Media Planning & Buying — Political Marketing (Oneisok)

1) Core thesis (why this matters)

Political media buying in India now needs a hybrid approach: precision digital buys + broad-reach traditional buys (TV/print/outdoor) while staying rigorously compliant with Election Commission guidance on AI/synthetic content and campaign disclosure. Digital inventory (short video, programmatic, CTV) grows fast and can amplify local messaging — but it also raises regulatory & moderation risks you must manage.

2) Objectives & KPIs (what media planning must measure)

Primary campaign objectives (map each to KPIs):

• Awareness → Reach, Impressions, Share-of-voice
• Persuasion → View-through rate, Watch time, Sentiment lift
• Mobilization (GOTV/volunteer) → Cost per action (form signups, event RSVPs), Conversion rate
• Reputation protection → Number of misinformation incidents flagged/resolved, time-to-response

Measure weekly + daily during peak periods; produce an executive dashboard showing CPM/CPC, reach by segment, and compliance incidents.

3) Channel mix & when to use each (tactical guidance)

• Short-form video (YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels / X video, regional platforms) — primary for youth & regional reach; high engagement, good for narrative bursts and quick rebuttals.
• Facebook/Instagram & Google (search + display + YouTube) — core for targeted persuasion; layered geo/demographic targeting useful for booth-level micro-targeting (CPC/CPM benchmarks can be modest in India vs. west — plan accordingly).
• Connected TV (CTV) & OTT — growing share of political spend for broad video reach and premium storytelling; excellent for high-impact creative during key phases.
• WhatsApp / Telegram / SMS — essential for mobilization and local influencer amplification (use carefully to follow platform rules and privacy norms).
• TV / Radio / Print / Outdoor (OOH) — indispensable for older or rural voters and legitimacy-building; sync TV bursts with digital spikes for maximum effect.

4) Regulatory & compliance rules you must bake into planning

• Label any AI/synthetic content per ECI advisories and maintain audit trail for who created and approved the content. Keep easy-to-produce “label overlays” for video and image assets.
• Log full media invoices and ad spend; maintain an ad-spend ledger ready for candidate/expenditure filings and MCMC (local Media Certification & Monitoring Committee) checks.
• Content moderation workflow: human review + automated flags for hate speech / communal content; rapid takedown / rebuttal plan. (Platform moderation failures have real risks.)

5) Media planning process (step-by-step)

1. Brief & Objectives — define target constituencies, budget, and campaign phases.
2. Audience Mapping — use voter segments (age, language, turnout propensity, issues). Produce “persona” targets per booth/ward.
3. Channel Strategy & Flighting — decide media mix by phase (awareness → persuasion → GOTV). Map frequency goals per channel and per segment.
4. Creative Briefs — short-form, mid-form (30–60s), and long-form assets; include backup assets for rebuttal/crisis. Include required AI-label placements in briefs.
5. Media Negotiation & Buys — secure programmatic, platform, and direct buys (TV/radio/print/OOH). Negotiate dayparts, geo-targeting, and make-ready assets.
6. Tagging & Tracking — implement UTM, pixels, impression/click tracking, and viewability tags. Set up event conversions (volunteer signups, donation clicks).
7. Testing & Optimization — A/B creative tests, bid strategy tuning, and reallocation (weekly during peaks).
8. Compliance Audit — weekly review of labeling, invoicing, and content logs.
9. Reporting & Archive — produce daily snapshots in peak; archive all assets and spend records for audits.

6) Media-buy tactics & negotiation tips

• Programmatic + PMP deals — use private marketplace deals for brand-safe inventory (CTV/OTT buys frequently use PMP). Prioritize verified publishers for sensitive geography.
• Dayparting & geo-slicing — concentrate expensive inventory (TV prime, OTT) during pre-peak windows; use micro-targeted digital for booth-level persuasion.
• Frequency caps — set per-user caps to avoid ad-fatigue; increase frequency leading to GOTV days.
• Make-ready assets — prepare short edits (6–15s) for social, longer versions for OTT/TV, and text variants for print/OOH.
• Bulk buys & barter — negotiate barter/discounts for regional TV/radio if doing wide OOH/print runs; get fixed CPM floors in writing to avoid surprise rate hikes.

7) Budgeting guidance (simple templates)

Use a 3-tier phased media budget (example % of total media spend):

• Awareness (Phase 1) — 35%: TV/OTT + broad digital reach + OOH
• Persuasion (Phase 2) — 40%: Targeted social and search, regional short-video production, influencer boosts
• Mobilization (Phase 3 / GOTV) — 25%: WhatsApp outreach, SMS, reminder ads, high-frequency small-pocket digital buys

Sample line-items to include in proposals:

• Creative production (per video / content factory retainer)
• Platform media spend (pass-through)
• Agency/media-buying commission / service fee
• Monitoring & compliance retainer (ad-spend ledger + AI labelling)
• Contingency (5–10% for rapid response buys)

Benchmarks: expect CPCs/CPMs to vary by format — India Facebook/Meta CPC benchmarks are often lower than global averages but spike during election periods; plan buffer for seasonal price inflation.

8) Risk management & rapid response

• Pre-certify sensitive ads where local authorities require prior MCMC checks.
• Rapid Response Kit — 6–8 ready-to-run assets, approval chain, and legal sign-off for emergency rebuttals (allow 60–90 minute clearance windows in-process).
• Backup channels — maintain phone/SMS/WhatsApp lists and local influencer networks to pivot if platform ads are taken down.
• Archive & evidence — every ad creative + targeting spec + invoice must be archived to defend against audits or takedowns.

9) Tech & measurement stack (recommended)

• Ad platforms: Meta Business Manager, Google Ads, YouTube/Google DV360 for programmatic, local DSPs for PMP/CTV buys.
• Measurement: pixel + server-side conversion, UTM tagging, GA4 for website flows, social-platform analytics, and a simple BI dashboard (daily updates).
• Compliance tools: content-labelling template generator, centralized ad-spend ledger (spreadsheet or simple accounting tool).
• Monitoring: social listening for sentiment & misinformation (set keyword alerts for candidate + opponent + hot issues).

10) Example deliverables Oneisok can offer (productized)

• Media Plan (basic) — channel mix, timeline, sample flighting, estimated CPM/CPC by channel, and mock budget allocation.
• Full Buy + Execution — negotiate buys, manage insertion, daily optimization, monthly reporting, and archiving.
• Compliance Pack (add-on) — ECI-aligned labelling templates, ad-spend ledger, MCMC pre-cert support.
• Rapid Response Retainer — 24/7 monitoring, emergency creative, paid amplification for rebuttals.

11) Quick wins for Oneisok (go-to-market)

1. Productize a “Municipal Media Kit” — low-cost starter plan (social + local OOH + WhatsApp mobilization).
2. Bundle Compliance — make ECI-aligned labelling and ledgers a visible USP.
3. Showcase a Case Study — run a paid pilot with measurable KPIs (reach, cost per engaged voter, conversion).
4. Partnerships — tie-up with local media houses, regional production studios and a DSP for CTV buys.

12) Sources & evidence (key citations)

• ECI advisory on labelling synthetic/AI political content (Oct 2025 advisory).
• Indian media market growth / digital overtaking TV (EY media outlook).
• Growth of Connected TV (CTV) in political ad spend and its rising share.
• India Facebook/Meta ad cost benchmarks (CPC/CPM context).
• WhatsApp strategies for political campaigns (mobilization use-cases).
• Recent platform moderation / ad-approval failures risk (investigative reporting).