There are many areas in which we ask ourselves: What is the primary? What is the natural process of origin? Which is born first?
In the field of marketing communication, this issue may be related to the format/content of the advertisement and the channels on which we will distribute it. Which should we determine first - What will we say or Where would it be best to show it?
We must honestly admit that in marketing, we sometimes do not specify this in advance and act a little "by default":
Usually, we first create the content and vision of the ad, guided by the idea of what will captivate our target audience. This is the most exciting part and we all love it. Then we adapt to different channels of communication - television, radio, press, outdoor, social media. Only then do we turn to media planning experts to come up with the best plan for the budget and the ready-made advertising we have available. That is how we might be trapped.
We may find ourselves with a format that is not optimal for the media that would be most appropriate for "our" customers. For example, we created a 30 second TV spot, and it turns out that in order to reach our ideal audience, it is better to use a 7 second clip or one minute video. But we realize it late and we not want and/or cannot make new formats. We do what we can with the resources available, which is often at the expense of our campaign performance. This is not necessary.
It is much better to first turn to media experts to examine the media behavior of our target users and to recommend the most efficient use of our available budget. When we know where and what we want to place, then we can turn to the creative team to create the most relevant content and vision. In this way, creative ideas and suggestions will, from the outset, fit the format of the advertisement and make the most of its specifics.
This approach is a bit "backwards" to the established practice, but allows for stronger presence in the right media and more efficient investment of our advertising budget. Knowing in advance which channels our consumers use, we can "tune" our communication to the same frequencies.
In an overload of information and ads, the best way to get noticed by the people we want to reach, is to create our messages according to the channels they use. Not to "adjust" them later on.