Media Planning Checklist for a High-Impact Campaign Launch

Most campaign delays and budget overruns don't happen during the campaign — they happen in the two weeks before it, when a gap in the brief surfaces only after media has already been booked. This checklist is the one we run through with every client before a single placement is confirmed. Work through it in order; each section depends on the one before it.

Before you brief anyone

• Business objective is written down in one sentence — not "increase awareness," but awareness of what, among whom, leading to what action
• Confirmed budget figure, including whether it covers production and agency fees
• Hard deadlines identified — a launch date, a festival window, an event you cannot move
• Approval chain identified — who signs off on creative, and how long that typically takes

Objective & audience checklist

• Target audience defined by geography, behaviour, and what they currently use instead of you — not just age and income
• The single action you want the audience to take is named explicitly — visit a showroom, call a number, walk into a store
• Success metric agreed upfront, before the campaign launches, not after it ends

Channel-mix checklist

• Every channel in the plan is there because it reaches the defined audience — not because it was available or a competitor uses it
• Outdoor, print, broadcast, and digital are sequenced to reinforce the same message, not run as unrelated bookings
• Budget tier (Focused Start / Regional Growth / Market Leadership) matches what's actually being booked — no Tier 1 budget stretched across a Tier 3 format list
• Creative assets exist, or are scheduled to exist, in every format and dimension each booked channel actually requires

Timeline checklist

• Prime OOH corridors booked 4–6 weeks ahead of any festival or high-demand period
• Production timeline for print, broadcast, and digital assets works backward from the live date, with buffer for revisions
• Media owner confirmations are in writing, not verbal — availability and pricing can change until confirmed

Measurement checklist

• A baseline exists to measure against — footfall, enquiries, or sales before the campaign started
• Tracking mechanism is agreed for each channel where it's possible — a dedicated phone number, a landing page, a promo code
• Reporting cadence and format is agreed with the client before launch, not improvised afterward

Launch-week checklist

• Physical site verification for any outdoor placement — confirm it's live, correctly installed, and matches the approved creative
• Broadcast and digital trafficking confirmed with each media partner on the agreed go-live date
• Internal team briefed on what to do if a channel underperforms in week one — a plan for reallocating budget mid-flight, agreed in advance