Media strategy is a detailed plan of action to achieve communication and marketing goals.

It is a coordinated effort that integrates messages and visuals across an organization to establish a single cohesive presence. 

Media strategy comprises five main areas: 

1. The Target Market

Knowing who you need to reach is essential. How you are going to do that is too.

• The message you deliver will depend on the niche market within your overall audience.
• Internal vs. external, public vs. government, media vs. board of directors—they all deserve an approach that talks directly to them. Media can’t be one size fits all.
• Knowing how your niche markets accesses their media also matters. You need to know if they prefer social media, mobile apps, print, DVDs, conventions, etc. and use the appropriate one for each niche audience.
• The more you know about your niche targets within your audience, the more effectively you can craft a message that resonates.

2. The Integrated Strategy

An integrated strategy is based on the goals and intentions for the campaign. It relies on the desired outcome. The elements must align with those goals to be successful.

• Clear goals and desired outcomes are how a campaign is measured.
• All messages and visuals need to support those goals and outcomes.
• A cohesive vision and mission is critical. A successful strategy cannot exist without these.
• Crafting creative, compelling materials within that integrated structure is how you engage your audience. It is not an individual project that matters, but all projects across the organization that matter, whether it’s an executive speech, video, web page, or any other form of communication.
• Knowing how to integrate various objectives into one cohesive media plan without reducing or compromising the strength of that campaign is essential.
• A broad, cohesive strategy that is not restrictive or tired is the best way to solve the biggest issues with a single strategy. This requires experience and flexibility within an overall theme. 

3. The Team

An integrated media strategy requires an experienced, professional team.

• Media strategy is a collaborative effort that is only as good as the team working on it.
• Your production team matters. They need to know how to work with organizational leaders to create a media strategy that fulfills the needs of the campaign and engages the audience.
• Bring in all team members early before the camera is taken out of the case.

4. Put the Plan in Action

The plan doesn’t work until it’s put into action. This demands experience and knowledge.

• Develop tactics to support the strategy because strategy alone is not enough.
• Understanding how the distribution outlets work is necessary to develop tactics that take advantage of the interconnectedness of different approaches.
• Production presents challenges in technical elements and location challenges. Knowing how to address issues before production begins increases your chance of success.
• The goal is to develop media that plays on multiple platforms without wasted effort or increased cost.
• Managing production schedules and media distribution should be seamless and enhance marketing and communication efforts throughout the organization.
• Production is where media strategy meets creation and is an essential part of bringing that strategy to life. Editing refines it.

5. Measuring Results

There is no success without measurable results.

• Media strategy requires knowing how to measure and test elements of the campaign.
• Learning from mistakes and being able to revise or alter a campaign without compromising the overall objective or message is also key.
• Staying on top of budget and, when possible, reducing overall spending for media production and distribution is part of quantifying a successful campaign.

While media strategy is focused on integrated efforts across an organization, it is a critical part of any media project no matter how small. The larger the scale, the bigger the opportunity to engage and compel your audience.

VIDSOL Media is a strategic media company dedicated to looking beyond a project’s run time. We understand that strategy is the first and most important step to any project. Our team is experienced in auditing past efforts and designing a strategic approach for every project. Find out more, Contact Us or call 703.683.5305.