Media buying is the heart of any successful advertising campaign – no matter the medium. And no matter what the campaign is, time is always of the essence to find the right leads at the right price.
PlattForm's media buying team negotiates the best rates, focuses on costs-per-start and exhaustively analyzes trends. Our direct-response media placement services group works through small, focused teams in order to stay nimble in shifting markets. We are able to react quickly to incoming data, which means our clients pay less to gain more leads.
This is what makes PlattForm the top direct-response agency in the educational sector. We understand media planning and buying can be a delicate process. We're constantly improving our media buying process because we are always in a state of negotiation to get more value for our clients. We analyze how we succeed at each campaign, yet ask the question, “How can we do better?”
Ready to review our media placement services?
Are you getting the results you want from your media placement? PlattForm anchors its long-standing success in the results from our skilled and aggressive media planning and buying team. They create the perfect media mix designed to produce the highest possible volume of qualified leads. Find out how we can help you.
The media buying experts need you
Are you a natural when it comes to media planning and buying? PlattForm may have a place for you. We're looking for the obsessive media buying types. If you know what we mean, you know we want you.
Interested in reading our Media Analyst job description? Search for media buying jobs now on our Careers page.
Broadcast Planning & Placement
PlattForm's successful track record in media placement comes directly from our skilled and aggressive media planning and buying team. They create the perfect media mix designed to produce the highest possible volume of qualified leads.
The media placement experts at PlattForm know the specific science involved in designing and executing a successful media plan. We have extensive knowledge of every major market across the nation. Our media planning and buying teams know which stations and programs appeal to our clients' demographics.
Media planning isn't just about knowing what people are watching or listening to, though. It's about knowing when. The experts at PlattForm know – almost down to the minute – when potential leads will be watching their televisions or listening to their radios. So our clients can rest assured that their TV or radio message will connect with the right audience and produce tangible results.
We're kind of a big deal
Curious to see what we can do with our in-house production? That's right – PlattForm isn't all about placement. We're also about producing high-quality ads. After all, shrewd and strategic media planning won't mean as much without the right media spot to present to your audience. Have a look at some award-winning projects from our production studios. We're fairly certain you've seen some.
Newspaper Planning & Placement
PlattForm's newspaper advertising services are quick, effective and easy on our clients' budgets. We've worked hard to cultivate long-standing relationships with more newspapers than our competitors, and our bottom line shows it.
Our newspaper media planning team can provide uniquely targeted, cost-effective newspaper advertising opportunities that put you where you want to be: visible to your audience.
Newspaper advertising that's unique
Newspaper ads are a whole other ballgame than most other ad types. You need to be different to be better. PlattForm is a different type of agency because we produce an assortment of printed creative – all in-house. Curious to see how we craft a higher grade of newspaper advertising?
Magazine Planning & Placement
The magazine advertising experts at PlattForm obsessively analyze our clients' markets and messages to get the best magazine advertising rates and positions possible.
Our team works with hundreds of print advertisers, leveraging better buying power to secure our clients much lower magazine advertising rates. It's simply a system of perfection by degrees.
PlattForm thinks that our magazine advertising gurus are naturals when it comes to magazine ad placement. So we think PlattForm is the natural choice for our clients who need to put the right ad in the right magazine. Our proven-effective experience helps our clients stand out and get leads.
After a decade of magazine ad placement, we can ensure our clients receive exceptional value and strategic positioning. And added-value items may include free or reduced pricing on subscriber mailing list usage, supplemental online ad components, and editorial mentions.
Magazine advertising with a look and feel you'll love
You're probably wondering what an experienced ad agency can accomplish in-house. We don't blame you. Even though our process of negotiating magazine advertising rates is a finely tuned lead-generating machine, we enjoy showing you how we can bring it all together.
Direct Mail
Direct mail advertising is all about accuracy. It affords the opportunity to spend less money, yet provides the advantage of mailing to a more specific demographic. At PlattForm, we leverage both creative flair and broad experience in the education industry for our clients' direct mail jobs.
PlattForm takes pride in making our direct mail advertising personal and powerful. This makes us the agency to turn to for even the most complex marketing insert need. Our direct mail advertising services grab attention of potential leads. And with our sophisticated list selection technology, our clients don't waste time and money on uninterested people.
PlattForm is a direct mail company that delivers
No one likes to get boring, generic mail that doesn't speak to their interests or needs. So we know that prospective students will toss any mail we send that doesn't capture and keep their interest. Our clients deserve more for their money.
That’s exactly why PlattForm researches and analyzes potential leads. That's how we know how to create direct mail advertising that engages and excites people. We combine versatile software solutions, award-winning creative and shrewd placement strategies to help give our clients the edge.
Additionally, we evaluate the results of each step of our direct mail advertising services to ensure we’re delivering a creative campaign of the most cost-effective leads possible.
