It would seem the most important aspect of being a media buyer is setting a budget and making sure the project comes through within that number. What happens in between — negotiation, placement, timing — are just details. Right?

If that’s your take on media buying, you’ve heard it all wrong. A lot of time and thoughtful planning goes into the media buying process, and it takes a certain type of person to execute his or her creative strategies. But first, let’s get into what media buying really is.

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There once was a time that a company or shop could stick an ad in the local newspaper and hope for business. That, or rent a billboard, or put out a commercial during prime time television. Traditional media outlets were few, and now that there’s a plethora of marketing options — social media, YouTube, Google AdWords — people are so overwhelmed with options that they use the “shotgun approach.” Gone are the days that successful businesses cover their eyes, shoot in the dark, and hope to hit a target.

Lots of articles around marketing plans tell you what mediums to execute on to find targets, like telling us Facebook is a great way to get in touch with your audience. Sure, you can sign up for Instagram or Facebook, drop some cash on an ad, or create an online profile — but trust us, the shotgun approach is not a good plan.

Why not? Because the shotgun plan actually isn’t a plan at all.

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Almost everyone out there nowadays either uses Photoshop themselves, or at least knows someone who does. But, does being able to Photoshop make you or your acquaintance a graphic designer? The short answer is, no.

While a free dinner in exchange for a logo design might work for you, branding and design shouldn’t be taken lightly. This is a huge industry for a reason, because what can be produced for your brand can range from very high quality to very low quality.

So why should you hire a graphic designer instead of your computer-savvy niece? Think of it this way, imagine you need to build an addition onto your home, and you’ve noticed your niece builds the most amazing popsicle-stick structures – with that talent she possesses, would you hire her to build that addition to your home? Hopefully not. You likely would want someone with credentials, experience, and a proven record that they can achieve the kind of results you’re dreaming of.

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Chances are that you have seen an ambient marketing campaign without even realizing that it was exactly that: a marketing campaign. The biggest benefit of ambient marketing is that it allows for the company or business to create brand recognition (which is marketing brownie points) without necessarily pushing their product or service. It shows the more benevolent side to the company, allowing for consumers to feel empathy for the product, and thus giving it that extra edge against the competition.

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Have you ever been to an Ornament Exchange party during the holidays? The ones where each attendee brings an ornament and everyone exchanges until they get the one they want? Think of B2B event marketing as one of those parties. Each person’s ornament is their product, and each person is trying to convince the others in the room their ornament is the best. Everyone at the party is there with the hopes of walking away with a fancy ornament, and you want to make sure your handmade owl is the most highly sought after.

B2B event marketing employs this same general principle – you have an event where attendees are there to walk away with a product, which is very likely similar to your product, and as such, you need to convince the attendee why yours is the best. Ideally, this event is not the first time they’ve seen your product, but rather, is one of many times they’ve been exposed to your product through various events and other marketing channels, and they are now at the end of their buying cycle. So, in order to attract those customers when they’re ready to buy, you need to make sure you’ve fully integrated events into your B2B marketing strategy.

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At the core of any great marketing scheme is a plan to engage the audience in a meaningful way. Since everyone from teens to millennials to baby boomers are constantly glued to their smartphones or tablets, and more jobs than ever require the use of technology, augmented reality (AR) is the obvious next step to getting in touch with your market. But what exactly is AR?

According to Wikipedia, “(AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.” In layman’s terms: augmented reality is digitally-enhanced information overlaid on a real-time or static image. The experience is pretty much as the phrase describes: it augments or enhances what we see in reality.

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Have you ever had one of those days where you planned to clean the house, only to notice your favourite movie was on TV, and you ended up sitting on the couch all day and never got around to cleaning? Yeah, we’ve all been there, and creating and sticking to a marketing campaign plan presents much the same challenge. You need to know how to execute a marketing campaign properly in order to get maximum return for your product.

When executing a marketing campaign, one of the most important aspects is sticking to the plan. A lot of companies fall into the trap that they have a plan for their campaign, but find it difficult to stick to that plan. But, sticking to the plan is essential – you shouldn’t purchase extra sponsorships, or run extra workshops or any other unplanned addition. You need to make sure you have commitment from your entire team because any deviation will hurt – every single dollar should be spent towards achieving your desired end goal (it’s in your Marketing Plan).

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How often have you, as a consumer, opted for the pink kitchen cooking utensils during Breast Cancer Awareness Month rather than the regular stainless steel set of knives? Or grabbed a pack of dish detergent tablets that boast a “clean and green” message rather than the standard yellow dishwasher fluid you’ve come to know? It’s probably more often than you think.

According to a “Cone Millennial Cause” study, 89 per cent of young Americans would switch from one brand to another of a comparable product if said brand was connected to a cause. That is to say, when people are given the opportunity to make better, more meaningful, and ethically sound choices by doing business with a company they know is morally upstanding, they will. That’s because—as a 2009 TEDTalks has shown us—people don’t buy what we do, they buy why we do it.

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