewing rate. Such a high figure demonstrates the smart use of budget that Moments bring to the table.

With the client having understood context-driven strategies, when asked to think about their own day, it’s a straightforward step to ask them to think about the different versions of ‘them’ the audience is in throughout their day. In doing so, the logical next step of asking where the brand belongs during these contexts, can help the development of the buying strategy.

It’s key to remind ourselves – and the client – that we’re not suggesting the demise of demographics. They clearly play a huge part within any plan, but they can be built upon to become even more effective when combined with context.

Perhaps one of the most important conversations to have with the client throughout the development of a Moments-inclusive strategy is that around effectiveness of budget.

Uncover how you can employ a ‘Moments’ based approach to advertising with your clients by downloading the latest guide from Rakuten Advertising.