As an agency that places millions of dollars in media for its clients each year, Strategic Marketing understands the importance of choosing the best software to handle your media planning, buying, and reporting needs. There are numerous options out there, but there are a select few that have been widely adopted in the advertising agency and media buying industries. We review the top media planning tools available today, go through their strengths and weaknesses, and name our top overall choice.
These are the top media planning tools based on our own review.
- GaleForceMedia – the overall best media planning and buying software
- Strata – the most well-known and widely used media software
- Bionic – optimized specifically for media planning
- Mediaocean – omnichannel media planning software tailored to large corporations
1. GaleForceMedia
GaleForceMedia is designed to streamline the media planning and buying processes, allowing media buyers to manage and optimize all their mass media buying in a single, easy-to-use platform. It offers AI-assisted technology to help deliver flawless media plans, appealing flowcharts, and easy to produce RFPs and IOs.
Strengths
- The user-friendly interface results in an enjoyable and efficient experience, ensuring that you can focus on the planning and buying process for your clients, instead of struggling to find features and functions buried in menus or other screens.
- Their superior customer support is one of top selling points for us. We can give them a call and get support in no time no matter what issue may arise.
- Integrations with widely-used platforms like Ampersand, Workamajig, QuickBooks, Nielsen, and Comscore, as well as MediaInsights – their own proprietary Google Analytics integration – makes the entire process quicker and easier.
- Even with the integrations and the terrific feature set—such as traffic and reconciliation—it is also one of the most affordably-priced top media planning tools available, making GaleForceMedia one of the best media planning tools on the market.
Weaknesses
- GaleForceMedia is not as well established as legacy software like Strata.
- When it first rolled out, it did not have the current set of features it now offers, and the company continues to introduce new features regularly.
2. Strata
Strata helps buyers optimize their media buying process, allowing media buyers to plan, execute, and manage advertising campaigns. It has algorithms that estimate ratings and help users create optimized schedules.
Strengths
- Strata is the most well-known legacy media buying software, and it is used by many media buying houses and advertising agencies.
- Strata integrates well with its partner FreeWheel and some of its other products, as well as all of the major ratings providers.
- There are comprehensive reporting tools that make it easy for users to generate and analyze data reports for better decision-making.
Weaknesses
- While it has robust features, some users may find the interface outdated and limiting.
- Being owned by FreeWheel, there may be concerns about limited integration opportunities with non-FreeWheel products or services, as well as conflicts of interest.
- Strata is not inexpensive and usually requires a lengthy contract.
3. Bionic
Bionic is a media planning software that streamlines the planning process through automation, data integration, and collaboration tools. It offers solutions for media strategy, investment management, and workflow optimization.
Strengths
- Automation tools in the platform help streamline the media planning process, saving time and reducing manual errors.
- The platform offers customization options to allow users to tailor their strategies to specific campaign goals and audiences.
- Bionic can integrate with some other tools and platforms to allow for data management and workflow efficiency.
Weaknesses
- Bionic is strictly a media planning tool, but it does not offer a wide range of features beyond that purpose.
- As a feature-rich platform, the cost can significantly increase as users add features to their subscriptions.
- A lot of the data integrations, like importing vendors, need to be done manually in order to get the most out of the platform.
4. Mediaocean
Mediaocean is a software platform for managing advertising campaigns across multiple channels. It offers ad infrastructure and tech tools powered to optimize campaign performance, with $200 billion in annualized media spend managed through the platform.
Strengths
- Mediaocean offers an all-in-one solution for users with a wide range of tools for media buying, campaign management, and financial reconciliation.
- Omnichannel advertising is supported in the software.
- Mediaocean has a comprehensive set of features for planning and placing all forms of media.
Weaknesses
- It has an outdated and fairly clunky UI, increasing potential user error and frustration with the learning curve.
- Mediaocean is incredibly costly and essentially used only by a select few very large corporations.
- As a result, there is not a large community of users to call upon when questions arise.
The Best Media Buying Experience
When evaluating the pros and cons of media planning tools, it’s important to understand what will work for your company and employees. For Strategic Marketing, GaleForceMedia is the best fit. Its integrations, attentive support, and easy-to-use platform allows our team to optimize our campaigns quickly, efficiently, and all in one place. It also provides valuable insights and analytics to optimize buying strategies and accurately measure ad performance. At its price point, GaleForceMedia is among the top media planning tools for buyers looking to simplify and improve their media buying processes.
Leveraging media planning tools like GaleForceMedia and other necessary tools into your marketing mix will create a strategy that will drive results. With excellent media connections, 30 years of marketing experience, and proprietary technology, you can trust that Strategic Marketing will do everything to reach your goals, and go beyond – contact us today for a free consultation.