Take the guesswork out of profitable marketing
In addition to our award-winning creative expertise, PlattForm also uses Claritas PRIZM NE technology, which segments the population based on Zip code.
The science powering the PRIZM technology can identify leads with common interests – like a desire to learn more about a certain school – based on the specific areas in which they live … down to the street. This is something direct mail advertising does that television and radio campaigns simply cannot.
Strategic Partnership
The key to a better strategy is customization. Let PlattForm help you maximize your impact! We can help you build a better media placement plan.
Our Client Services team will work personally with you to determine your needs as dictated by your budget. When we let our creative and media teams work together, great things happen.
Take advantage of PlattForm Advertising's media expertise in:
Do you have questions? Well, we have the answers. Contact our Client Services Department to get started on your strategic media plan now.
Case Study - Broadcast Planning & Placement
Client: A career school in Texas.
Challenge: During the last 5 months that PlattForm did television advertising for this client, we averaged 130 TV leads per month. After 7 months using their new agency, the client only averaged 90 TV leads per month. As a result, we regained this client’s business and needed to surpass our previous performance.
Action: PlattForm's top Media Planner and Media Director immediately began reviewing the current buys, including station allocation, frequency and traffic decisions. They were able to drop rates on the best stations in the market, increase frequency in the best day-parts and ensure the best-performing creative was in the mix.
Results: In the three months since regaining the TV business, we improved TV lead flow by more than 60% compared to the other agency and improved upon our own previous results by delivering an average of 145 TV leads per month. We are currently pacing ahead of the TV lead goal for this client.
Case Study - Newspaper Planning & Placement
Client: A school with 4 campuses in two California markets.
Challenge: One of the client’s campuses was in an extremely competitive market with one major paper and few alternative publications. Each week, the major newspaper featured more than 10 competing schools. PlattForm needed to make this client stand out from the primary competitor that took up much of the education section with multiple line ads and smaller display ads.
Action: We put together a task force in order to analyze the newspaper daily and make minor adjustments to our liners and displays to stand out from the primary competitor every day. The Media Buyers, Graphic Designers and Client Services team met daily to make the adjustments, analyzing the impact of each change.
Results: The technique allowed us to remain one step ahead of competing schools that advertised in the paper and increase the client’s lead flow from that paper by 35%, representing the largest portion of leads from that paper. Once the competition lost their portion of lead flow from the paper, they reduced spending. This enabled us to cut spending by 20% while maintaining the same lead flow.
Case Study - Magazine Planning & Placement
Client: A career school in a large Midwestern market.
Challenge: The school produces highly qualified certified personal trainers through partnerships with the top accredited career colleges worldwide and their affiliation with the most respected nationally accredited PT certification organizations. They have a solid program that needed introduction into the health club industry. PlattForm's mission was to make club owners aware of the school and draw more demand for their grads.
Action: PlattForm quickly researched the top magazines in the health club sector and negotiated frequency, placement and rates that fit within budget. PlattForm incorporated branding and direct-response into an ad campaign that got the gym owners talking.
Results: Reps from the school attended the major health club (IHRSA conference) during early March 2008 in San Diego. The magazine planning and placement did its job, as the school was a known provider of personal trainers rather than just a new vendor at a trade show.
Case Study - Direct Mail
Client: A California-based business and technical school.
Challenge: This client had recently begun offering Massage Therapy and Personal Training programs at one of their campuses. They wanted these programs to get off to a good start and turned to PlattForm to get leads. The client wanted to reach a demographic who would be interested in one or both of the new programs.
Action: PlattForm purchased a list of individuals who were interested in fitness or physical therapy and planned to attend college. The piece – done in letter format – featured one photo of a young woman giving a massage to a patient. It featured a second photo of a man in his early twenties spotting a weight lifter. Both the envelope and letter featured similar design and color. Copy focused on the increasing public interest in these fields and what students learn in the programs.
Results: The cost-per-lead for this piece was half of what was originally projected. The combination of list and creative seemed to speak very well to the demographic.
Case Study - Strategic Partnership
Client: A career college in a highly competitive newspaper market, gearing up to change its name.
Challenge: Following a decline in TV and newspaper lead flow, PlattForm needed to help the client find an alternate strategy to build buzz since newspaper advertising was the bulk of their spending.
Action: Due to the high amount of Internet usage and TV-credited leads coming from the web site, the team concluded that the low competition in TV could potentially result in additional lead flow. We increased the TV budget by 50% to aggressively increase the client's TV presence. In addition, the team raised spending after the school changed names, also creating awareness of the name change.
Results: By increasing TV presence and taking advantage of testing opportunities on several stations, the school was able to increase lead flow by over 70%. The CPL decreased by 70%, and spending only increased by 50%. In turn, it created more awareness to drive interest.